Stanley Cup Final Game 2 Live Blog between Golden Knights, Hurricanes

Welcome to Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Vegas Golden Knights and Carolina Hurricanes.

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 2 live blog.

8:10 p.m. ET

The fans here are ready to go. The in-arena host told the crowd when ABC was coming on the air, so they were at full throat when the broadcast began. 

For the second straight night the DJ plays "The Rising," by Bruce Springsteen. 

Then the introduce Stanley Cup winning goalie Cam Ward to sound the siren before the game. 

And then, in certainly an interesting choice, they played Johnny Cash's version of U2's "One." 

Maybe they are giving the fans an emotional break before the game starts. 

That means we are just minutes away from the puck to drop here, which means we are just seconds away from "Rock You Like A Hurricane" blaring through this arena when the Hurricanes take the ice. 

They do a really great job of getting the fans amped up before the game, as if they need a little help. 

That being said, you can definitely sense some angst in the building tonight with Vegas having won Game 1, 5-4. 

One thing to look for early here is how the Canes come out. They were flying in Game 1, scoring just 25 seconds after the puck dropped, but it didn't last. 

I would also expect the Golden Knights to fire plenty of pucks at Carolina goalie Freddy Andersen, who was not great in Game 1. 

How crucial is this game? 

Consider this number from the crack NHLStats crew: 

Teams that take a 2-0 series lead in a best-of-7 Stanley Cup Final own an all-time record of 50-5 (.909), including 10-2 (.833) when starting on the road.

When a best-of-seven Stanley Cup Final is tied 1-1, the team that begins the series at home owns an overall record of 20-11 (.645).

7:50 p.m. ET

The teams are on the ice for warmups ahead of this massive game in Raleigh and the fans are ready. 

On ESPN, they showed a shot of each team before it went to the ice - Vegas looked like it was nice and loose while you could almost feel the Carolina intensity through the screen. 

The concourse was packed about an hour before game time, filled with fans getting their last bits of pregame food and drink. 

Of course, they were plenty of fans still outside enjoying another gorgeous day in the South. 

One fan I didn't see on my way to the arena was the "Honk If You Love Hockey" lady. Maybe she was parked in a different spot today. 

I also didn't have time to go see Hamilton the Pig today. Since the Canes lost Game 1 with him in attendance, I wonder if he came today. 

That being said, there were free pregame hot dogs for the media today. Hmmm. (Just kidding Hamilton). 

Besides the big game here tonight, the other pregame topic of conversation is the report from Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet that Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin has demanded a trade.

That certainly adds plenty of intrigue to this offseason. 

But again, that's the offseason, big game here tonight.

7:30 p.m. ET

We are about 40 minutes from puck drop, the tailgate parties in the parking lots are in full swing and there is a huge crowd in the parking lot concert for Dan + Shay (FYI, it’s not Dan Rosen and Shea Theodore).

While there is still a party atmosphere in Raleigh, it’s a little bit tempered with the Hurricanes losing Game 1 and absolutely needing to win tonight.

But don’t expect Vegas to be satisfied with a split. The Golden Knights have won seven in a row and would love nothing more to make it eight straight and bring the series back to Vegas up 2-0.

Before the players come out for warmups, you can check out all of the pregame content from the crack NHL.com crew right here. 

Be back in a little bit.