- Jack Eichel scored his first goal in nearly a month to tie Game 2 in Denver
- Ivan Barbashev had two goals in the third as Vegas grabbed a 2-0 series lead
- Read below for Eichel’s reaction, plus video of the goal and post-game presser
Jack Eichel finally found the back of the net, and he had a line ready for it.
Eichel scored his first goal in nearly a month to tie Game 2 of the Western Conference Final in the third period Friday night, and the Vegas Golden Knights rallied past the Colorado Avalanche 3-1 to take a 2-0 series lead. Eichel was asked about ending the drought after the game.
“I haven’t scored in a million days,” Eichel joked. “It was just one of those plays where I had the opportunity to shoot it. I wanted to try being aggressive a little more and get pucks to the net. It was nice to see that one go in.”
Here’s the tying goal:
His last goal came April 24 against Utah. He had a couple of assists since then, but no goals, so getting one in Denver in a game Vegas had to win to grab a stranglehold on the series was big.
Ivan Barbashev took over from there. Just after Eichel tied it, Barbashev wired one off the bar from the high slot at 11:22 to give Vegas the lead. He added an empty-netter at 18:57 to seal it.
Carter Hart made 29 saves for Vegas, which scored three times in the third after trailing 1-0 through 40 minutes. Ross Colton had Colorado’s only goal. Scott Wedgewood stopped 22 in the loss. The Avalanche played without Cale Makar for a second straight game.
Vegas head coach John Tortorella was asked about the third-period turnaround.
“We found a way,” Tortorella said. “I thought the key part of the game was a real struggle in the second period for us, but we still entered the locker room just down 1-0. We just wanted to keep on playing.”
Watch the full post-game media availability:
Only the 1945 Detroit Red Wings have ever won a Conference Final or Stanley Cup semifinal after dropping the first two games on home ice. Colorado needs to flip the script at T-Mobile Arena starting Sunday.
Game 3 is in Vegas on Sunday at 8 p.m. ET.
