04/20/26 01:28:00
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04/20 01:26 CDT Golden Knights rally past Mammoth 4-2 in Game 1 as Nic Dowd
nets the winner
Golden Knights rally past Mammoth 4-2 in Game 1 as Nic Dowd nets the winner
By MARK ANDERSON
AP Sports Writer
LAS VEGAS (AP) --- Nic Dowd redirected Noah Hanifin's shot from the point to
put Vegas ahead at 7:20 of the third period and the Golden Knights beat the
Utah Mammoth 4-2 on Sunday night in Game 1 of their first-round series.
"I didn't do a lot, to be honest," Dowd said. "It's probably better if it gets
on and off my stick that quick. ... I just found a little bit of space.
Everywhere across the league, there's limited space out there. Guys are playing
their best hockey defensively because everything matters that much more. It was
a bang-bang play."
Game 2 is Tuesday night in Las Vegas.
The Golden Knights, who twice trailed before scoring three third-period goals,
have not lost in regulation since John Tortorella (8-0-1) took over as coach.
The Mammoth lost in the franchise's first playoff game since 2020. They are in
their second season in Utah after leaving Arizona.
"It was a hard-fought game," Mammoth coach Andre Tourigny said. "It was
physical. It was intense. Every inch was contested."
Colton Sissons had a goal and assist for the Golden Knights and Mark Stone and
Ivan Barbashev also scored. Carter Hart stopped 32 shots. Hanifin had two
assists.
Logan Cooley and Kevin Stenlund scored for the Mammoth. Karel Vejmelka, playing
in his first playoff game after five years in the Utah/Arizona organization,
made 27 saves. Captain Clayton Keller, who closed the regular season with 16
assists over a 10-game streak, failed to record one in this game.
The Golden Knights took the fight to the Mammoth from the beginning and
finished with 52 hits to 29 for Utah. Vegas' high in the regular season was 36
against Los Angeles in the Oct. 8 opener.
Both teams breaking into several fights including one after the final buzzer.
"We played physical," Tortorella said. "We have some things to work on, but it
was good to see us bang around a little bit. It's a long series. You just keep
on trying to do the things you think you need to grind away."
Former Golden Knight Nate Schmidt delivered a tremendous cross-ice pass to
Cooley, whose one-timer from the right circle put the Mammoth on the scoreboard
first with just 11 seconds left in the first period.
Sissons scored the equalizer at 3:44 of the second period, jamming in the puck
after a backhand pass from Cole Smith. Utah retook the lead not even two
minutes later when Hart found himself out of position and Vegas defenseman
Kaeden Korczak knocked the puck into his own net, though it was officially
credited to Kevin Stenlund.
"We didn't really pay attantion to it," Barbashev said. "Our guys did a really
good job to get one back on the power play."
That happened when the Golden Knights again tied the game when Stone put a
rebound into the open net for a power-play goal 5:33 of the third period. They
then soon had the lead when Utah defenseman MacKenzie Weegar turned over the
puck in his zone, and Dowd knocked in Hanifin's shot.
Barbashev closed the scoring with an empty-netter.
___
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