Following Friday’s Game 2 win, head coach John Tortorella took the podium and guaranteed that his Vegas Golden Knights would be ready for Game 3. He spoke with a steady confidence, swearing that his team wouldn’t get caught up in having a 2-0 lead over the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference Final.
“I guarantee you, we won’t,” said Tortorella following the 3-1 win. “I don’t have to say anything to them. They just understand the situation.”
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It sure didn’t look that way at first. But, as it turned out, Tortorella was right.
The Avalanche broke the ice at 3:21 in the first period. Nathan MacKinnon chipped the puck out, taking advantage of a pinching Rasmus Andersson. Devon Toews won the footrace, blew around Noah Hanifin, and drove the net. The puck rolled off his stick, but Gabriel Landeskog crashed the net and got it to go on the second attempt.
The Avalanche doubled their lead at 7:03 in the first. Josh Manson sent a stretch-pass up the middle of the ice, springing Martin Nečas on a breakaway. Nečas pulled off, curled up, and found Nazem Kadri in the high slot. Without breaking his stride, Kadri fired off a wrister that beat Carter Hart blocker-side.
The Avalanche extended their lead while shorthanded at 13:15 in the first. Parker Kelly flipped the puck out, and it got free to Jack Drury in the neutral zone. Drury sped in, drove the net, and finished off a nifty move in close.
The Golden Knights got on the board on the power play just 19 seconds into the second period. Mitch Marner found Mark Stone driving the net, and the Captain chipped it past Scott Wedgewood’s glove in his return to the lineup.
When down 3-0, the Golden Knights showed no panic. The same cannot be said of the Avalanche when their three-goal lead began to evaporate. From that point on, it was all Vegas. The Avalanche were on their heels, and the Golden Knights kept them there.
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The Golden Knights pulled to within one at 4:05 in the second. Scott Wedgewood made the save on Mitch Marner’s shot from the point, but Parker Kelly couldn’t get the clear. The puck bounced over to William Karlsson, who ripped it home for his first goal since October 26th.
The Golden Knights tied the game at 12:46 in the second. Keegan Kolesar batted down Dylan Coghlan’s fluttering shot from the point and poked the puck home after it hit the post.
The Golden Knights took their first lead of the night at 12:46 in the third. Mark Stone chipped Kaden Korczak’s stretch-pass over to Tomáš Hertl, who entered the zone with speed. Hertl danced around Sam Malinski and beat Scott Wedgewood with a heavy backhand.
The crowd inside T-Mobile Arena resembled a morgue when Jack Drury scored to give the Avalanche a three-goal lead. The volume level increased every time the Golden Knights cut into that lead; after Hertl’s goal, that building was close to the loudest it’s ever been.
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They grew even louder when Brett Howden hit the empty net to seal a 5-3 victory in Game 3 of the Western Conference Final.
“It’s a find-a-way league,” said head coach John Tortorella following the 5-3 win. “We found a way.”
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