Stanley Cup Final Game 1 Live Blog between Golden Knights, Hurricanes

Welcome to Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Carolina Hurricanes and Vegas Golden Knights. 

Each team enters this Cup Final on a roll -- Vegas having swept the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference Final and Carolina entering with a 12-1 record this postseason. 

It should be a wild start to what is expected to be a tight-checking, intense series. 

NHL.com Editor-in-Chief Bill Price is inside Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina, to provide all the sights, sounds and highlights in our Game 1 live blog.

7:42 p.m. ET

The players are on the ice and the NHL.com crew is spread out all over the arena. Me, Dan Rosen and Nick Cotsonika are in the main press box, while the other six .com writers in Raleigh are in different auxiliary boxes around the rink.

It’s still filling up inside here. I would assume a good part of the crowd is still outside enjoying the final few moments of their tailgate parties before heading inside for Game 1.

It really is a cool scene outside here with people all over the parking lots with tents, food setups and coolers full of fun.

When you first pull in there is woman who has a tailgate and a sign that says “honk if you love hockey.” We made sure Tom Gulitti, driving the NHL.com rental car, honked when we drove by. 

There is no real lineup news to be on the lookout for as both teams are healthy heading into Game 1, which will make for a hard-hitting, intense Game 1.

Look for both teams to hit each other every chance they get and try to severely limit the scoring chances. It’s what both teams do so why change.

We are now about 20 or so minutes from getting going here.

I have the Shazam app working here tonight, because I’m sure I’m not going to know a lot of the songs they play in here. In fact, a song they played right before the teams took the ice that mentioned something about a hurricane stumped Shazam. How about that.

I just can’t wait to hear “Rock You Like a Hurricane” by Scorpions when the Canes take the ice.

Might be the best entrance song in all of sports.

7:25 p.m. ET

We are about 10 minutes away from warmups, so to get you all ready for Game 1 tonight here is some required pregame reading (there may, may be a quiz later).

Dan Rosen lays out three things to watch in Game 1.

No surprise here that Seth Jarvis’ “friends” will be here tonight.

The Vegas Golden Knights are getting a big piece back with defenseman Jeremy Lauzon (6-foot-3, 225 pounds) back in the lineup for the first time since Game 6 of the first round.

And though you fans may have butterflies for the game tonight, the players do too. And like you all, they can’t wait to get going.

7 p.m. ET

We are a little over an hour away from puck drop, but the party is in full swing here in Raleigh -- the tailgate party that is.

Though this is a hockey game, there is a college football vibe here with fans enjoying the gorgeous weather, pounds and pounds of smoked meat and gallons and gallons of beverages -- even some with alcohol -- in the shadow of Lenovo Center, the Hurricanes’ home rink, and Carter-Finley Stadium, the football home of the North Carolina State University Wolfpack.

Me and Tom Gulitti even took a walk to meet up with his old friend “Hamilton the pig,” who is unquestionably the No. 1 fan of the Hurricanes.

There were also a ton of fans at the pregame concert by Brothers Osborne, also in the parking lot.

One thing I didn’t see was any Vegas jerseys. Should be a very loud home crowd tonight.

No question the vibe outside will switch inside close to puck drop and we expect a really loud, electric atmosphere tonight.

We did have some news earlier today with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announcing the format for the 2027 NHL All-Star Game at UBS Arena in Elmont, Long Island. Here is that news and everything that was discussed during his pregame media avail.