The Vegas Golden Knights scored three times in the third period in a 4-2 come-from-behind win against the Utah Mammoth in Game 1 Sunday night at T-Mobile Arena.
Vegas leads the best-of-seven series 1-0.
The fourth line accounted for two of Vegas’ four goals. Captain Mark Stone also scored for Vegas and now leads the franchise in playoff goals (37). Vegas finished the night with more hits (52) than they recorded in any game in the regular season.
Carter Hart won his seventh straight game and first playoff game since 2020, stopping 32 of 34 shots for a .941 save percentage.
First period
The two clubs were quite physical in the opening frame, with scrums breaking out after most whistles. Ivan Barbashev had a few standout hits, including a massive one that sent Ian Cole flying.
A few of the scrums resulted in minor penalties for both clubs. However, the officials missed a high-stick that left Cole Smith bleeding. They took a few minutes to discuss it as a group but concluded that Vegas had committed an extra infraction, ignoring the high-stick entirely and sending the Mammoth to the power play.
As it has all year, though, the Vegas penalty kill came through and negated the opportunity.
For most of the period, Utah’s speed wasn’t a factor, but that changed in the final seconds when Logan Cooley gave the Mammoth a surprising 1-0 lead with just 9.5 seconds remaining.
Vegas got caught watching in the defensive end, and Cooley made an excellent play to set up the goal. He skated up the ice on the rush, pulled back and shielded the puck from Barbashev before sending it across the zone. Nate Schmidt quickly returned the favor, sending a cross-seam pass to Cooley for the one-timer.
There was nothing Hart could do on the play, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t an avoidable goal. After a very physical period, Barbashev didn’t challenge Cooley, and the defensive coverage was out of sorts and unable to reset in time.
At 5-on-5, Vegas led 9-3 in scoring chances and had a 61.76 percent Corsi share and 60.82 percent expected goal share. Utah led 11-9 in shots, and both teams had one high-danger chance, per Natural Stat Trick.
Second period
It took the Golden Knights less than four minutes to reset the score in the second period, as Colton Sissons beat Karel Vejmelka at 3:44 to make it a 1-1 game. It was a dirty goal by the fourth line, which is exactly what you want to see in the playoffs.
It also was the Golden Knights’ first playoff goal in more than seven periods going back to last year’s series against Edmonton.
However, Utah reestablished a one-goal lead just 1:23 later on an unfortunate bounce for Vegas. It was a bit of a gift from Hart, who tried but failed to play the puck behind the net. It came out to Kevin Stenlund along the boards; when Stenlund threw the puck towards the net, it deflected off Kaedan Korczak and into the net to make it 2-1 at 5:07.
Hart went on to make some clutch saves, but the Golden Knights found themselves trailing going into the third period for the first time under John Tortorella.
At 5-on-5, Vegas led 13-7 in scoring chances and 28-18 in Corsi (60.87 percent) and had a slight edge with a 53.82 percent expected goal share. For the second period in a row, the Mammoth led 11-9 in shots, and Utah led 4-3 in high-danger chances.
Third period
The Golden Knights got their first power play of the game 3:45 into the third period. The top unit looked hesitant at first but kept the puck in the offensive zone for most of the man-advantage. Mitch Marner took a few ineffective shots from the point, and he and Jack Eichel passed the puck back and forth for a while.
But Vegas started moving the puck around the zone and eventually got it down low. The Utah penalty killers were exhausted, and a loose puck off a Tomas Hertl tip in front popped out to Stone, who buried it to tie the game at 5:33. Hertl and Marner recorded the assists on the play.
The goal moved Stone into first place in franchise history in playoff goals with 37.
The Golden Knights kept pushing, and the fourth line struck again.
Utah had several chances to clear the puck, but Vegas was strong on the forecheck and recovered possession. A Noah Hanifin point shot was tipped by Nic Dowd on its way into the net to give Vegas its first lead of the night.
“Utah sucks” chants broke out in the crowd after both goals.
The Golden Knights fed on the energy and maintained the up-tempo pace, playing on their toes and bringing more energy to all three zones.
The game took on a more frantic pace, with the two clubs trading chances at both ends. The Mammoth had a few good looks, but Hart came through with save after save, with an especially timely one on Schmidt at the midway point of the frame.
Both goalies made key saves down the stretch, with Vejmelka shutting down Cole Smith on a breakaway. But it was Hart who faced the bulk of shots in the back half of the third period as Utah tried to net the equalizer.
The Mammoth pulled Vejmelka with 1:45 remaining, but Barbashev hit the empty net seconds later for the insurance marker. Vejmelka went back to the bench on the next shift, but the Mammoth were unable to cut the deficit, losing 4-2.
At all strengths, the Mammoth led 28-21 in shot attempts in the third period but trailed 9-8 in scoring chances, 5-1 in high-danger scoring chances and had just 22.42 percent of the expected goal share.
The Golden Knights played well and improved as the game wore on, but they looked like a different team in the third period. But their efforts in the first two periods — from physicality to scoring chances to solid defensive play — paid dividends in the end when the Golden Knights took over the game in the final frame.
Trailing after two periods seemed to wake them up, much like it did throughout the regular season.
In fact, it took less than four minutes into the third for Barbashev to draw a penalty, which set up Vegas’ lone man-advantage of the game. Though it still doesn’t look as convincing as it did earlier in the season, the power play took care of business and reset the score.
The Golden Knights kept their foot on the gas and continued to push, with Dowd getting his first of the postseason on one of many stellar shifts by the fourth line. The Golden Knights played with confidence and swagger in the third period, and momentum was on their side.
Even so, Utah didn’t disappear. The Mammoth continued to throw a lot of pucks at the net, but Hart was there to defend the cage when called upon. He made a huge stop on Dylan Guenther in the first period, and, like his teammates, he looked better as the game wore on. He had a few shaky moments, particularly when handling the puck, but he delivered another solid performance.
Much has been made of Utah’s depth, but the Golden Knights’ depth shined in Game 1. The fourth line was spectacular, accounting for two goals and finishing the game with an 87.97 expected goal share in 6:58.
John Tortorella mixed up the top nine quite a bit, with Marner, Eichel and Stone beginning but not finishing the game together on the top line. Regardless of his linemates, though, Stone was fantastic all night.
He finished first on the team in individual scoring chances (five) and second in individual expected goals (0.45), trailing only Sissons (0.61). When Stone was on the ice, the Golden Knights led 11-2 in scoring chances with a 70 percent Corsi share and 90.31 expected goal share.
Vegas won the special teams battle, going 1-for-1 on both the power play and penalty kill. Even though things were heated at times, the Golden Knights kept their composure and didn’t take any stupid penalties, which is important. They looked calm and focused all night.
But to Utah’s credit, the Mammoth were impressive in their first playoff game. They led after two periods, responded immediately after Vegas tied it in the second, and Cooley and Guenther, two of the team’s youngest stars, didn’t look fazed by the moment. Plus, Vejmelka had a very strong night.
That being said, the Golden Knights relied on their experience to bounce back and take care of business when they needed to. They didn’t get off to a slow start, but they still played with a killer instinct in the third that wasn’t quite there early on. They did, however, stick to the gameplan, and they never sat back; eventually, they were rewarded.
The Golden Knights now lead the best-of-seven series 1-0. They have won eight out of 11 series when taking Game 1.
Game 2 is set for Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m. PT on ESPN2 and Scripps.
Statistics courtesy of Natural Stat Trick.