Golden Knights Avalanche Hockey

Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Dylan Coghlan, front, shoots the puck for a goal after driving past Colorado Avalanche center Brock Nelson during the second period in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series Wednesday, May 20, 2026, in Denver.

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Golden Knights roll to early lead, hold off Avs 4-2 to open Western Conference Final

Golden Knights roll to early lead, hold off Avs 4-2 to open Western Conference Final

Dylan Coghlan scored his first Stanley Cup playoff goal to get Vegas rolling, Carter Hart made 36 saves and the Golden Knights opened the Western Conference final by holding off the Colorado Avalanche 4-2 on Wednesday night. Trailing 3-0 in the third period, Colorado made it a 3-2 game with 2:21 remaining on a power-play goal from Gabriel Landeskog. Nic Dowd sealed the win for Vegas on an empty-net goal with 44.5 seconds left. Pavel Dorofeyev and Brett Howden also added goals for the Golden Knights, who took advantage of several defensive miscommunications by the Avalanche as they juggled their blue-line pairings with Cale Makar sidelined by an upper-body injury.