Team effort epitomized Golden Knights' Game 1 win

There are various types of victories a team achieves, particularly during the postseason.

Normally, there’s one or two individual efforts that carry a team to the finish line first. But sometimes, it takes the entire team to contribute to get the W.

For the Vegas Golden Knights, Wednesday in Denver was one of those team victories.

From goaltender Carter Hart, who was stellar in goal with 36 saves, to Dylan Coghlan, who hadn’t scored a goal in the NHL since 2021 during his first go-round with the Knights and gave his team the lead in the second period, to Mitch Marner, who continues to dazzle with his passing and made a beautiful setup for Pavel Dorofeyev’s power play goal which made it 2-0, to Brett Howden, whose hustle resulted in his ninth goal of the playoffs that gave Vegas a 3-0 lead early in the third period.

It’s how the Knights took home-ice advantage away from the Colorado Avalanche by winning Game 1, 4-2. They’ll look to get greedy come Friday in Game 2 at Ball Arena.

But they weren’t the only heroes Wednesday. Not by a long shot.

There was Nic Dowd who was great at the faceoff dot, winning 10 of 16 draws, including some big ones in the defensive end when the Avalanche had closed within 3-2 and was pressing hard for the equalizer late.

Dowd would seal the deal with sheer hustle and getting an empty net goal with 45 seconds remaining.

There was Shea Theodore, not known for his shot-blocking ability, coming up with seven blocks. The Knights had 23 total for the game.

There were Brandon Saad and Colton Sissons assisting on Coghlan’s goal. There was Cole Smith’s team-high eight hits.  

As you can see, virtually everyone contributed. And that’s going to be what it will take to beat this Avalanche team, the President’s Trophy winners who lost for only the second time in the postseason.

Yes, Colorado was without its star defenseman Cale Makar. But let’s not forget Vegas was without its captain Mark Stone who got hurt midway through the Anaheim series and hasn’t played since. But Stone did skate Wednesday morning so we should look at that as a hopeful sign he could return at some point in  this series.

You want to be happy for someone? Be happy for Coghlan, whose NHL journey has been something of a roller coaster ride. From Vegas to Carolina, to Winnipeg, then back to Vegas, spending much of the season in AHL Henderson and being called up to the parent club on seven separate occasions.

A little over a week ago, he couldn’t even get on the ice. But with Kaedan Korczak struggling, John Tortortella took a shot with Coghlan and put him in for Game 3 vs. Anaheim. He has remained in the lineup since.

“He’s been a bit unflappable,” Tortorella said of Coghlan. “He’s not afraid to make a play. He’s been one of our best defensemen.

“I’m happy for him. He’s plugged along and plugged along. With his background, it’s a huge goal for us. He’s an easy guy to pull for.”

Coghlan said: “My whole pro career I’ve always said I was an NHL player and just needed an opportunity to show that. I’m very thankful that I’m showcasing that later rather than never.”

For Tortorella, he hasn’t had to worry about his players performing the right way in this kind of situation.

“I thought we put some good minutes in tonight when we had the puck,” he said. “I thought we checked well in front of our net. Carter Hart was outstanding.

“Our players aren’t fazed. Our players know how we want to play. We want to play our game and they feel very comfortable in it. They understand the situation and they just go out and play.”