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The Stanley Cup Final — like any best-of-seven playoff series — is typically more of a marathon than a sprint.
That said, you’re not going to hear too many complaints about a quick start, and it’s hard to get any quicker than the Carolina Hurricanes.
The game got underway on Wednesday night in Raleigh with the Vegas Golden Knights coming to town after clinching the Western Conference title by way of a stunning sweep of the Colorado Avalanche.
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Nikolaj Ehlers of the Carolina Hurricanes is congratulated by his teammates after scoring a goal against the Vegas Golden Knights during the first period in Game One of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
While Vegas-Carolina is not exactly ratings gold by any stretch, it is a matchup between two insanely good hockey teams.
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Both have different styles that make them great, but Carolina’s secret weapons are structure and quick starts.
Well, once the puck dropped in Game 1, the broadcasts hadn’t even gotten through the starting lineups before Hurricanes forward Nikolaj Ehlers put the home team up by one on the very first shot of the series.
The Canes simply couldn’t have asked for a better start.
And, needless to say, it’s the worst possible start for the Golden Knights.
And, if that wasn’t enough, Ehlers had another one up his sleeve later in the period.
Both of those goals were assisted on by Jalen Chatfield.
The Canes have absolutely torn through the Eastern Conference en route to their third Cup Final appearance in franchise history.
Nikolaj Ehlers of the Carolina Hurricanes celebrates with teammates after a goal during the first period against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game One of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final. (Photo by Cato Cataldo/NHLI via Getty Images)
Despite the quick start, Vegas did catch a major break on a fortunate bounce to cut the lead to 2-1, a goal that was credited to Shea Theodore.
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Carolina swept the Ottawa Senators and Philadelphia Flyers in the first and second rounds, respectively. The Hurricanes then dropped Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Montreal Canadiens before rebounding to win the next four games and clinch the series in five.
Game 2 is Thursday in Raleigh, then the series will shift to Las Vegas for Game 3 Saturday and Game 4 the following Tuesday.