The Vegas Golden Knights have secured their place in the championship round after defeating the Colorado Avalanche 2-1 on Tuesday evening at T-Mobile Arena, finishing off a flawless 4-0 sweep in the Western Conference Final.
Early in the first period, Mark Stone kicked off the scoring by tracking down a high flip pass, breaking away, and slipping the puck past Colorado goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood. Following a quiet second frame, Cole Smith gave Vegas some breathing room late in the third period by redirecting a shot through Blackwood’s pads to push the score to 2-0. Colorado’s Gabriel Landeskog managed to answer back a few minutes later, cutting the deficit in half, but Vegas stifled any remaining comeback attempts.
Netminder Carter Hart was stellar in goal, turning away 20 of the 21 shots he faced to protect the narrow lead.
With the victory, Vegas has earned its third appearance in the Stanley Cup Final across its nine-season franchise history. They are scheduled to face off against whichever team emerges victorious from the Eastern Conference matchup between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Montreal Canadiens.
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