Golden Knights, Hurricanes admit to ‘butterflies’ before Game 1 of Cup Final

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The Carolina Hurricanes have become very familiar with waiting in these Stanley Cup Playoffs. There were those 11 days between the end of the Eastern Conference Second Round and the start of the conference final, days of practicing and biding their time, thinking about what was to come next.

But there is no anticipation quite like the lead-in to Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, which will be played against the Vegas Golden Knights at Lenovo Center on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; ABC, SN, TVAS, CBC).

“Yeah, it was a long day,” Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal said after their morning skate Tuesday, the final preparations for their first game since May 29, a 6-1 win against the Montreal Canadiens in Game 5 of the conference final.

Which was why both teams were doing all they could to welcome the butterflies -- and to keep them at bay -- before puck drop.

“I had my brothers and the kids over, kind of loosened up for me, personally,” Staal said. “Hadn’t seen the kids in a while, so that was fun and killed some time and we had some fun and good laughs.

“But yeah, I think the hardest part right now is just getting going. Once you get into it, obviously get in that groove, it’s a different feeling, but Game 1 is just (being) anxious about getting going is the biggest thing.”

The Golden Knights haven’t played since May 26, a 2-1 victory against the Colorado Avalanche in Game 4 of the Western Conference Final, so they’ve also had plenty of time to wait, to mull over the experience and the chance they have ahead of them -- all there is to gain or lose.

“I think we’ve had a really good few days of preparation, and we’re ready to play,” Vegas coach John Tortorella said. “I can tell with our group I think we’re right in that fine line of having confidence, but also businesslike. We’re ready to play.”

Of course, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t anxieties, even for players who have been in this situation before. For Golden Knights forward Ivan Barbashev, this marks his third trip to the Cup Final, having won the Cup in 2019 with the St. Louis Blues and in 2023 with Vegas against the Florida Panthers. 

“To be honest, you definitely have some nerves going into Game 1,” Barbashev said. “It kind of took me a while to fall asleep yesterday -- just probably a lot of things going through my head -- but woke up today feeling good. Just had a good morning skate and just ready to go for tonight.”

Sleep wasn’t a problem Monday for Hurricanes forward Jordan Martinook, who spent the night cooking some steaks and doing other fatherly duties.

He got “yelled at by my daughter a little bit, a lot, actually,” he said. “She was yelling last night, so she got some intensity.”

He sent his agent a text, then basked in what was ahead of him, something he’s been working his whole life to achieve.

“I think if you don’t have butterflies, there’s something wrong with you,” Martinook said. “This is the most exciting -- next to birth of kids and weddings -- I think this is probably the best moment of my life. Going to embrace it, take it all in, and give everything I’ve got for my team and our team’s going to get everything we got.”

Three of the Hurricanes and 13 of the Golden Knights -- plus Tortorella -- have been in this situation before, staring ahead at a Game 1 of the Cup Final. So has Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour, though he has only been involved as a player.

How is it different? Does he still have those same butterflies?

“Surprisingly, yes,” Brind’Amour said. “I mean, I have no impact in this game whatsoever other than preparing the team, and I’m sitting there -- I’ve got a better seat than you do -- but I do have the butterflies, which is good. You want that.

“It’s an exciting time. If you don’t have it, I mean, what would you be in this game for?”

But they’ll all take it in before puck drop, putting on their pads and skates and exchanging the anticipation they’ve been feeling for the intensity of the game itself.

It’s time.

“We’re ready to play,” Tortorella said. “Enough of this. Enough of yesterday. We need to play a game of hockey. I’m sure both teams feel that way.”

NHL.com Editor-in-Chief Bill Price and staff writer Tracey Myers contributed to this report