Golden Knights Beat Canes in Finals Opener That Turned Into a Track Meet

The opening game of the final has the kind of pace that usually makes coaches reach for the antacids before the second intermission. Vegas and Carolina are trading chances early, and the scoreboard is already asking both benches some uncomfortable questions about structure, discipline, and whose legs hold up when the game gets loose. This is the kind of opener that can expose a team’s depth chart in a hurry, because one bad shift in a series like this can feel a lot bigger than it should.