RALEIGH, N.C. — Following a devastating overtime defeat where his squad surrendered a two-goal advantage, Vegas Golden Knights coach John Tortorella expressed confidence in his team’s position as the Stanley Cup Final against Carolina stands even at one game apiece.
True to his characteristic style, Tortorella kept his reasoning brief and to the point.
“I like our team, where we’re at,” Tortorella stated Friday. “We’re good. We’re ready to play. I like a lot of things about what’s gone on in the first two games. I’m not giving you specifics.”
The Golden Knights head back to their home venue for Game 3 against the Hurricanes on Saturday evening, carrying valuable experience from an unprecedented start to the championship series. This marks the first occasion in NHL history where both opening contests of a Cup final witnessed teams overcoming multi-goal disadvantages to claim victory.
The Golden Knights fell behind 2-0 in the series opener before rallying for a 5-4 triumph, then held a 2-0 advantage Thursday evening until deep into the final period’s second half. Following Carolina’s three goals in slightly more than five minutes, captain Mark Stone managed to even the score with goaltender Carter Hart off the ice for an additional attacker, sending the game to overtime.
“We have pretty good control, and then some minor mistakes and it ends up in the back of the net,” center William Karlsson explained. “Just kind of ride it out all game long and hopefully not give Carolina any chances to come back.”
Players acknowledged how the Raleigh crowd helped fuel the Hurricanes’ rally, which made them eager to return to their Strip-based arena known as the Fortress. Despite the Golden Knights’ relatively short nine-year history, their home atmosphere has become among the league’s most intimidating.
“We feed off the crowd,” forward Keegan Kolesar explained. “You can tell from (Game 2), once things started going their way, they’re playing a lot faster, a lot harder when their crowd is involved. Go back to even the COVID year, it makes you realize how important fans are because when they’re not in that building, it can be pretty miserable, so really excited to have that back in our building.”
Vegas has compiled a 6-2 record at home throughout the playoffs while posting a 7-3 mark on the road.
Since replacing Bruce Cassidy following his dismissal in late March, Tortorella has emphasized maintaining consistent approaches regardless of venue.
“There’s no difference,” Tortorella declared. “We’re going to play. We know how to play. We know how we want to play.”
Carolina maintained a flawless 6-0 away record through the opening three playoff rounds, including their Eastern Conference Final series in hockey-obsessed Montreal.
“I don’t think we really care, to be honest, where we play,” said Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen, who has posted a 1.27 goals-against average and .931 save percentage in road games this postseason. “We’re really just focused on our foundation in our game, and that’s really what sets us up for success.”
A major concern for Vegas involves the possible unavailability of top-pairing defenseman Brayden McNabb, who absorbed an 87.3 mph slap shot to the face 11 minutes into Game 2 and couldn’t continue. Should McNabb be unable to participate in Game 3, left-handed shooter Ben Hutton or right-handed Kaedan Korczak would likely step in.
