Vince Comunale
Lady Luck was not with the Vegas Golden Knights (1-1) Tuesday at T-Mobile Arena as the Utah Mammoth (1-1) defeated the Golden Knights, 3-2 to knot the first round series 1-1.
Both teams capitalized on mistakes by the other, but both teams also got some puck luck. In Game 2, Utah had more luck in what was otherwise a pretty evenly played game.
In an eventful first period, Lady Puck Luck was with both teams. With Utah’s Logan Cooley in the penalty box for interference, the Golden Knights’ power play struck. Mark Stone (2) gained control of the puck down low and attempted a cross-crease pass to teammate Tomas Hertl, but instead of the puck reaching Hertl, it deflected off Utah defenseman Mikhail Sergachev‘s skate and into the net at 11:42 of the first.
The tally was Stone’s 12th career post-season power play goal, the most in VGK franchise history and his 43rd overall post-season goal.
Utah got some puck luck of their own when it tied the game 1-1. With 3:01 left in the first period MacKenzie Weegar (1) took a shot from the point that tipped off Golden Knights defenseman Noah Hanifin, then off the stick of netminder Carter Hart, then deflected once more off Golden Knights defenseman Rasmus Andersson’s right shin pad and past an unsuspecting Hart.
There were a total of eight penalties called in the first period, five against Utah and three on the Golden Knights. To nobody’s surprise, five of the eight penalties in the first period were for roughing. The parade to the penalty box would continue to start the second period. At the 2:27 mark of the second frame, refs whistled Nick Dowd for tripping, and the Utah power play had another chance. This power play was notable, not because of a Utah goal, but because of four Golden Knights blocked shots during the penalty kill, two of which hit so hard they stunned Hanifin and Jeremy Lazoun, respectively.
While both players hobbled to the bench, they were both able to continue after some recovery time. In Game 2, the Golden Knights killed all four Utah penalties.
Failed clearing attempts by both teams led to the next two goals. Four seconds after Utah killed another Golden Knights power play, Utah took that momentum and then took their first lead of the night. Mitch Marner attempted to clear the puck from below his own goal line, but Utah defenseman Kailer Yamamoto was able to flag down the clearing attempt with his right glove and then complete a backhand, cross-ice pass to Dylan Guenther (1) who was stationed at the top of the left circle. He then unloaded a heavy one-timer that beat Hart high to his stick-side. The goal came at 14:56 of the second and gave Utah a 2-1 lead.
That lead, however, would be short-lived.
Just 1:02 later, Ivan Barbashev (2) picked off a Sergachev pass attempt at center ice and then skated in one-on-three, but somehow managed to gracefully breeze by all three Utah players like the swaying Bellagio Fountains and then backhand the puck over the glove of Utah netminder Karel Vejmelka to tie the game 2-2.
The goaltenders took center stage in the third period as both teams peppered the opposing netminders, but each was stellar. However, late in the third, Utah was able to solve Hart for a third time through sheer tenacity. Guenther took a shot on Hart, then got his own rebound and rang it off the post. As Guenther looked to the heavens in disbelief, his teammate Logan Cooley (2) doggedly swooped in and corralled the rebound off the post and pushed it past Hart to put Utah ahead 3-2 with exactly six minutes left in regulation.
With that goal, Cooley became the youngest U.S.-born player to score a goal in his first two career playoff games.
The Golden Knights pulled Hart for the extra attacker and had some sustained pressure, but could not get the equalizer. The win for Utah is considered their first in franchise history because the NHL designated them an expansion franchise after their relocation to Utah from Arizona last season. While it was their first-ever playoff win, it was the first regulation loss for the Golden Knights under coach John Tortorella. Vegas had been 8-0-1 since Tortorella became their new bench boss on March 30.
The series will now switch venues to the Delta Center in Salt Lake City for Games 3 and 4. Game 3 will take place on Friday night and will be Utah’s inaugural home playoff game.
Notes
- The final shots on goal favored Utah, 29-21.
- Hits favored Utah, 33-31.
- Blocked shots also favored Utah, 17-15.
- Faceoff winning percentages were a dead even split at 50% apiece.
