The Stanley Cup Playoffs are a different animal. Players can go an entire 82-game regular season without throwing a single hit; in the postseason, that’s downright unthinkable. Playoff hockey is known for tight checking, high emotion, and intense physicality. The Vegas Golden Knights are no strangers to that atmosphere, and it showed in their 4-2 victory over the Utah Mammoth.
Despite having a roster with little playoff experience, the Mammoth got to their game quickly and outshot the Golden Knights 11-9 in the first period. However, the Golden Knights boasted the lion’s share of scoring chances, generating 11 while holding Utah to 5.
Advertisement
The Mammoth broke the ice with just 11 seconds remaining in the first. Nate Schmidt found Logan Cooley all alone at the left dot, and Cooley one-timed it home.
In the second period, the Mammoth continued their solid play. They outshot the Golden Knights 11-10 and generated four high-danger scoring chances while holding Vegas to three.
The Golden Knights found the equalizer at 3:44 in the second. Brayden McNabb’s shot didn’t reach the net, but Cole Smith ended up with the puck. He fed a backhand pass to Colton Sissons, who crashed the net and banged it in.
The Mammoth regained the lead just 1:23 later. Carter Hart slid to the top of the crease to try to break up Kevin Stenlund’s pass for JJ Peterka in front. Instead, the puck took a hop into Kaedan Korczak, who mistakenly put it into his own net.
During the regular season, the Mammoth boasted a record of 29-2-2 when leading after two periods. But despite their regular-season record of 39-26-17, the Golden Knights were among the top teams in the league in time spent trailing, and tonight, that paid off. They played with composure and didn’t let the nature of Utah’s go-ahead goal rattle them.
Advertisement
“We didn’t really pay attention to it,”said Ivan Barbashev postgame. “It’s a tough bounce for our team and, of course, for our group. Our guys did a really good job of getting one back, on the power play, and especially the third goal by our fourth line. They’ve been outstanding today.”
Ivan Barbashev drew a penalty less than four minutes into the third period, and the Golden Knights scored on the ensuing power play.
Tomáš Hertl got a piece of Mitch Marner’s blast from the point, but Karel Vejmelka made the save. The puck kicked out to Mark Stone, who slammed the puck into the empty net.
The Golden Knights took their first lead of the night just 1:47 later. Nic Dowd picked off MacKenzie Weegar’s pass and played it to Colton Sissons, who cut around Nick Schmaltz and passed back to Noah Hanifin at the point. Dowd presented his stick as he cut down the middle of the ice, and Hanifin hit him with a shot-pass for the go-ahead goal.
The Mammoth pushed back and outshot Vegas 10-6 in the remaining 12:40 of regulation. However, despite getting very little practice in the regular season, the Golden Knights knew how to play with a lead and limited them to just one high-danger chance.
Advertisement
The Mammoth tried to pull Karel Vejmelka for the extra attacker, but timed it poorly, and Ivan Barbashev hit the empty net with 1:39 remaining in regulation to give his team the 4-2 lead.
“I think our team is best when we play physical, and I think we showed that today,” said Ivan Barbashev following the 4-2 win. “It’s hard to play like that for 82 games. But when playoffs come, I think it matters, and I think it matters for our group.”
1. Mark Stone’s franchise-leading 39th postseason goal changed everything for the Golden Knights. At the start of the third period, it looked like the Golden Knights were just trying to hold on for dear life. After Stone’s goal, however, it was all Vegas. They came in waves, and rode that momentum-high all the way to Nic Dowd’s game-winning goal.
Advertisement
2. Physicality ramps up in the playoffs, and very few players feed off of it quite like Ivan Barbashev. He was a wrecking ball tonight, recording eight hits and drawing the penalty that led to the game-tying goal.
“I think [Barbashev] is a good, honest player,” said Golden Knights head coach John Tortorella following the 4-2 win. “That’s what I like about him. He’ll run you over, he’ll take a hit, he’ll make a play, he’ll score a goal… I think he’s an incredible pro.”
3. It doesn’t matter how many games this series goes— it’s going to be physically taxing on whoever emerges victorious. The Golden Knights won that war tonight, recording 52 hits against Utah’s 30. There were post-whistle scrums all game, but it all culminated in one big extracurricular after Ivan Barbashev’s empty net goal, and again after the final horn.
And just think— this was only Game 1. Typically, tempers grow as the series progresses. This is going to be a very nasty series.
