Referees Wes McCauley and Chris Rooney get the call for opening night of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final:
Stanley Cup Final
Vegas Golden Knights at Carolina Hurricanes
Game 1 – 8:00 PM ET
REFEREES |
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Wes McCauley #4 |
Chris Rooney #5 |
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| Games ’25-26 (RS/PO) | 77 / 11 | 38 / 10 | ||||
| Career Games (RS/PO) | 1517 / 231 | 1571 / 193 | ||||
| First NHL Game | 1/20/03 | 11/22/00 | ||||
| First Playoff Game | 4/12/07 | 4/14/03 | ||||
| Birthplace | Georgetown, ON | Boston, MA | ||||
| Goals/Gm | 6.1 (22) | 6.2 (10) | 5.5 (40) | 6.4 (5) | ||||
| PP Opp/Gm | 5.4 (33) | 5.4 (16) | 6.3 (5) | 5.6 (12) | ||||
| PPG/Gm | 1.1 (32) | 1.2 (19) | 1.4 (4) | 1.3 (10) | ||||
| Penl/Gm | 7.1 (27) | 7.0 (16) | 7.7 (10) | 6.8 (22) | ||||
| PIM/Gm | 17.7 (26) | 7.0 (14) | 19.1 (11) | 16.5 (15) | ||||
| % of Penl on Home | 47.2% (19) | 50.0% (16) | 46.5% (32) | 50.0% (35) | ||||
| % PP Opp for Home | 51.1% (27) | 50.0% (24) | 52.1% (19) | 50.0% (13) | ||||
| Penl Diff.* | 1.4 (9) | 1.4 (10) | 1.3 (24) | 1.3 (22) | ||||
| Home Win % | 50% (37) | 68% (4) | 55% (27) | 66% (9) | ||||
| Home Rec. | 13-14-4 | 45-19-10 | 17-13-8 | 43-22-6 | ||||
| OT/SO Games | 32.9% (4) | 20.0% (29) | 26.3% (14) | 20.0% (34) | ||||
| Team Records | 25-26 | 24-25 | 23-24 | 25-26 | 24-25 | 23-24 |
| VGK | 2-1-2 | 3-3-0 | 2-3-1 | 2-1-0 | 2-2-0 | 0-3-0 |
| CAR | 4-0-1 | 5-2-0 | 3-0-0 | 2-0-1 | 2-2-1 | 3-2-0 |
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Devin Berg #87 |
Matt MacPherson #83 |
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| Games ’25-26 (RS/PO) | 76 / 11 | 77 / 10 | ||||
| Career Games (RS/PO) | 746 / 100 | 1039 / 134 | ||||
| First NHL Game | 10/15/15 | 10/11/11 | ||||
| First Playoff Game | 4/11/18 | 4/17/14 | ||||
| Birthplace | Kitchener, ON | Antigonish, NS | ||||
Refs Wes McCauley and Chris Rooney have been paired up once this postseason: MTL/TBL Game 7.
McCauley started the playoffs alongside Brandon Blandina at OTT/CAR Game 1 (CAR W 2-0), MIN/DAL Game 2, TBL/MTL Game 4, and EDM/ANA Game 6; he also worked with Chris Rooney at TBL/MTL Game 7. In Round 2, McCauley skated with Pierre Lambert for MTL/BUF Game 1, CAR/PHI Game 4, and ANA/VGK Game 5 (VGK W 3-2 OT), as well as with Jean Hebert for MTL/BUF Game 7. He worked the Conference Finals with Francis Charron, covering VGK/COL Game 1 (VGK W 4-2) and MTL/CAR Game 3 (CAR W 3-2 OT).
Rooney worked Round 1 with Peter MacDougall at PHI/PIT Game 1, ANA/EDM Game 2, TBL/MTL Game 3, and DAL/MIN Game 6. He also officiated MTL/TBL Game 7 with Wes McCauley. He was paired up with Graham Skilliter in Round 2 for MIN/COL Game 2, ANA/VGK Game 3 (VGK W 6-2), and MTL/BUF Game 5. The same duo advanced to the Conference Finals together, working VGK/COL Game 2 (VGK W 3-1) and MTL/CAR Game 4 (CAR W 4-0).
Carolina is 3-0 under tonight’s crew; Vegas is 4-0.
Games: PS (Preseason); RS (Regular Season); PO (Playoffs)
Stats/Numbers: ’25-26 avg. (’25-26 rank) | ’24-25 avg. (’24-25 rank)
Number in orange/parentheses indicated referee’s rank among active officials.
* Penalty Differential represents the absolute value of the variance of penalty calls by team per game. If Team A takes two more penalties (or two fewer) than Team B, this is a 2. Lower numbers indicate less variance between total penalties in a game – that is, a closer number of calls for both teams.
We’ve also got new rules, new refs, promoted officials, and an updated pronunciation guide for 2025-26.
The NHL officials working the Conference Finals of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs:
NHL Officials Named for 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs Conference Finals
