The Vegas Golden Knights clinched their first-round series against the Utah Mammoth with a dominant 5-1 victory in Game 6 Friday night at Delta Center.
Mitch Marner scored two goals, including the game-winner, in a three-point performance to help the Golden Knights win the series 4-2 and advance to the second round, where they will face the Anaheim Ducks.
The Golden Knights led 2-0 after two periods and scored three more in the third to eliminate the Mammoth and move on in their pursuit of the Stanley Cup.
Vegas has now won seven straight series when leading 3-2.
First period
The Golden Knights took a 1-0 lead with 4:58 remaining in the first period. Brett Howden beat Karel Vejmelka after Marner’s shot hit the end wall and bounced right to his stick at the side of the net.
It was Howden’s fourth goal in the last three games.
The Mammoth took a late interference penalty when Alex Kerfoot tripped Carter Hart, which set up 1:58 of carry-over time on the man-advantage at the start of the second period. On the delayed penalty, however, Pavel Dorofeyev’s shot struck Jeremy Lauzon in the face; the Vegas rearguard went straight down the tunnel, though he was back on the bench to start the second. He later left the game, though.
In the end, Vegas took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission and led 10-6 in shots, 22-15 in shot attempts, 10-8 in scoring chances and 4-3 in high-danger chances with 70.35 percent of the expected goal share, per Natural Stat Trick.
Second period
The Golden Knights had an excellent opportunity on the power play, forcing Vejmelka to reach behind him, but they were unable to convert.
The Golden Knights got off to a slow start in the period but eventually found another gear. They got to their game, and they made it count by lighting the lamp in the final minute.
After a ridiculously dominant shift that lasted nearly two minutes, Marner scored his first playoff goal as a member of the Golden Knights and first of the series to give Vegas a 2-0 lead going into the third period. His slapshot beat Vejmelka at 19:15, with Ivan Barbashev and Noah Hanifin recording the assists on the play.
Vegas took over the game in the later part of the period. The possession numbers were only slightly in Vegas’ favor, but the Golden Knights still won the period 1-0 in the end.
Third period
After Cole Smith’s hustle canceled out an icing, the Golden Knights had a glorious opportunity on a mini breakaway, but Dorofeyev’s backhand went up and over the net.
The Mammoth continued to push, looking for a spark to get back into the game. Kailer Yamamoto provided that spark with his first goal of the series at 7:41. A long stretch pass set up Yamamoto outside the dot, and his shot got through Hart and made it a one-goal game.
It brought the crowd back to life and energized the Mammoth as they fought to extend their season.
But Vegas delivered a crushing blow when Colton Sissons restored the two-goal edge less than two minutes later. Sissons scored on another juicy rebound off a point shot by Brayden McNabb to silence the crowd.
The Mammoth got called for high-sticking with just over eight minutes to go, giving Vegas a chance to put this one out of reach with their second power play of the night.
The Golden Knights did just that.
Just 15 seconds into the man-advantage, Marner scored the dagger for his second of the night to give the Golden Knights a three-goal edge with 7:51 remaining. It was Marner’s third point of the game.
Cole Smith scored an empty-net goal at 16:24 for the 5-1 finish.
The Golden Knights looked like an experienced, veteran and relentless team in a spectacular performance in Game 6 to lock up the first-round series against Utah.
The epic shift at the end of the second period that led to Marner’s goal, the quick response by Sissons 1:58 after Utah got on the board, and Marner’s power-play dagger late in the third were three critical moments in the game. All three demonstrated that killer instinct that had been missing from Vegas’ game, but it was there in spades in Game 6.
The Golden Knights went out and played and won as a team to wrap up the series and avoid a winner-take-all Game 7.
Everyone throughout the lineup contributed, with the Golden Knights skating as five-man units.
If there was a turnover, there were active sticks and bodies converging on loose pucks to recover. If Utah was awarded a power play, the Vegas penalty kill came through with finesse, as it did all series long. Even when the Mammoth were flying through the neutral zone, the Golden Knights weren’t caught out of position and didn’t look flustered.
When needed, Hart was there to cover up as the last line of defense. Most of the time, the Golden Knights let Hart make the initial save and then rushed to protect the net and clean out the crease. Though Hart did give up a relatively soft goal, he was solid in the series-clincher, finishing the game with 21 saves on 22 shots for a .955 save percentage.
Marner stepped up with a massive performance in a decisive Game 6, something he was not known for in his time in Toronto. He scored two goals and an assist and ended up netting the game-winning and series-clinching goal. He hasn’t scored a goal in the first five games of the series but stepped up when it mattered most.
Howden also was fantastic in the last few games, opening the scoring in Game 6, scoring the game-winner in double overtime in Game 5 and scoring twice in Game 4.
The penalty kill was the MVP of the series, and it went a perfect 3-for-3 in Game 6. The power play also scored a key goal to put this game out of reach; the Golden Knights’ power play had been struggling, but that killer instinct came through in the moment and helped Vegas finish the job when the opportunity presented itself.
Even when Vegas had lapses without a shot, the team seemed calm, focused and in control for most of the night. It was a team effort through and through.
Utah played a heck of a series, but the Golden Knights found ways to win games and took care of the details, winning two contests past regulation and winning two out of three on the road. After trailing 2-1, the Golden Knights won three straight games to eliminate a challenging opponent.
As a result, the Golden Knights will move on to the second round for their first playoff matchup against Anaheim.
They might even get William Karlsson back at some point, as the Swedish pivot is nearing an end in his recovery and has rejoined the team.
A date for Game 1 has yet to be announced by the NHL.
Statistics courtesy of Natural Stat Trick.
Photo courtesy of @GoldenKnights on X