- Dowd scored the go-ahead goal, then ended up bloodied in a late scrum with Cooley
- Tensions boiled over at center ice after Vegas iced Game 1 with an empty-netter
- Read below for the words, the scrum, and the video making the rounds
Nic Dowd was not happy with Logan Cooley after Vegas took Game 1 over the Utah Mammoth 4-2 on Sunday night at T-Mobile Arena.
Cameras caught Dowd pointing at Cooley as both teams left the ice, with fans online lip-reading the Vegas forward telling the 21-year-old, “I’m coming for you, and I’m gonna f***ing kill you.” The audio has not been independently verified.
The postgame heat traced back to a scrum that broke out at center ice right after Ivan Barbashev’s empty-netter. Cooley shoved Dowd on the ensuing draw, teammates poured in, and Dowd skated off with a cut above his right eye. No penalties were called despite the blood on his jersey.
Dowd, who was traded from Washington to Vegas in March, gave the Golden Knights a 3-2 lead at 7:20 of the third by redirecting Noah Hanifin’s shot-pass from the slot. It was his first playoff goal with his new team.
Cooley opened the scoring with 11 seconds left in the first period, his first career playoff goal. Kevin Stenlund made it 2-1 early in the second before Mark Stone tied it on a power play at 5:33 of the third. Dowd’s deflection put Vegas ahead 1:47 later, and Stone’s equalizer set a franchise playoff record along the way.
“It’s going to be our line’s role to cause a little bit of chaos and hem teams in,” Dowd said when asked about the late scrum, declining to clarify what he shouted at Cooley. “I mean, it’s an emotional game.”
Full video of the third-period rally and the chippy finish is below.
Carter Hart stopped 31 shots for Vegas. Karel Vejmelka turned aside 27 for Utah in the first playoff game in franchise history. The Mammoth finished as the West’s top wild card and now need a split in Vegas before the series shifts to Delta Center.
Game 2 is Tuesday night at T-Mobile Arena. The NHL Department of Player Safety could review the clip, though no hearing has been announced. Per the NHL.com recap, Dowd’s line will be asked to keep pushing that edge. Cooley and Dowd may have already written the subplot for the rest of this series.
