When the Carolina Hurricanes eliminated the Montreal Canadiens in the Eastern Conference Finals, it felt like there was a collective groan let out by some in the hockey community. The Canes' advancement to the Stanley Cup Final meant a matchup with the Vegas Golden Knights. The vocal minority announced to the world that they wouldn't be watching, for one reason or another.
If they stayed true to their word, then they've missed an all-time start through the first two games of this series. The Hurricanes and the Golden Knights have provided historic moments and two incredibly tense games. Anyone with concerns of this series being "boring" should worry no more after the spectacles that has been provided in Raleigh on Tuesday and Thursday.
Both games have been back and forth. Granted, Game 2 was only that way over the final 10 minutes and overtime. The first 50 minutes weren't exactly exciting if you're a Hurricanes fan, player, or coach. However, the teams delivered the goods once the Canes got one into the net. Game 1 was great the entire way, even if it ended in a Canes' loss.
There has been no shortage of history made by these two. The 2026 Stanley Cup Final is just the second to open with back-to-back multi-goal comeback wins, joining the 2014 Final, though it's the first to result in a 1-1 series. Logan Stankoven got the comeback rolling in the third period of Game 2, scoring his 10th goal of the playoffs to tie Eric Staal for the second-most in franchise history.
The numbers don't support people thinking this is a boring series either. Game 1 averaged over 4.8 million viewers, becoming the most watched Stanley Cup Final Game 1 since 2019. The truth is that hockey fans, even those who don't support Carolina or Vegas, are going to find a way to watch this series. Truthfully, I'd bet that even those said they wouldn't watch have tuned in, too.
Everything that we've seen thus far indicates that this should be a long series, though it's still a little too early to tell. The teams are heading to Vegas for the next two games, which will go a long way in telling us exactly what we're in store for the rest of the way. The Canes need at least one win in Vegas to swing home ice back in their favor. Regardless, we're guaranteed to see more exciting hockey.
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