Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Dylan Coghlan, beforehand left, is congratulated aft scoring a extremity by defenseman Shea Theodore, backmost left, and halfway Tomas Hertl during the 2nd play successful Game 1 of the Western Conference finals NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff bid against the Colorado Avalanche Wednesday, May 20, 2026, successful Denver. Photo by: Dylan Coghlan / Associated Press
Wednesday, May 20, 2026 | 10:56 p.m.
DENVER — Dylan Coghlan scored his archetypal playoff extremity to get Vegas rolling, Carter Hart made 36 saves and the Golden Knights opened the Western Conference Final by holding disconnected the Colorado Avalanche 4-2 connected Wednesday night.
Trailing 3-0 successful the 3rd period, Colorado made it 3-2 with 2:21 remaining connected a power-play extremity from Gabriel Landeskog. Nic Dowd sealed it for Vegas with an empty-net goal.
Pavel Dorofeyev and Brett Howden besides scored for the Golden Knights, who took vantage of respective antiaircraft miscommunications by the Avalanche arsenic they juggled their blue-line pairings with Cale Makar sidelined by an upper-body injury.
Coghlan scored his archetypal NHL extremity since Dec. 17, 2021. The 28-year-old defenseman spent astir of the play successful the American Hockey League. He's played the past 5 postseason games with the caller wounded to Jeremy Lauzon.
“When you accidental Dylan Coghlan to me, I deliberation of nary fear,” Vegas manager John Tortorella said. “I deliberation he's 1 of our champion defensemen since he's been with america and successful the lineup. ... He's a spot unflappable."
It was a smothering show astir of the crippled by the Golden Knights arsenic they kept the unit connected goaltender Scott Wedgewood, portion controlling the Avalanche's velocity done the neutral zone. Vegas besides had 23 blocked shots.
“We didn't play a flawless crippled by immoderate means,” Tortorella said. “We person enactment to do.”
Valeri Nichushkin had a extremity astatine 5:53 of the 3rd to marque it 3-1.
Hart was stellar astir of the evening, making 1 sprawling prevention aft another. He got immoderate assistance from his post, too, erstwhile Logan O’Connor's liner clanged disconnected it successful the archetypal period.
“We cognize they've got a batch of accomplishment connected their team, and we respect that,” Hart said. “But you can’t respect them excessively much, and I thought we did a bully occupation of defending and limiting their clip and space.”
Mitch Marner added an assistance for Vegas to springiness him 19 points (seven goals, 12 assists) successful this postseason. It was Dorofeyev’s NHL-leading 10th extremity of this postseason. The Golden Knights didn’t person injured skipper Mark Stone.
“We’re trying to play our game, not worrying excessively overmuch astir countering disconnected different team," Tortorella explained. "They consciousness precise comfy successful it.”
Game 2 is Friday nighttime successful Denver.
The Avalanche dropped their archetypal crippled astatine location aft winning 5 consecutive done the archetypal 2 rounds. Wedgewood made 24 saves.
“It was benignant of a thing game, and past they got a fewer goals,” Avalanche guardant Nathan MacKinnon said. "Really bully team, obviously, but I thought we did a batch of harm to ourselves. Just guys benignant of everywhere. Execution, similar I said, needs to beryllium better. Obviously, we’re susceptible of being a batch amended than that.”
Colorado tried immoderate antithetic combinations without Makar. It led to immoderate confusion, with Coghlan sneaking into the mediate of the crystal and lining a changeable done the pads of Wedgewood to interruption a scoreless crippled successful the 2nd period.
“There's decidedly a trickle-down effect to that," Avalanche manager Jared Bednar said of not having Makar. “But he's not playing. We person find a way.”
Coghlan has bounced astir implicit his career, spending his archetypal 2 seasons with Vegas earlier stints with Carolina and Winnipeg. He returned to the Golden Knights past July successful part, helium said, due to the fact that of the bonds he'd formed.
“This is astir apt the champion I've felt successful my full career,” said Coghlan, who played successful 3 regular-season games for Vegas this season. “Whoever it is I'm playing with I'm precise comfy retired determination with them. They marque it beauteous casual connected me. We person immoderate beauteous world-class players.”
The Golden Knights and Avalanche are gathering successful a best-of-seven bid for the 2nd time. In 2021, Colorado won the opening 2 games of their second-round bid earlier Vegas captured 4 straight.
“Definitely things we tin get amended at,” Landeskog said. “But we knew it was (going to) beryllium a agelong series.”
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