Golden Knights HC John Tortorella drops lessons to learn from Game 1 win over Hurricanes

The Vegas Golden Knights are just three wins away from a championship after taking down the Carolina Hurricanes 5-4 in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Tuesday night. The Knights got the job done on the road, meaning that they have secured home-ice advantage in the series before Game 2.

Despite the final score coming out in their favor, it wasn’t all smooth sailing for the Western Conference champs in this game. The Knights fell behind 2-0, clearly a bit rusty after having a week off before the championship series.

Even after the win, there is still a lot that the Knights can improve from their Game 1 performance. After the game, head coach John Tortorella spoke about what Vegas is going to take away from this win.

"We're very fortunate."

John Tortorella believes there are lessons to be learned from the Golden Knights’ Game 1 win in the #StanleyCup Final. pic.twitter.com/HPU0QNIDRS

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) June 3, 2026

“Even when we were down 2-0, I still thought we had some good minutes under our belt,” Tortorella said. “I think we need to be patient. In a number of things, how we have to play, I think it requires patience. When you get a little antsy against that team, they can capitalize. They’re that good. So I think we have an understanding of how we have to go. I don’t think it was about sea legs because I thought we had some good shifts, but then we kind of lose ourselves.

“It doesn’t take much for them to capitalize. We took a lesson from it. We’re very fortunate. We win the game, but there’s some lessons in that game that we’re gonna have to figure out come Game 2.”

One of the areas where Vegas didn’t have its usual execution was in the neutral zone and on defense. Carolina got a number of odd-man rushes and breakaways early in the game, some of which it converted into goals. During the Knights’ sweep of the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference Finals, there were no such breakdowns.

That suggests Vegas may be getting better as this series rolls on, which is a scary thought for the Hurricanes as they stare into what is already a 1-0 hole.

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