Story by Alan Snel Photos by Hugh Byrne
Just the facts: Vegas Golden Knights 4 Utah Mammoth 2
VGK goal scorers: Colton Sissions tied game in second period, Mark Stone tied game in third period, Nic Dowd gave VGK 3-2 lead, Ivan Barbashev’s empty-netter sealed the Game 1 win.
Attendance: 17,979
Round 1 Series, Best-of-7: VGK leads, 1-0
Postgame comments: Coach John Tortorella on VGK’s amped-up physical play, “It’s more physical (in the playoffs) . . . It needs to be part of our game.” Nic Dowd on getting involved in scrums without drawing penalties and the physical play, “There’s limited space out there . . . It’s going to be a grind of series. It’s an emotional game.”
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LAS VEGAS, Nevada — The Golden Knights’ wild ride of a season that ended with a new coach and first place finish after a dismal stretch following the Winter Olympics entered a new turn with tonight’s Round 1 Game 1 playoff showdown with the wild card Utah Mammoth.
The VGK’s first ever home win in 2017 was over the Mammoth, or its previous incarnation, the Arizona Coyotes on October 10, 2017.
Now, the VGK — led by new behind-the-bench man John Tortorella who took over in Game 75 — will start their eight-out-of-nine-years hunt for the sports world’s most talked-about trophy.
On the secondary market, it will cost more to attend Game 3 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City Friday than in either Game 1 tonight or Game 2 in Las Vegas, according to one secondary market vendor.
It was interesting to see Utah Mammoth owner Ryan Smith strolling through the plaza before the game, greeting Utah hockey fans before the game. You would never see Vegas Golden Knights owner Bill Foley sauntering through the plaza and schmoozing with fans. Two different styles.
Game 1 started with hard hits, speedy skating and intense play; that is, Stanley Cup playoff hockey.
Tortorella took Mitch Marner off his second line center role and placed him with Jack Eichel and Mark Stone and put Brett Howden into the center role for the second line.
Ivan Barbashev was dropped to the second line on the wing and was hitting everything that moved in period one. Tortorella returned Barbashev to the top Eichel-Stone line later in the game.
Late period goals are brutal and the Golden Knights yielded one with a mere 11 seconds left in period one when former VGK Misfit Nate Schmidt The Likable fed Logan Cooley with a gorgeous diagonal pass for the period’s sole goal. VGK netminder Carter Hart had no chance on the Cooley shot following the Schmidt cross-ice pass.
After VGK fourth line winger Colton Sissons jammed in the tying goal in the second period, Utah scored a fluky goal and took a 2-1 lead into the third period.
VGK then salted away the Game 1 win with three goals by Mark Stone, Nic Dowd and Ivan Barbashev’s empty-netter.
Carter Hart in his first VGK playoff game.
PSA