DENVER — It took just 2 minutes, 7 seconds, for the Vegas Golden Knights to grab control of the Western Conference finals.
A pair of third-period goals in quick succession led Vegas to a 3-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday, sending the Golden Knights home with a 2-0 series advantage.
Jack Eichel and Ivan Barbashev scored the game-changing goals. Barbashev added a late empty-net tally, and Eichel and Barbashev each had an assist. Pavel Dorofeyev, a linemate of Eichel and Barbashev, logged two assists.
“We’ve been a really good third-period team all season long,” Barbashev said. “We’ve had a lot of comebacks.”
Carter Hart turned away 29 shots for the Golden Knights, who head home with a chance to close out the Presidents’ Trophy winners.
Game 3 of the best-of-seven series is Sunday night in Las Vegas, when the Golden Knights can move closer to their third Stanley Cup Final appearance in their nine-year existence.
“I don’t have to say anything to them. They understand the situation,” Vegas coach John Tortorella said of his players. “I’m not sure where the series goes, I’m not sure where Game 3 goes, but I know I’m not going to have to worry about that, because they get it.”
Ross Colton scored and Scott Wedgewood made 22 saves for Colorado, which is in jeopardy of becoming the 13th straight Presidents’ Trophy winner to not win a Stanley Cup.
“You’re not giving up on your season because all of a sudden you lost two games in the playoffs,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “There’s still lots of hockey to be played.”
The Avalanche will try to accomplish what no team has done since the 1945 Detroit Red Wings — win a conference final after dropping the first two games at home.
“Flip the script,” Wedgewood said of being down two games. “Win two there, come back, get home ice again. They did it to us, no reason we can’t do it to them.”
The Golden Knights, who trailed since late in the first period, tied the game 1-1 at 9:15 of the third. Dorofeyev fed Eichel, who was skating down the right side into the circle. Eichel fired a wrister that beat Wedgewood to the far side.
Minutes later, Colorado turned it over in its own end and Barbashev buried a shot from the slot at 11:22 to put Vegas ahead.
“A short little lapse for two minutes and they score two goals,” Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog said. “I liked our game a lot. There’s not a whole lot of comfort in saying that after a loss this time of year, but at the end of the day, we’ll regroup and come out with the same effort in a couple of days.”
Wedgewood came off for an extra skater with 2:58 left, and Barbashev scored into the empty net at 18:57 to seal it.
Golden Knights defenseman Brayden McNabb left the bench late in the first period, didn’t play in the second but returned in the third.
Colorado defenseman Josh Manson went to the locker room late in the second period after going into the boards head first while trying to check Barbashev. Manson returned in the third.
Vegas captain Mark Stone (lower body) and Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar (upper body) were scratched for the second straight game.
The Golden Knights got off to a quick start, putting six of the first seven shots on net, but Colorado struck first. Late in the period, Nazem Kadri sent a pass to Brent Burns at the point, and he put a shot to the net that was blocked by defenseman Kaeden Korczak.
The puck bounced into the slot, and Colton buried it at 16:59.
The Avalanche controlled much of the second period, holding Vegas to four shots, but neither team could score.
“It was a real struggle in the second period, but we still enter the locker room just down 1-0,” Tortorella said. “I thought that was a key moment in the game, and we felt we were in a good spot going into the third down by a goal.”
–Field Level Media
