RALEIGH, N.C. — More times than none, the Vegas Golden Knights have been faced with finding the balance.
That of trying to be happy that they won a playoff game, but knowing it wasn’t their best effort.
That can either result in the Knights cleaning things up for Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Carolina Hurricanes, or an opportunity for the Eastern Conference champions to respond.
The Knights will try to take a 2-0 lead at Lenovo Center on Thursday.
“We’re going to have to play better,” coach John Tortorella said.
It took 12 minutes and a two-goal deficit for the Knights to find their game.
Once they did, their game looked similar to how it was the first three rounds. Aggressive forechecking. Winning puck battles. Cycling from low to high.
But there were a high number of unforced errors that put the Knights down early and gave the Hurricanes all the momentum. Three Knights turnovers resulted in three Carolina goals.
They found a way, though, to rally with a 5-4 win in Game 1 thanks to Tomas Hertl’s winning goal with just more than three minutes left.
“We win Game 1, and to me, there’s just some of the turnovers that we had, but there are other ones even later in the game that we’re going to have to get better at,” Tortorella said. “We find a way to win a game, but they’re not just the ones you see that turn into goals, but there are other things we’re going to have to be better at as we go into Game 2.”
At least it wasn’t long ago when the Knights were in this similar situation — a chance to take a commanding series lead against a team they’re underdogs against.
They found a way to take the first two games against the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena, en route to their shocking four-game sweep in the Western Conference Final.
The Knights won’t assume, of course, that that it’ll happen again. The Hurricanes were just in a similar situation after losing Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final at home to the Montreal Canadiens before reeling off four straight wins.
Not to mention, the Knights know they need to be better despite finding a way to steal home-ice advantage.
Carolina forward Nik Ehlers scored twice in the first 12 minutes. Some Knights admitted they underestimated the Hurricanes’ push at the start of the game before they found their rhythm.
“I think we’ve been through a lot of different scenarios over the course of an 82-game season and in the past,” captain Mark Stone said. “We faced a lot of adversity throughout the season, good and bad. So, we haven’t panicked in those situations.”
The Knights have never lost Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final. They improved to 3-0 all-time.
They’ve also been on the right and wrong side of history in Game 2.
Teams that take a 2-0 lead in the final own a series record 50-5, much like the Knights did in 2023 against the Florida Panthers.
When the series is tied 1-1, the team starting at home is 20-11. The Knights are one of those 11 because of what happened in 2018 against the Washington Capitals.
But Stone sees more of the similarities from 2023. Much like in Game 1 when nine different players found the scoresheet, led by three points each from the top pair of defensemen Shea Theodore and Brayden McNabb.
“I think that’s the way we built the team this year, especially when we’re playing at our best is when we have four lines, six D,” Stone said. “That’s the way I think our best teams have always been built.”
The Knights sit with the perfect opportunity to bring a commanding series lead back to Las Vegas for Game 3 on Sunday.
Tortorella set the expectation after winning Game 1 in Colorado to not being satisfied with a split. They’d obviously love to come back home being two wins away from winning the Stanley Cup.
“To me, that’s common sense. You win one, you want to win the next one,” Tortorella said. “You don’t want to let any momentum slip away. That’s not extraordinary to me. That’s just getting ready to play your next game, and try to win.”
Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.
Up next
Who: Golden Knights at Hurricanes
What: Stanley Cup Final, Game 2 (Knights lead 1-0)
When: 5 p.m. Thursday
Where: Lenovo Center, Raleigh, North Carolina
TV: ABC
Radio: KFLG 94.7 FM/KKGK 1340 AM
Line: Hurricanes -155; total 6
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Stanley Cup Final schedule
Game 1: Knights 5, Hurricanes 4
Game 2: Thursday, 5 p.m. at Lenovo Center, KTNV-TV (Channel 13)
Game 3: June 6, 5 p.m. at T-Mobile Arena, KTNV-TV (Channel 13)
Game 4: June 9, 5 p.m. at T-Mobile Arena, KTNV-TV (Channel 13)
*Game 5: June 11, 5 p.m. at Lenovo Center, KTNV-TV (Channel 13)
*Game 6: June 14, 5 p.m. at T-Mobile Arena, KTNV-TV (Channel 13)
*Game 7: June 17, 5 p.m. at Lenovo Center, KTNV-TV (Channel 13)
*if necessary
