The Vegas Golden Knights got the shot volume they wanted. They did not get much else.
Utah beat Vegas 4-2 on Friday night at Delta Center, taking a 2-1 lead in the first-round playoff series. The Mammoth scored four times on 12 shots, blocked 20 shots and turned a game that looked tilted by the shot clock into one controlled by finish, traffic and mistakes.
Vegas outshot Utah 32-12. However, the Knights went 0-for-4 on the power play and spent most of the night chasing a game that never felt as close as the final score.
Shot Clock Lies
Vegas started with pressure, but Utah found the first break. MacKenzie Weegar scored at 12:59 of the first period, with Liam O’Brien and Kailer Yamamoto getting the assists.
Then the Mammoth made Vegas pay again late in the period. Brayden McNabb went off for high-sticking at 16:30, and Dylan Guenther scored on the power play at 17:45. Logan Cooley and Clayton Keller assisted, giving Utah a 2-0 lead after one.
The Knights put 13 shots on Karel Vejmelka in the first period. Still, they left with nothing on the board.
Crouse Control
The second period made the gap feel much larger.
Lawson Crouse tipped in Utah’s third goal at 4:06, with Nick Schmaltz and Weegar assisting. Later, Crouse scored again at 9:48 after a Vegas giveaway, stretching the Mammoth lead to 4-0.
Jack Eichel finally answered for the Knights at 13:20 of the second. Ivan Barbashev and Mark Stone assisted on the goal, which cut the deficit to three. Still, it did not shift the game enough.
Vegas had a chance to build on it when Nate Schmidt took an interference penalty at 17:23. Instead, the Knights hit two posts on the power play and went to the third still down 4-1.
Too Little, Too Late
Vegas pushed in the third, but Utah protected the middle well. The Mammoth blocked shooting lanes, cleared rebounds and kept Vejmelka from having to deal with many second chances.
Nic Dowd scored at 16:52, with Reilly Smith and Cole Smith assisting. That pulled the Knights within two, but the late push did not turn into a real closing threat.
Carter Hart stopped eight of 12 shots for Vegas. Vejmelka finished with 30 saves on 32 shots for Utah.
The Knights owned the shot total. The Mammoth owned the scoreboard.
Up next
The Golden Knights and Mammoth continue the series with Game 4 on Sunday, April 27, at Delta Center in Salt Lake City. Puck drop is still listed as TBD.
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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.
