2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs
Stanley Cup Final Game 2: Carolina Hurricanes vs. Vegas Golden Knights
VGK leads 1-0
How to watch
Start time: 8:00 PM EDT / 5:00 PM PDT
In Canada: CBC, Sportsnet (English) TVA Sports (French)
In the U.S.: ABC
Streaming: Sportsnet+
Twenty-five seconds into Game 1, it looked like the Carolina Hurricanes were going to run over the Vegas Golden Knights the same way they had the Montreal Canadiens in the final two games of the Eastern Conference Final. Las Vegas managed to get one goal before the siren sounded to end the opening frame, but shots were 12-4 Carolina, leaving an opponent on pace for only about a dozen shots yet again.
The Golden Knights turned the tables with a goal 30 seconds into period two, and then took their first lead a few minutes later. That was the Western Conference champion’s announcement that it was going to go toe-to-toe with its eastern counterpart, and the remainder of the game was tightly contested between the clubs, ending with a winning goal from the Golden Knights with 3:24 to play.
It was the second consecutive series in which the Hurricanes have lost the opening game, and those are their only two losses so far this post-season. We’ll see if Rod Brind’Amour and his staff can come up with an answer as they did over the final games of the third round, or if John Tortorella’s Golden Knights can build on their first effort to take both games in Raleigh.
Carolina Hurricanes projected lineup
| Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
| #37 Andrei Svechnikov |
#20 Sebastian Aho |
#24 Seth Jarvis |
| #71 Taylor Hall |
#22 Logan Stankoven |
#53 Jackson Blake |
| #27 Nikolaj Ehlers |
#11 Jordan Staal |
#48 Jordan Martinook |
| #28 William Carrier |
#77 Mark Jankowski |
#50 Eric Robinson |
| Left Defence |
Right Defence |
| #74 Jaccob Slavin |
#5 Jalen Chatfield |
| #19 K’Andre Miller |
#26 Sean Walker |
| #4 Shayne Gostisbehere |
#21 Alexander Nikishin |
| Starter |
Backup |
| #31 Frederik Andersen |
#32 Brandon Bussi |
Vegas Golden Knights projected lineup
| Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
| #49 Ivan Barbashev |
#9 Jack Eichel |
#16 Pavel Dorofeyev |
| #21 Brett Howden |
#71 William Karlsson |
#93 Mitch Marner |
| #48 Tomas Hertl |
#10 Colton Sissons |
#61 Mark Stone |
| #22 Cole Smith |
#26 Nic Dowd |
#55 Keegan Kolesar |
| Left Defence |
Right Defence |
| #3 Brayden McNabb |
#27 Shea Theodore |
| #15 Noah Hanifin |
#4 Rasmus Andersson |
| #5 Jeremy Lauzon |
#52 Dylan Coghlan |
| Starter |
Backup |
| #79 Carter Hart |
#33 Adin Hill |
