The Golden Knights completed a shocking sweep of Colorado on Tuesday night, eliminating the Presidents' Trophy winners with a 2-1 victory that sent shockwaves through the Western Conference Final. Mark Stone and Cole Smith scored for Vegas, which held the Avalanche's elite offense to nearly silent stretches throughout the match.
Vegas will await the Eastern Conference Final winner between Carolina and Montreal, with the Hurricanes holding a 2-1 series lead. The Golden Knights have now reached three Stanley Cup Finals in nine seasons, a remarkable run for a franchise that didn't exist a decade ago.
Colorado entered the playoffs as the league's best regular-season team with an 8-1 postseason record through the first three rounds, steamrolling opponents before hitting a wall in Vegas. The collapse was staggering. The Avalanche went nearly 15 minutes without a shot in the second period and managed just one shot over a 22-minute stretch. Gabriel Landeskog's goal late in the contest was one of the few bright spots for an offense that had dominated all season.
Goaltender Carter Hart stopped 20 shots and came within two minutes of recording his first playoff shutout in six years. His near-masterpiece reflected Vegas's defensive strategy, which essentially shut down Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, and Colorado's dangerous supporting cast.
Stone's opening goal came off a lob pass from Brayden McNabb, with the veteran forward finding open ice and finishing cleanly. Smith's tipped shot with 5:45 remaining provided insurance, coming off Dylan Coghlan's point attempt and extending the lead to two.
Vegas backed those goals with stellar goaltending from Mackenzie Blackwood, who made 24 saves in his first start of the series. His sprawling glove save on a power-play shot from Pavel Dorofeyev in the second period may have been the difference.
The Golden Knights' path to this Final was anything but certain. Vegas had faced the real possibility of missing the playoffs entirely when management removed Bruce Cassidy, the architect of last year's Cup championship, with just eight games remaining in the regular season. John Tortorella took over and immediately validated the decision, posting a 7-0-1 record down the stretch before playoff wins over Utah and Anaheim preceded the Colorado sweep.
Colorado's Jared Bednar tried switching goalies and adjusting tactics, but nothing slowed Vegas. The Avalanche also battled injuries to their two best players, Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon, though Vegas played most of the series without Mark Stone as well.
"It's empty," Landeskog said of the loss. "Whether you lose in seven, six, five or four games, it's an empty feeling. It sucks."
Tortorella's perspective was different. "Now the real stuff starts," he said. "I consider the first three rounds playoffs. Now we're playing for the Stanley Cup."
Author James Rodriguez: "A franchise that nearly imploded in February just punched its ticket to another Final, and did it by neutralizing the league's best team when it mattered most."
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