Apr 20, 2026, 01:42 AM ET<\/p>\n
LAS VEGAS — Nic Dowd<\/a> redirected Noah Hanifin<\/a>‘s shot from the point to put Vegas ahead at 7:20 of the third period and the Golden Knights<\/a> beat the Utah Mammoth<\/a> 4-2<\/a> on Sunday night in Game 1 of their Western Conference first-round series.<\/p>\n “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.”<\/p>\n Game 2 is Tuesday night in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Editor’s Picks<\/p>\n 2 Related<\/p>\n The Mammoth lost in the franchise’s first playoff game since 2020. They are in their second season in Utah after moving from Arizona.<\/p>\n “It was a hard-fought game,” Mammoth coach Andre Tourigny said. “It was physical. It was intense. Every inch was contested.”<\/p>\n Colton Sissons<\/a> had a goal and assist for the Golden Knights, and Mark Stone<\/a> and Ivan Barbashev<\/a> also scored. Carter Hart<\/a> stopped 32 shots. Hanifin had two assists.<\/p>\n Logan Cooley<\/a> and Kevin Stenlund<\/a> scored for the Mammoth. Karel Vejmelka<\/a>, playing in his first playoff game after five years in the Utah\/Arizona organization, made 27 saves. Captain Clayton Keller<\/a>, who closed the regular season with 16 assists over a 10-game stretch, failed to record one in this game.<\/p>\n 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<\/a> in the Oct. 8 opener.<\/p>\n There were several fights, including one after the final buzzer.<\/p>\n “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.”<\/p>\n Former Golden Knight Nate Schmidt<\/a> delivered a tremendous cross-ice pass to Cooley, whose one-timer from the right circle put the Mammoth on the scoreboard first with 11 seconds left in the first period.<\/p>\n Sissons scored the equalizer at 3:44 of the second period, jamming in the puck after a backhand pass from Cole Smith<\/a>. Utah retook the lead less than two minutes later when Hart found himself out of position and Vegas defenseman Kaedan Korczak<\/a> knocked the puck into his own net, though it was officially credited to Stenlund.<\/p>\n “We didn’t really pay attention to it,” Barbashev said. “Our guys did a really good job to get one back on the power play.”<\/p>\n