- Stone’s 37th playoff goal as a Golden Knight passed the previous franchise mark and sparked Vegas’ third-period rally
- Nic Dowd buried the game-winner from Noah Hanifin 1:47 later, and Ivan Barbashev iced it with an empty-netter
- Read below for full details on Carter Hart’s 31-save night and video of Vegas flipping the Mammoth’s playoff debut
Mark Stone picked a good night to write his name back into the record book.
Stone’s power-play goal 5:33 into the third period tied the game at 2, broke the Golden Knights franchise playoff goals record, and kicked off a three-goal run that carried Vegas to a 4-2 win over the Utah Mammoth in Game 1 of the Western Conference First Round at T-Mobile Arena on Sunday night.
Through two periods, it looked like the expansion-born franchise from Salt Lake was going to steal its debut.
Logan Cooley sniped one past Hart with eight seconds left in the first. Kevin Stenlund deflected a Sean Durzi shot past Hart 5:07 into the second after Colton Sissons had tied it. Karel Vejmelka was giving Vegas nothing on the other end.
Then Vegas got a power play 4:56 into the third. Stone redirected a Tomas Hertl feed past Vejmelka, a puck that crossed two lines of franchise history at once, and the Fortress got loud in a hurry.
Vegas didn’t wait. Sissons won a puck battle, Dowd drifted to the slot, and Hanifin fed him for a one-timer at 7:20 that put the Golden Knights ahead for good. Barbashev slammed the door at 18:21 with his empty-netter.
“I thought we checked well, I thought they checked well,” Vegas coach John Tortorella said. “Those things are going to have to come into play.”
Tortorella, hired in late March to replace Bruce Cassidy, has now guided his team to eight wins in nine tries counting Game 1. The structure he’s installed showed up in the third. Vegas kept a heavy forecheck on its line changes, pinned pucks, and never let Utah breathe once Stone made it 2-2.
Utah, the West’s first wild card, can take some comfort in the way it pushed. Coach Andre Tourigny took a long view afterward. “Every inch was contested, so I was proud of how we prepped,” Tourigny said.
Cooley was philosophical about getting his first taste. “To get that under your belt and get settled in, it feels good,” Cooley said.
Reilly Smith and Brayden McNabb each played in their 100th playoff game as Golden Knights on Sunday. The franchise also picked up its 63rd playoff win since entering the league in 2017-18, still the most of any team over that span.
Game 2 is Tuesday at 9:30 p.m. ET. The Mammoth still have everything in front of them in this series. The Golden Knights, with Stone stamping his name on yet another franchise first, just made sure it’ll be a longer climb.
