Carter Hart continued his Conn Smythe-calibre run Friday night, stopping 29 of 30 shots to help the Vegas Golden Knights earn a 3-1 victory and move one step closer to the Stanley Cup Final.
Down 1-0 in the series and without their top defenceman, Cale Makar, Colorado was in desperate need of a step up performance. Early on, it was Avalanche goaltender Scott Wedgewood who provided the spark, making several spectacular saves to keep Vegas off the board in the first period.
The opening frame was tight and physical, but both teams generated chances. Colorado finally broke through with just over three minutes left in the first period, when Ross Colton fired home a rebound over Hart’s glove to make it 1-0 for the Avalanche.
Thanks to the play of Wedgewood and Hart, that score held until 9:15 of the third period, when Jack Eichel walked into the faceoff dot and rifled a shot past Wedgewood to tie the game 1-1.
Less than two minutes later, Vegas capitalized on a Colorado turnover. Devon Toews and Brock Nelson got tangled up and lost the puck, allowing Eichel to get to it and feed Ivan Barbashev, who buried a shot past Wedgewood to give the Golden Knights a 2-1 lead.
The Avalanche pressed late and pulled their goalie for an extra attacker, but they could not generate enough sustained pressure or beat Hart again. Vegas then sealed it when Barbashev scored into an empty net from center ice to make it 3-1.
The series shifts to Las Vegas for Game 3 on Sunday night.
