Golden Knights Steal Game 1 as the Rumor Mill Goes Nuclear

The Stanley Cup Final is already delivering the kind of chaos that makes the league office sweat and the rumor industry sharpen its knives. One side walks out of Game 1 with the leverage, while the rest of the hockey world keeps feeding off the leaguewide buzz about Bettman, McDavid, and a possible Barzal shakeup. This is the stretch of the calendar when one result can change the mood in a room and one whisper can turn into a front-office fire drill.