Vegas Golden Knights 5, Carolina Hurricanes 4 in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final at Lenovo Center. Carolina jumped ahead 2-0 in the first period on two Nikolaj Ehlers goals, but Vegas answered with five of the next six: Shea Theodore (1G+2A), Ivan Barbashev, William Karlsson, and Brett Howden, before Tomas Hertl scored the game-winner with 3:24 left off a Colton Sissons behind-the-back feed, beating Andersen blocker-side. Carter Hart got the start over Adin Hill and made 23 saves; Frederik Andersen made 18 in the loss. The road win is significant: Carolina's pre-series edge was built almost entirely on home ice (113-point regular season vs Vegas's 96), and dropping the opener at home hands that advantage to Vegas, which now leads the series 1-0 and becomes the new favorite (~-125). It also validates the single biggest factor our pre-series analysis flagged for Vegas: steal one of the first two games in Raleigh and the series math shifts fast. Game 2 is Thursday June 4 in Raleigh; a Carolina loss would send the series to Las Vegas with the Hurricanes down 0-2. NBA Finals Game 1 (New York at San Antonio) is tonight, Wednesday June 3.
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