Hertl plays hero again for Golden Knights in Game 1 of Stanley Cup Final

RALEIGH, N.C. -- If the Vegas Golden Knights go on to win the Stanley Cup, they might want to think about giving former San Jose Sharks star Joe Pavelski a ceremonial ring for his help.

After all, it was his support and words of wisdom that inspired Golden Knights forward Tomas Hertl, his former teammate with the Sharks from 2013-19, to bust out of the worst slump of his career and morph into a Stanley Cup Playoff hero.

The 32-year-old was exactly that again on Tuesday, scoring the decisive goal in the Golden Knights’ 5-4 victory against the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 1 of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final at Lenovo Center. It marked the second time in the past three games that he’d broken a tie in the third period and produced the game-winner, the previous one coming in a 5-3 victory against the Colorado Avalanche in Game 3 of the Western Conference Final nine days earlier.

As he sat at the podium for his postgame press conference, Hertl was reminded that he’d been mired in a horrific 29-game goalless drought not so long ago, one that lasted 67 excruciating days. Now, after helping his team take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-7 series by beating Hurricanes goalie Frederik Andersen from the high slot with just 3:24 left to play, he said it was a 30-minute conversation with Pavelski last month that finally helped him regain his confidence.

“We’ve been pretty close,” he said. “He was a great goal-scorer. And you know, he’s been through a lot. And he kind of called me and talked to me about just what to do.”

Hertl said he snapped out of the funk the next day, scoring in Game 4 of the Western Conference Second Round against the Anaheim Ducks. The date was May 10. His last goal before that had been against the Detroit Red Wings on March 4.

Now, with all that in the rearview mirror, he said he hopes the questions involving the dry spell will be over.

“I was watching YouTube videos to watch how I’d scored (in the past) and talked to family and stuff,” he said, referring to the emotional roller coaster he’d been on when pucks weren’t going into the net. “It wasn’t like I wasn’t getting chances. You might worry when you don’t have chances for a couple of games but if your chances keep coming, you just try the same thing.

“Eventually it was a lucky bounce and everything started.”

Much to the glee of his teammates.

“He’s smart. He’s just saving (the goals) for the big occasions. You’ve got to give it to him,” Golden Knights forward William Karlsson said before breaking into laughter.

For coach John Tortorella, Hertl’s improvement couldn’t have come at a better time.

Tortorella took over as Vegas coach from the fired Bruce Cassidy on March 29, right in the middle of Hertl’s struggles. He said the coaching staff was patient with the struggling player, but that the clock had been ticking.

Fortunately, Hertl solved his goal-scoring woes at the right time. 

In the playoffs.

When it matters most.

“We gave him some time,” Tortorella said. “It took a little time. The time was getting short, though.

“I do think Tommy, I forget what goal he scored, I don’t know, I forget. It wasn’t a great goal. Once he scored a goal, his game kind of changed. He was working at the other part of his game, but we just needed more from him, and he’s come through at a very important time, and given us some consistent minutes.”

Tortorella was asked if this is the best he’s seen Hertl play.

“I haven’t coached him for long, and a lot of those games weren’t that good,” he said. “So I think he’s grown. 

“He never stopped working. I thought there were some major struggles in his game, but he never stopped working at his game. 

“It’s just great timing, just to try to balance our lineup. He has given us some very important minutes.”

Thanks, in part, to a big assist from Joe Pavelski, two years after he played his final NHL game.