Preview: SCF, Game 1 vs. Vegas

RALEIGH, N.C. - The Carolina Hurricanes open the Stanley Cup Final on home ice on Tuesday, hosting the Vegas Golden Knights at Lenovo Center.

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When: Tuesday, June 2

Puck Drop: 8:00 p.m. ET

Watch: ABC; SN, CBC, TVAS | Watch Parties

Listen: 99.9 The Fan, Hurricanes App

The Playoffs So Far...

• Round 1 | CAR def. OTT 4-0: The Canes never trailed in a game against the Senators, riding fantastic goaltending from Frederik Andersen and the suddenly scorching Logan Stankoven — who scored in all four games — to a clean sweep in Round 1. READ FULL ROUND 1 RECAP
• Round 2 | CAR def. PHI 4-0: Carolina broke out the brooms once more against the Flyers to become the fifth team in NHL history to start a postseason 8-0. Stankoven's line with Taylor Hall and Jackson Blake remained the offensive catalysts, while Frederik Andersen again stood tall. READ FULL ROUND 2 RECAP
• Eastern Conference Final | CAR def. MTL 4-1: After a Game 1 hiccup humbled the Hurricanes, Rod Brind'Amour's crew responded with four straight wins over the talented Canadiens to reach their third Stanley Cup Final. The series win was highlighted by overtime tallies from Nikolaj Ehlers and Andrei Svechnikov in Games 2 and 3, as well as comfortable 4-0 and 6-1 victories in Games 4 and 5. READ FULL ECF RECAP

Record Scratch...

• Carolina has enjoyed almost unprecedented success this postseason, with a 12-1 mark that saw them become the first team to reach the Stanley Cup Final with fewer than two losses since 1987, when all four rounds went best-of-seven. But all that gets you is a chance against another 12-win team, and the Canes know there's still a long road ahead.
• "There’s no easy game, there’s no easy shift, really. It’s always a grind," Sebastian Aho said of the playoffs during his media day availability on Monday. "The record doesn’t really mean too much to me. It means that we’re here now, and we get to play for the Cup, but it’s kind of irrelevant to us what the record is for both teams. Everything starts again, and we’ll be ready for Game 1 tomorrow.”

In Net...

• Frederik Andersen has backstopped the team to 12 wins in 13 games this season. His 1.41 goals against average leads all netminders in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and his .931 save percentage has included at least one shutout in each round thus far.
• Brandon Bussi would likely be the next expected option in the event Andersen needs a break. The first-year backstop wrapped up the regular season on a heater, following up his first set of consecutive losses (0-3-0) with a 6-0-1 run and allowing two or fewer goals in four of those wins.
• Pyotr Kochetkov also remains waiting in the wings. Although he made two conditioning loan starts with Chicago (AHL) in April, following multiple lower-body surgeries this winter, his last NHL action came on Dec. 20.

On The Other Side...

• Despite finishing with just 95 points in the regular season, Vegas is no Cinderella story. Their road to the cup featured six-game victories over Utah and Anaheim before pulling off a stunning four-game sweep of the Presidents' Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference Final.
• Already a stout defensive outfit, their offense has risen to the occasion as well — Mitch Marner (21 pts) and Jack Eichel (18 pts) pace all skaters in scoring this postseason, while Pavel Dorofeyev and Brett Howden co-lead the playoffs in goals with 10 each.
• One catalyst for the team's late-season and playoff success was a coaching change made with eight games remaining in the regular season. The move to John Tortorella behind the bench has proven to be a stroke of genius, as the veteran-heavy roster has turned in the most goals (58) in the postseason while averaging the fewest allowed among Western Conference teams (2.38/GP).
• A deep team that features an embarrassment of riches among its forward group, a blue line including Shea Theadore and Rasmus Andersson, as well as former Hurricanes Noah Hanifin and Dylan Coghlan, has shown expertise at keeping its opposition to the perimeter.
• Between the pipes, it's been Carter Hart's show while 2023 Stanley Cup Champion Adin Hill stands by as his backup. Winning his final six starts of the regular season, Hart has rolled that into a 12-4 postseason with a .924 save percentage. Dating back to April 2, he's allowed more than two goals in just six of his last 22 appearances.

Injury Updates...

• The Canes currently do not have any injuries at this time.

What Are We Wearing?

• The Canes will wear their BLACK uniforms for the contest. They will wear black for every home game and white for every road game in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

What's Next After This Game?

• The Canes are scheduled to practice or meet with the media on Wednesday, before returning to game action on Thursday for Game 2.
• Next Game: Thursday, June 4 | SCF, Game 2 vs. Vegas | 8:00 p.m. ET | How To Watch | Tickets | Parking