Golden Knights rally past Mammoth
4-2 in Game 1 as Nic Dowd nets the winner
[April 20, 2026]
By MARK ANDERSON
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Nic Dowd redirected Noah Hanifin's shot from the
point to put Vegas ahead at 7:20 of the third period and the Golden
Knights beat the Utah Mammoth 4-2 on Sunday night in Game 1 of their
first-round series.
“I didn’t do a lot, to be honest,” Dowd said. “It’s probably better
if it gets on and off my stick that quick. ... I just found a little
bit of space. Everywhere across the league, there’s limited space
out there. Guys are playing their best hockey defensively because
everything matters that much more. It was a bang-bang play.”
Game 2 is Tuesday night in Las Vegas.
The Golden Knights, who twice trailed before scoring three
third-period goals, have not lost in regulation since John
Tortorella (8-0-1) took over as coach.
The Mammoth lost in the franchise's first playoff game since 2020.
They are in their second season in Utah after leaving Arizona.
“It was a hard-fought game,” Mammoth coach Andre Tourigny said. “It
was physical. It was intense. Every inch was contested.”
Colton Sissons had a goal and assist for the Golden Knights and Mark
Stone and Ivan Barbashev also scored. Carter Hart stopped 32 shots.
Hanifin had two assists.
Logan Cooley and Kevin Stenlund scored for the Mammoth. Karel
Vejmelka, playing in his first playoff game after five years in the
Utah/Arizona organization, made 27 saves. Captain Clayton Keller,
who closed the regular season with 16 assists over a 10-game streak,
failed to record one in this game.
The Golden Knights took the fight to the Mammoth from the beginning
and finished with 52 hits to 29 for Utah. Vegas' high in the regular
season was 36 against Los Angeles in the Oct. 8 opener.
Both teams breaking into several fights including one after the
final buzzer.
[to top of second column] |
Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Jeremy Lauzon, left, celebrates with
Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Carter Hart (79) after defeating the
Utah Mammoth in Game 1 of a first-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup
playoff series Sunday, April 19, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John
Locher)
“We played physical,” Tortorella said. “We have
some things to work on, but it was good to see us bang around a
little bit. It's a long series. You just keep on trying to do the
things you think you need to grind away.”
Former Golden Knight Nate Schmidt delivered a tremendous cross-ice
pass to Cooley, whose one-timer from the right circle put the
Mammoth on the scoreboard first with just 11 seconds left in the
first period.
Sissons scored the equalizer at 3:44 of the second period, jamming
in the puck after a backhand pass from Cole Smith. Utah retook the
lead not even two minutes later when Hart found himself out of
position and Vegas defenseman Kaeden Korczak knocked the puck into
his own net, though it was officially credited to Kevin Stenlund.
“We didn't really pay attantion to it,” Barbashev said. “Our guys
did a really good job to get one back on the power play.”
That happened when the Golden Knights again tied the game when Stone
put a rebound into the open net for a power-play goal 5:33 of the
third period. They then soon had the lead when Utah defenseman
MacKenzie Weegar turned over the puck in his zone, and Dowd knocked
in Hanifin's shot.
Barbashev closed the scoring with an empty-netter.
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