The Golden Knights get a rare breather before Game 3, and John Tortorella is using it the same way he coaches, bluntly and with purpose.
“It’s good to get the guys out of the building for a day,” Tortorella said, with a two-day break built into the early part of the series. After Tuesday’s 3-2 loss evened the series 1-1, Tortorella gave the players Wednesday off so the staff could dig into the tape and the room could reset mentally.
Tortorella did not pin the loss on one player or one line. He said the second period got choppy with penalties and 4-on-4, the Knights lost their flow, and Utah was the better team in that stretch. After watching video, he said the game looked worse than it felt live, especially once Vegas lost spacing and gave Utah too much room late.
Yesterday’s games
Flyers put Pittsburgh on the edge
Philadelphia beat Pittsburgh 5-2 in Game 3 to take a 3-0 series lead, and it turned fast in the second period.
Evgeni Malkin opened the scoring on the power play, but the Flyers answered with three goals in the middle frame. Trevor Zegras scored on the power play, then Rasmus Ristolainen and Nick Seeler followed to swing the game. Noah Cates added a third-period power-play goal, and Owen Tippett sealed it with an empty-netter.
Stars win another grinder
Dallas beat Minnesota 4-3 in double overtime in Game 3 to take a 2-1 series lead, stealing one in a game that kept flipping.
The Stars jumped ahead on a Mikko Rantanen power-play goal and a Jason Robertson finish in the first, then Minnesota answered with goals from Marcus Johansson, Joel Eriksson Ek and Michael McCarron to lead 3-2. Matt Duchene tied it on the power play in the third, and Wyatt Johnston ended it on a power-play deflection at 12:10 of 2OT.
Ducks light up Edmonton
Anaheim beat Edmonton 6-4 in Game 2 to tie the series 1-1, turning another Oilers home game into a wide-open mess.
Leon Draisaitl scored first, but the Ducks built their night on special teams and pressure. Cutter Gauthier scored twice, including the go-ahead goal with 4:52 left, and Ryan Poehling added a shorthanded goal plus the empty-netter.
Tonight’s games
Sabres at Bruins
The series is tied 1-1, and now it shifts to TD Garden for Game 3 at 4 p.m. PT.
Boston will want cleaner five-on-five starts than it had in Buffalo. Buffalo will want the game to stay chaotic late, because that is where its speed shows most.
Hurricanes at Senators
Carolina leads 2-0, but the margins have been thin enough that Ottawa still looks live at home for Game 3 at 4:30 p.m. PT.
The Senators need more than shot totals. They need inside looks and second chances early, because Carolina is comfortable dragging games into low-event hockey.
Avalanche at Kings
Colorado leads 2-0 and heads to Los Angeles for Game 3 at 7 p.m. PT with a chance to put real weight on the series.
The first two games stayed tight and still tilted Colorado’s way. If the Avalanche get the first lead again, the Kings are going to spend another night chasing pace.
Related stories
Silver Knights win Game 1 on Connelly OT goal, beat Barracuda 5-4
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Dice City Sports editor Mark Hebert covers the Vegas Golden Knights, Las Vegas Raiders, Athletics, and UNLV baseball and softball. He has 24 years of journalism experience, is also a senior reporter at Exhibit City News, and previously covered the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers. Follow him on X or connect on LinkedIn.
