Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals between the Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Avalanche is in the books. Dylan Coghlan scored his first career Stanley Cup Playoff goal, and Vegas goaltender Carter Hart put up a 36-save performance to backstop the Golden Knights to a 4-2 victory and a 1-0 series lead.
Golden Knights Defeat Avalanche in Game 1 With Stifling Defence and Goaltending
A Defensively Sound First Period
Credit Image: © Isaiah Downing/Southcreek/ZUMApress.com
Both teams had ten shots in the first period, which did not feature any goals. Immediately, the tone of the series felt markedly different from that of the Western Conference second-round series. Mistakes came few and far between, and the goaltenders were sharp, especially early on. The first five minutes were largely dominated by the Avalanche, but Carter Hart came up big to keep the game scoreless. Wedgewood denied Keegan Kolesar on a breakaway as Vegas settled into the game and levelled the playing field as the period went along.
Transition Goals Propelled Vegas to a Second Period Lead
Dylan Coghlan scored his first career Stanley Cup Playoff goal 12:29 into the second on a transition play, where Coghlan was the trailing defender on a rush. Brandon Saad dished a pass to the slot, where Coghlan shot it through the five-hole on Wedgewood to open the scoring. Shortly thereafter, at 15:02, Pavel Dorofeyev scored his tenth goal of the playoffs after Mitch Marner shook off the check of Brent Burns to pass it to Dorofeyev, who ripped it by Wedgewood for the 2-0 lead on the power play.
COGS MAKING A DIFFERENCE ⚙️ pic.twitter.com/OYsZUDl8tH
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) May 21, 2026
Vegas Survives On the Heels of Early Third-Period Goal
The Golden Knights came out flying in the third period, killing off the Avalanche’s power play. Ben Hutton took advantage as he left the penalty box, leading to a 2-on-1. He took the shot, and Brett Howden potted his ninth goal of the playoffs on the rebound, 1:34 into the period. At 5:54, Colorado got on the board with a deflection by Valeri Nichushkin from a Ross Colton pass off the rush.
For the rest of the period, Colorado had a massive third-period push, including a power play near the end of the game. Gabriel Landeskog scored during a 6-on-4 situation at 17:40 to cut the lead to one. Nic Dowd was able to negate an icing call as the Avs pushed to tie the game, leading to him scoring an empty net goal, which would seal the deal.
Special Teams Prove Important, How the Avs Need to Respond
Colorado has to realize that getting power-play goals will be much more difficult against a veteran Vegas defensive core. Not only that, they need to be careful of the transition plays from Vegas, as three goals against came from rushes. They also surrendered a number of odd-man rushes, which is something that needs to be cleaned up. While a goal for the Avs also came off the rush, the loss of Cale Makar greatly limited the mobility of the puck from their own zone, resulting in fewer clean breakouts. Although the Avs have talented defenders, Makar is one of those players who can break the game open.
The game plan for the Avs in Game 2 has to be to start on time. Against such a veteran team, coming back from a large deficit will prove difficult. Heck, look at how Vegas played in the regular season, counting on the third-period comebacks all the time. Not a recipe for success.
Looking Ahead
Vegas and Colorado will continue their series on Friday night at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time at Ball Arena in Colorado. Look out for a response from Colorado in Game 2, as they look to take a split when the series shifts to Vegas.
Main Photo Credit: Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images
