Will Golden Knights beat the Hurricanes in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup? 77% of Gm 1 winners win it all!
59% of users predicted NO — the community missed this one. 27 predictions cast.
The Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 5-4 in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on June 2, 2026, at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. Tomas Hertl scored the go-ahead goal with 3:24 remaining in the third period to give Vegas the victory and a 1-0 series lead.
The game was closely contested throughout. Vegas trailed 2-0 after the first period before mounting a comeback, and the lead changed hands multiple times through the second and third periods. The Golden Knights became the first road team in NHL history to come back from a multigoal deficit to win Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.
The result carries historical weight: teams that take the opener of the Stanley Cup Final have gone on to win the championship in approximately 77 percent of series—a figure the original question cited. Vegas entered the Final having swept the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference Finals. The 59 percent of predictors who anticipated the Golden Knights would not win Game 1 proved incorrect—Vegas took the series lead on the road.