Dan Kingerski
The Colorado Avalanche were stunned to lose both Game 1 and 2 at home to the Vegas Golden Knights. That wasn’t supposed to happen to Presidents’ Trophy winning Colorado, and certainly not against the Golden Knights, who were quite pedestrian throughout the regular season.
And so Colorado put their foot down in the first period Sunday, claiming a 3-0 lead over the Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena, but then the Golden Knights chipped away, and surged, and eventually overwhelmed Colorado for a 5-3 win in Game 3, and a 3-0 series lead.
Unless Colorado has within itself a historic comeback, the series is all but over. The Golden Knights are now just one win away from the franchise’s third Stanley Cup Final appearance.
Gabriel Landeskog (5) capped a furious Colorado surge at the start of the game when he scored a 3:21 of the first. Nazem Kadri (3) kept Colorado rolling with a dandy backhand sweep at 7:03 of the first. And Jack Drury (3) put the icing on a fairly dominant first period at 13:15.
It was all Colorado, who outshot the VGK 16-7 in the first period, and the series appeared to have shifted. For the first time, Golden Knights goalie Carter Hart looked shaky.
And then, everything changed when Golden Knights captain and emotional leader Mark Stone–playing for the first time since May 8 in the Round Two series against Anaheim–scored a power play goal just 19 seconds into the second.
Four minutes later, William Karlsson snaked a wrister through traffic to close the Colorado lead to 3-2 at 4:05 of the second.
The game that appeared to be well in hand was suddenly the Golden Knights’ for the taking, which they did. Bottom line grinder Keegan Kolesar (1) tied the game 3-3 with a nifty deflection which hit the post, but then he swatted his own rebound into the cage at 12:46.
The third period was tight as the teams cautiously traded a few shots and chances until Tomas Hertl (3) leaped into the glass to celebrate what became the game winning goal at 8:21 of the third.
What looked like a routine rush became a signature moment in Hertl’s Golden Knights career as he cut inside past one defenseman and as soon as he was clear swept a 20-foot backhand past Colorado goalie Scott Wedgewood.
Hertl finished the regular season goalless in 20 games, but his reemergence only becomes part of the burgeoning VGK potential.
Hart held the fort and the Pacific winning Golden Knights, who didn’t even reach 100 points in the regular season, are now on the precipice of the SCF.
Inside the Golden Knights Series
It was not a good season in Vegas. After all, the Golden Knights had to fire popular coach Bruce Cassidy with just eight games remaining in the season. The team had gone flat, and despite a roster that beckoned for more, the wins and losses alternated until GM Kelly McCrimmon shocked everyone with the call to fire Cassidy and hire noted firebrand coach John Tortorella.
It has worked beyond the highest expectations. Tortorella brings a unique presence to the room–it’s a positivity with an edge.
The Golden Knights are again using their size advantage and playing with an energy that had dissipated. In hockey terms, they are again hard to play against as they finish checks and are stiff on the walls.
Ugly hockey–look no further than Brett Howden’s 10 goals in the playoffs–it works.
Of course, there seems to be some magic in T-Mobile Arena that culminates in the playoffs. After a fantastic regular season that will earn him a hefty payday this summer, Pavel Dorofeyev has ramped his goal scoring, potting 10, just as top center Jack Eichel has quietly played some of his best hockey.
But the icing on the Golden Knights’ cake has been Mitch Marner, who has 21 points in the playoffs, draws the attention of top line matchups, and his deft puck movement with speed adds a fizzy element that has been absent for years running.
The other big change for the Golden Knights is in net. After a middling sort of regular season, Golden Knights goalie Carter Hart has elevated his game at the right time. After an .891 save percentage in the regular season, Hart has risen to post an 11-4 record with a .923 save percentage in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Big saves make all the difference.
And it will take just one more win to battle for the Stanley Cup, and another rowdy parade down Las Vegas Boulevard.
