How early Hurricanes goal in Game 1 nearly made NHL history — and a Vegas goal did
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Nikolaj Ehlers scored 25 seconds into Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.
- Ehlers added a second goal later in the first period to complete a two-goal opening.
- Ehlers is the first player to score twice in an opening period since 1989.
In the first period of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Carolina Hurricanes and Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday, Carolina roared out to a fast start.
But it wasn’t enough.
Nikolaj Ehlers scored twice in the first period, the fastest two goals by one player from the start of a Stanley Cup Final in more than 35 years.
Just 25 seconds into the opening game — which Vegas won, 5-4 — Ehlers stunned fans with a goal from the left circle, firing it past goalie Carter Hart’s glove. It was the third-fastest goal to start a National Hockey League championship series, according to NHL Stats.
It was also the fastest opening goal since 2006 — yes, the last time Carolina went to the Stanley Cup Final. That year, the opening goal in Game 5 of the Cup Final in the Raleigh rink came just 16 seconds in, off the stick of Edmonton’s Fernando Pisani.
It also made him the second player on record to score on the first shot on goal to open a Stanley Cup Final.
Ehlers scored for the second time 12 minutes after his first in a similar dominant breakaway, deking past Hart. That made him the first player to score twice in an opening period since 1989.
But Ehler’s first period dominance couldn’t help Carolina fend off Vegas.
In the second period, Knights forward Ivan Barbashev matched Ehlers’ need for speed, scoring 30 seconds in. That earned the game a place in the NHL history books: It was the first time in Stanley Cup Final history that the puck hit the back of the net in the first 30 seconds of both the first and second periods.
The Knights went on to score four more times and beat the Canes in the first game of the Stanley Cup Final.
“It was a great start,” said Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour. “And then we had a pretty bad turnover to get them back in the game, when there’s really no reason for it. ... We just kind of just tossed it away, and then they made us pay on it. You got to give them credit. That’s a great team. But we were right there. We made a few mistakes that we got to try to clean up.”
The Canes had a similar ill-fated fast start in their last Game 1: the Eastern Conference Final against the Montreal Canadiens. In that game, Seth Jarvis scored 33 seconds in. Then, the Canadiens put up four straight goals. The Canes lost, 6-2.
Like in the Montreal series, Game 2 now becomes vitally important for the Canes. In the second game in the Eastern Conference Final, the Canes won in overtime, 3-2, going on to win the series.
Ehlers right at home
This is Ehlers’ first year with Carolina. Before he signed a six-year, $51 million contract with the Canes this past July, the Danish left wing spent the first 10 seasons of his career with the Winnipeg Jets.
“He just brings an absolutely dynamic level of skating and skill with the puck, and a creativity,” Hurricanes general manager Eric Tulsky said Monday at the Stanley Cup Final media day. “Nobody goes outside the structure because it’s a very well-coached team, but he adds things to it that aren’t what we would ask a lot of players to do. Having that kind of ability on the team, someone who can just create scoring chances that haven’t been there, it always makes you more dangerous.”
Jalen Chatfield assisted on both Ehlers’ first period goals.
This story was originally published June 2, 2026 at 9:35 PM with the headline "How early Hurricanes goal in Game 1 nearly made NHL history — and a Vegas goal did."
