The Vegas Golden Knights stole home ice, quieted Ball Arena and handed the Colorado Avalanche their first home loss of the postseason, but John Tortorella’s view changed once he watched the tape. The result was still good, but the details were not perfect.
After Vegas opened the Western Conference Final with a 4-2 win over the Presidents’ Trophy winners, the Golden Knights entered Game 2 with a chance to do more than take control of the series. They entered with a chance to prove Game 1 was not just Carter Hart holding the door shut, Dylan Coghlan cracking open the scoring and enough depth players making Colorado pay.
Tortorella did not sound like a coach ready to frame the opener as a finished formula. “Whenever you see the game live and then you watch it on tape, there’s always different things you see that you didn’t see,” Tortorella said. “There are a number of things that we need to be better at.”
Nice Win. Now Fix the Leaks.
Vegas won Game 1 by doing the things it said it needed to do against Colorado. Hart made 36 saves, the Golden Knights scored first, their power play hit for a franchise-record sixth straight playoff game and their depth produced all over the lineup.
However, Colorado still pushed late, cut a 3-0 deficit to 3-2 and forced Vegas to survive one final surge before Nic Dowd sealed it into the empty net. Brett Howden said Game 2 starts with the same simple goal every playoff team talks about but few execute cleanly.
“I think each game we’re looking to improve our game and get better,” Howden said. “Coming out with a good start tomorrow is probably going to be what’s on our mind.”
That matters because Vegas did not own the start in Game 1. The Golden Knights got out of the first period tied 0-0 because Hart was sharp and the shot blocks were there, but they also gave the puck away too often and let Colorado set a physical tone early. Game 2 gives Vegas a chance to clean that up before the Avalanche turn urgency into momentum.
Howden’s Heater Has a Work Shirt On
Howden has become one of the stories of the postseason, but neither he nor Tortorella is treating it like some lucky casino heater. Howden scored his ninth goal of the playoffs in Game 1, matching the nine he had scored over his first 37 career playoff games before this run.
Asked if he has become superstitious during the streak, Howden said he is more routine than ritual. “I try not to let that waver, try not to let that dictate how I play or let that affect my game,” Howden said. “I try to bring the same game every night.”
Tortorella’s view was just as direct. He said the job is not to bother a hot player with noise, but to keep putting him in places where he can matter. “I just put him in the spots in the ice that I think he needs to be in,” Tortorella said. “He’s a very versatile player for us and is doing a lot of the little things right.”
That has been Howden’s value. The goals are loud, but the trust comes from the rest of the game.
Dowd Did Not Watch. He Went.
Dowd’s empty-net goal looked like a finish line, but Tortorella saw the play before the goal. Eichel’s shot did not go in, Dowd did not admire it and he chased it.
“The greatest thing about that goal, I think, for him last night was usually when someone throws a puck at the open net, everybody just kind of watches it to see if it’s going to go in,” Tortorella said. “He took off.”
Tortorella called Dowd “the ultimate glue guy,” pointing to his faceoffs, penalty killing, shot blocking and ability to change momentum after goals. Those are the plays that can decide a series when Colorado’s stars start pushing.
Saad and Hertl Are the Second Wave
The Game 1 box score also had another important detail. Brandon Saad assisted Coghlan’s opening goal, continuing a quiet push from a player Tortorella has been trying to keep ready.
Tortorella said he had a frank conversation with Saad after arriving, telling him to stay with it during a difficult stretch. Now, Saad is getting his chance. “He’s made some really important plays,” Tortorella said, pointing to Saad’s role on Vegas’ first goal in Game 1.
Tomas Hertl sees the same thing building. He said Saad’s skating and reads make him easy to play with, and that his own line has started to feel dangerous again. “When my line is on the ice, something is always happening,” Hertl said. “There’s a chance we could score.”
Eleven Names, One Problem for Colorado
Vegas got 11 players on the score sheet in Game 1, and Howden said that depth is part of what makes the group dangerous. “We don’t expect one guy to do everything,” Howden said. “We feel confident in that way and that we can all lean on each other in all different situations in the game.”
That is the Game 2 challenge. Colorado will push harder, the building will be ready and the Avalanche now have the tape, the urgency and the memory of how close they came to turning Game 1 into another three-goal comeback.
Vegas already showed it can win at Ball Arena. Now it has to show it can be better after doing it.
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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.
