Vegas-Carolina Stanley Cup Final is 'a new series' going into Game 3 after Canes' comeback

Before the Carolina Hurricanes made their comeback, before the Vegas Golden Knights needed a goal with 81 seconds left in regulation to tie it and before Seth Jarvis scored in overtime, the sound of Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final was silence.

The same crowd that roared at the start of the series was stunned, with their beloved Hurricanes shut out through the first two periods for the first time since mid-January. They were fewer than 15 minutes away from a 2-0 hole that only five of 55 teams have overcome to hoist the Cup.

The topsy-turvy ride that followed ended with Carolina winning in emotional fashion and making this a competitive series between two of the best teams in the NHL. Game 3 is Saturday night in Las Vegas.

If it is anything like the first two, it is best to expect the unexpected the rest of the way.

“It’s obviously a new series, a five-game series now,” said defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, who leads the Hurricanes with three points so far in the final. “A lot of emotions throughout the games, too. For almost 50 minutes there it’s kind of low, and then kind of even, then really high, then low again, and then high. It’s a roller coaster for sure."

This final is shaping up to be more like a seesaw, with wild momentum swings back and forth. This is the first Cup final in league history in which each of the first two games featured a multigoal comeback victory.

Carolina is now the first team in 82 years to win a game in the final when down by more than one goal within the final 10 minutes of regulation. That would also make Vegas — which fell behind by two goals in the opener — the first team since 1944 to blow such a lead.

“The sport of hockey is funny that way," Golden Knights center William Karlsson said Friday. "I think that’s why we all love it. It can go either way at any times .... But it’s hockey. It’s a game of mistakes, and it’s bound to happen.”

The Hurricanes after cruising through the first three rounds with 12 wins and just one loss met their match in Vegas, and that was evident in Game 1. What also became clear is that neither of team is going to get pushed around for an entire night, even if there are stretches of domination by one side or the other.

“It’s going to be hard to play your best game — that's the point,” Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said. “It would be great if you could do it for the whole 60 minutes. But it’s probably not going to be that way because they’re a very, very good team.”

Counterpart John Tortorella emphasized that again before he and his team flew home, insisting he likes where Vegas is at two games into its biggest challenge yet this postseason. The Golden Knights have stolen home-ice advantage and get to play the next two on The Strip, where Tortorella can better control matchups.

“There’s no difference,” Tortorella said. "We’re going to play. We know how to play. We know how we want to play.”

So do the Hurricanes, and it's what they displayed at the end of Game 2. Logan Stankoven provided the spark, Mark Jankowski kept it going and Jordan Staal scored on a power play after Tortorella's failed goaltender interference challenge became a difference-making moment.

Of course, the Golden Knights dominating for much of the first two periods and the start of the third showed why they've been such a buzzsaw since Tortorella took over in late March. Brind'Amour acknowledged the vibes around his team were better than they could have been if not for the turnaround, but neither team should expect to feel too good about itself for toon long in a series like this.

Players are embracing that as part of the fun.

"This is exciting," Jarvis said. “This is what playoff hockey’s all about is tight games and momentum swings, and you never really know what’s going to happen next. I don’t think you can ask any more of a playoff series.”

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Vegas Golden Knights' Tomas Hertl (48) celebrates his goal during the third period in Game 1 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final series against the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh, N.C., Tuesday, June 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

Carolina Hurricanes' Nikolaj Ehlers (27) celebrates his goal with Jalen Chatfield (5) during the first period in Game 1 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final series against the Vegas Golden Knights in Raleigh, N.C., Tuesday, June 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A man was charged with murder Friday in the stabbing of “Jumanji” and “Top Gun: Maverick” actor James Handy, who was in a relationship with the suspect's mother.

Michael Gledhill, 44, was charged after police say officers found the 81-year-old Handy stabbed in the chest and lying unconscious outside a home in Los Angeles on Wednesday. Handy was taken to the hospital and later pronounced dead.

Gledhill did not appear at an arraignment Friday afternoon in Los Angeles Superior Court and no plea was entered for him. Javier Trincado, Gledhill’s lawyer, said his client is “unable to assist” in his defense and told the judge that the sheriff’s department did not bring Gledhill to the courtroom, but did not provide a reason.

Superior Court Judge John H. Reid ordered that Gledhill be sent to mental health court and undergo psychological evaluations. Another judge will decide whether he is competent for trial.

Authorities say Gledhill was arrested after telling police he was the person they were looking for. Police had responded to the home after a 911 caller stated: “I am the son of man, I just killed the man of sin,” according to the department.

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said Handy deserved to enjoy his later years with his loved ones and that the person who took his life should be held accountable.

“This is not how anyone’s life should end, stabbed in the chest and left dying in the front yard of a home,” he said in a statement.

Handy was a character actor in films and on TV for decades, including appearances in a variety of television crime procedurals.

Actor Brian Delate knew Handy for more than four decades after meeting him at a Vietnam veterans theater company in New York. Delate described him as someone with a great sense of humor who was always curious.

Delate told The Associated Press that a few times over the past couple of years, Handy mentioned in passing that his girlfriend's son had mental health problems.

“I didn’t think much of it, because he just kind of mentioned it casually,” he said.

Handy's girlfriend had fixed up the garage so her son could live there, Delate said. Handy had his own home.

Bail was set at $2 million for Gledhill, according to authorities. If convicted, Gledhill faces up to 26 years to life in prison, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

Emails sent to Trincado and officials from the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office were not immediately answered.

Born in New York, Handy appeared in films and TV shows for decades.

He was known for his role as an exterminator in the 1995 film “Jumanji” and more recently as the bartender Jimmy in the 2022 film “Top Gun: Maverick,” according to IMDB. He’s also appeared in some of the top TV crime dramas, including “NCIS: Los Angeles,” “The Closer” and “Cold Case.”

“I could not have asked for a more talented, humble or gracious client and friend than James Handy,” Pam Ellis-Evenas, from the Ellis Talent Group, said in an email to The Associated Press.

With Vietnam in mind, Delate lamented how his friend died.

“If he’d just passed away from an illness or something like that, this would be a very different experience,” he said. “But because of the nature of how he died and the fact that we lived in an arena of killing back in the '60s, it has a different resonance.”

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Associated Press journalist Philip Marcelo contributed from New York City.

This image made from video provided by KABC shows the scene at a home where authorities were investigating the fatal stabbing of actor James Handy on Wednesday, June 3, 2026, in Los Angeles. (KABC via AP)