Mark Stone and John Tortorella just led Vegas to the Stanley Cup Final after a strong 4-game sweep against Colorado. This is the kind of outcome that no team in the West can ignore.
The Golden Knights won against the Avalanche 2-1 on Tuesday evening, finishing the Western Conference Final without letting Colorado score once.
And this wasn’t just a surprising win based on luck.
Vegas played more focused, relaxed, and tougher during the key moments throughout the series, and they sealed the deal by defeating the team that won the Presidents’ Trophy in four games.
Stone set the mood right from the start.
He scored first just 4 minutes and 42 seconds into the opening period by receiving a high pass at the blue line and rushing in alone before getting past Mackenzie Blackwood with a smooth move.
That goal felt more important than just being 1-0.
It quickly showed Colorado that this would be another game where Vegas struck first and forced the Avalanche to catch up.
Cole Smith gave Vegas some extra comfort later in the third period by tipping Dylan Coghlan’s shot past Blackwood at 14:15.
A missed call has caused a lot of drama for Jared Bednar and the Avalanche. However, one specific moment grabbed fans’ attention.
This is the real story that went unnoticed beneath the sweep.
The Golden Knights almost didn’t make it to the playoffs before they decided to fire Bruce Cassidy with eight games left in the regular season and let Tortorella take over.
Ever since then, Tortorella has led the team to a record of 7 wins, no losses, and 1 tie to finish the regular season and then pushed Vegas past Utah, Anaheim, and now Colorado to reach the Final.
This isn’t just a sudden winning streak.
It’s a coach who quickly connected with the team and maximized their effort right when it mattered most.
Carter Hart took care of business on Tuesday, stopping 20 out of 21 shots and staying strong until Gabriel Landeskog finally scored with 2:03 left, after Colorado had already taken their goalie out.
By that time, Vegas had already achieved its goals for the night.
They kept the Avalanche feeling frustrated, restricted their good chances to score, and made Colorado keep trying for that one big moment that never actually happened.
This is really tough for the Avalanche.
This team had a great season, had an impressive 8-1 record in the playoffs before this round, and still got swept off the ice when it mattered most.
For Vegas, this means going back to the biggest event in hockey.
It’s their third trip to the Stanley Cup Final in nine years.
Now, everyone else in the league gets to see what happens when a strong team hits their stride at just the right moment.
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