Overview
- The Vegas Golden Knights rallied for a 3-1 win in Denver to take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference Final after Ivan Barbashev scored twice and Jack Eichel added a goal and an assist.
- Carter Hart made 29 saves in Game 2 and has been a steady factor in Vegas’s two road victories that flipped momentum away from the Presidents’ Trophy–winning Avalanche.
- Colorado remains without star defenseman Cale Makar because of an upper-body injury and is listed day-to-day, a loss that has visibly weakened their power play, defensive rotations and late-game protection of leads.
- The Montreal Canadiens opened the Eastern Conference Final with a 6-2 road win over the Carolina Hurricanes as Juraj Slafkovsky scored two goals and rookie goalie Jakub Dobeš made 25 saves.
- Historical trends favor teams that start a Conference Final 2-0 on the road, and with Game 3 in Las Vegas and Game 2 in Raleigh next, both series now turn on momentum, goaltending and whether Colorado can get Makar back.