EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsRALEIGH, N.C. -- Tomas Hertl scored 16:36 into the third period, and the Vegas Golden Knights overcame an early deficit to defeat the Carolina Hurricanes 5-4 in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Tuesday night.It was Hertl's fourth of the postseason, off assists from Colton Sissons and Shea Theodore, as Vegas rallied from a 2-0 first-period deficit to hand Carolina just its second loss of the postseason.Theodore, Ivan Barbashev, William Karlsson and Brett Howden also scored for Vegas, which is attempting to win its second Stanley Cup since 2023.The win was Vegas' seventh straight of the playoffs, starting with the last two games of the six-game second-round series against the Anaheim Ducks and then the shocking four-game sweep of the Presidents' Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche.That series included Vegas erasing a 3-0 deficit to take Game 3, and now the Golden Knights have followed by rallying from another multigoal deficit -- this time 2-0 in the opening period -- against the team that finished second only to the Avalanche in the regular season.Nikolaj Ehlers scored the game's first two goals for Carolina, which also received tallies from Shayne Gostisbehere and Jordan Staal.Carolina also lost Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final to the Montreal Canadiens at home, before rattling off four straight wins to secure the series.Game 2 of this best-of-seven series is Thursday in Raleigh.The Associated Press contributed to this report.
