Golden Knights sweep Avalanche to advance to Stanley Cup Final
They are simply inevitable.
With a 2-1 win in Game 4 of the Western Conference Final, the Vegas Golden Knights swept the Colorado Avalanche, punching their ticket to the Stanley Cup Final for the third time in franchise history.
Unlike the past two games, it was the Golden Knights who got on the board first, doing so in the opening minutes of the contest. A defensive breakdown by the Avalanche, combined with a perfectly-timed line change by Vegas, Brayden McNabb sent an aerial pass that was collected by Mark Stone. The Golden Knights captain went in on a breakaway, beating Colorado goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood for his second goal in as many games.
It was Stone’s fifth goal of the playoffs.
Getting out in front for the first time since Game 1 led to Vegas instilling their defensive structure, making things difficult against the Avs’ top weapons. The second period saw the Presidents’ Trophy winners limited to a measly six shots on goal. In controlling the contest, the Golden Knights put the pressure on in an attempt to grow some distance between themselves and Colorado. The Pacific Division champions fired 11 shots on goal in the middle stanza, but Blackwood came up with several big saves to keep his team in the game.
Yet, as the third period began, hope started to dwindle for the Avalanche. They struggled to find any consistent offensive zone time for most of the frame. To make matters worse, Vegas finally added some insurance with a little over five minutes to play, with Cole Smith deflecting a Dylan Coghlan point shot through the five-hole of Blackwood for his third of the postseason.
A desperate Colorado side started to throw everything at Golden Knights goaltender Carter Hart in the closing minutes of the game. They finally broke through with just a couple of minutes to go, as captain Gabriel Landeskog tipped in his sixth of the postseason.
However, it wasn’t enough, as the Golden Knights secured their first trip to the final since 2023, the year Vegas won the franchise’s first Stanley Cup.
Hart was exceptional once again, making 20 saves in his 12th win of the playoffs. Blackwood, who was making his first start of the series, made 24 saves in a valiant yet losing effort.
The Golden Knights join a very select group of teams in NHL history. With this being their third trip to the Cup Final in their ninth season of existence, they join the New York Islanders, St. Louis Blues and Philadelphia Flyers as the only other teams to reach the championship series thrice in their first decade of operation in the Expansion Era (post-1967),
The Avalanche will certainly view this season as a disappointment. Despite finishing with the NHL’s best record during the regular season, they fell well short of their ultimate goal. On top of that, they became just the second Presidents’ Trophy winners in league history to be swept in the postseason. Only the 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning, who won 62 games that year, also hold that distinction.
The Golden Knights now await to see who they’ll play in the final. Currently, the Carolina Hurricanes lead the Montreal Canadiens, 2-1, in the Eastern Conference Final.