RALEIGH, N.C.– For the first 50 minutes of Game 2, the Carolina Hurricanes had something in common with a Waffle House hashbrown order– they were getting smothered. With less than 10 minutes remaining in the third period, the Vegas Golden Knights held a two-goal lead and appeared to be firmly in the driver’s seat.
And then, after over 50 minutes of complete and utter domination, the Golden Knights suffered their most dramatic collapse of the postseason at the worst possible time. The Hurricanes scored four goals on their final seven shots of the game, spread across 9:40 in the third period and 3:56 in overtime.
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“It was wild, a lot going on,” said Brett Howden of the final 14 minutes following the 4-3 overtime loss. “Yeah, just crazy. I mean, with the call there on the no-goal, and then the penalty, but then I thought we did a great job of fighting it and coming back with a goal there.”
During a whistle stoppage with 9:48 remaining in the third period, the Jumbotron at Lenovo Center featured a series of shirtless Hurricanes fans while sporting a graphic that read ‘Tarps off for the boys?’ What followed was 14 minutes of complete and utter mayhem.
Play resumed. William Karlsson won the defensive zone draw back to Rasmus Andersson. Logan Stankoven moved in on Andersson like a heat-seeking missile, pushed him off the puck, drifted out in front of the net and fired off a backhand that somehow found its way home.
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The Hurricanes, who had seemed so lifeless and beaten just moments before, tied it just 2:26 later.
With exactly five minutes remaining in the third period, the Golden Knights thought they scored the go-ahead goal after a truly herculean effort from Ivan Barbashev. The on-ice officials immediately waved the goal off, but John Tortorella initiated a coach’s challenge.
“I saw a loose puck in front of Freddie,” said Tortorella postgame. “Our player stabbed it, didn’t move the goalie, and it goes through them into the other side. I’d challenge it 10 out of 10 times.”
The Situation Room saw things differently.
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The Hurricanes, who were 0-for-4 on the man advantage in the series, scored the go-ahead goal just 25 seconds into the power play.
The Golden Knights, who have never once gone ‘gentle into that good night,’ pulled Carter Hart for the extra attacker with 1:35 remaining in regulation and scored the equalizer 14 seconds later.
Tomáš Hertl took a penalty 3:17 into overtime, and the Hurricanes evened the series on the ensuing power play.
Jeremy Lauzon returned for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, meaning that for the first time in a very long time, the Golden Knights were fully healthy.
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Naturally, that didn’t last very long.
Halfway through the first period, Brayden McNabb found himself on the receiving end of a Nikolaj Ehlers slapshot and went down in a heap. When he got up, dripping, he rushed down the tunnel and did not return to the game. ESPN reported that he left the arena and was taken to a local hospital. The Golden Knights played the remainder of the game with five defensemen.
John Tortorella had no update on McNabb’s status following the game. There is a media availability on Friday morning, but because this is the postseason, I doubt he’ll provide a timeline.
After winning Game 1 in dramatic fashion, the Golden Knights held a truly unbelievable stat: it had been 25 days since their last loss.
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Yep. Their last loss was on May 10th against the Anaheim Ducks. The Golden Knights finished the second round with wins in Games 5 and 6; in the Western Conference Final, they swept the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche.
A stretch of 25 days between losses is impressive even during the regular season; in the postseason, it’s even more monumental.
Despite the less-than-ideal conditions of their loss, the Golden Knights aren’t worried in the slightest.
“We’re fine,” said defenseman Noah Hanifin following the 4-3 overtime loss. “We’ve got a positive group. We did a lot of good things tonight. We’ve just got to improve on those mistakes, but we’re all good. We’re excited to go back to Vegas and take control of this again.”
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