Mammoth vs. Golden Knights Game 1: Key takeaways from a physical Vegas win

AtlanticBruinsCanadiensLightningMaple LeafsPanthersRed WingsSabresSenatorsMetropolitanBlue JacketsCapitalsDevilsFlyersHurricanesIslandersPenguinsRangersCentralAvalancheBlackhawksBluesJetsMammothPredatorsStarsWildPacificCanucksDucksFlamesGolden KnightsKingsKrakenOilersSharksScores & ScheduleStandingsPodcastsFantasyNHL OddsNHL PicksPlayoff projectionsNHL Draft rankingRed Light NewsletterMammoth vs. Golden Knights Game 1: Key takeaways from a physical Vegas winColton Sissons got the Golden Knights on the board in the second period. Candice Ward / Getty Images Share article1LAS VEGAS – The Vegas Golden Knights welcomed the NHL’s newest team to the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Sunday night at T-Mobile Arena, bruising the Utah Mammoth with physicality and late goals to take Game 1 of their first-round series 4-2. In its first playoff game since relocating, Utah showed well for the majority of the game. Vegas kept applying pressure and physicality, and eventually broke through with two third-period goals for its 17th come-from-behind win of the season. The teams traded blows in an incredibly physical opening period, but it was 21-year-old Logan Cooley who made the best play. Cooley raced up the ice alone in the waning seconds and bought time for his teammates to catch up. He dished a pass, then found open ice to unleash a one-timer into the Vegas net for a beautiful goal in his playoff debut. The Golden Knights tied the game with a greasy, playoff-style goal by veteran forward Colton Sissons early in the second period. He fought his way into the blue paint and jammed the puck over the goal line to tie it, but Utah answered quickly with a fortunate goal for Kevin Stenlund. Vegas goalie Carter Hart went behind his net to stop a rimmed puck, but missed it. Stenlund quickly threw it on net, and it deflected off Hart, off defenseman Kaedan Korczak, and into the net to put Utah back ahead 2-1. Vegas took control late in the game with third-period goals by captain Mark Stone and fourth-line center Nic Dowd. The speed advantage the Mammoth enjoyed in the early stages of the game faded late. Vegas’ unrelenting physicality seemed to take its toll, and the result was the Golden Knights spending more and more time in the offensive zone as the night wore on. Coming off perhaps the best offensive season of his 14-year NHL career, with 73 points in 60 games, Vegas’ captain rolled that form straight into the postseason. Stone was dominant throughout the night, regularly making the benign plays like winning board battles and stick checks in the neutral zone that kept the Golden Knights the territorial advantage whenever he was on the ice. Stone’s best play of the night came on the power play midway through the third period. He broke the penalty kill’s structure down with a perfect seam pass to Mitch Marner, who was streaking to the net. Then Stone crashed the crease to find a rebound off Marner’s shot and buried it into a wide-open net to tie the game 2-2. There’s no question Vegas goes as Stone does, and he’s one of the biggest reasons for its hot finish to the regular season. If he can maintain this level of play, the Golden Knights are a true threat to come out of the West. Getting goals from the bottom six forwards becomes even more important in the postseason, when teams work to shut down the opposing stars, and the depth forwards for both Vegas and Utah got off to a good start on Sunday. Vegas’ fourth line struck first, getting the Golden Knights on the board with a goal scored by Sissons and assisted by Cole Smith and Brayden McNabb. That’s not exactly the names you’d expect to combine for the first goal of the postseason, but they threw the puck on net, and Sissons bullied his way into the blue paint to push it over the line. Utah’s fourth-line center, Stenlund, scored the game’s next goal, with assists going to bottom-pair defensemen Sean Durzi and Ian Cole. Then Dowd — Vegas’ only fourth-liner to not pitch in on the first goal — deflected a shot past Vejmelka midway through the third period to give the Golden Knights their first lead of the game. The bottom-six production is a great sign for new coach John Tortorella, who opted to load up his top line with Stone, Marner and Jack Eichel to begin this series. In a physical game often referred to as “big-boy hockey,” the 21-year-old from Pittsburgh, PA., made his share of plays. Cooley led all Mammoth forwards in ice time and generated more shots on goal than anyone on the team. While there wasn’t much space for playmaking on the ice, Cooley used his feet to create time for himself and his linemates. He was certainly a bright spot for Utah moving forward in this series, as he continues to adapt to playoff hockey. Cooley’s play on the game’s opening goal was obviously the biggest highlight, but he made clever little plays throughout the game that helped his line hang onto possession. He was one of the very few Utah players whose on-ice shot numbers weren’t underwater. Vegas power forward Ivan Barbashev had a solid regular season with a career-high 61 points, but he wasn’t a physical force quite as often as we’re used to seeing. That changed as soon as the puck dropped for the playoffs, as he was steamrolling everything that moved in the opening period of Sunday’s game. Barbashev laid hit after hit, helping the Golden Knights establish a forecheck and control possession over the first half of the game. He crushed Utah defenseman Ian Cole in the corner with a clean hit to the body after he sent a pass up the ice, and was a constant presence in front of the Utah crease. Appropriately, he iced the game with a long-distance shot that found the empty net just moments after Utah pulled Vejmelka for an extra attacker. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Jesse Granger is a staff writer for The Athletic NHL based in Las Vegas covering the Golden Knights and goaltending across the league. He has covered the Golden Knights since its inception and was previously an award-winning reporter for the Las Vegas Sun. Follow Jesse on Twitter @JesseGranger_