Vegas Golden Knights Secure Spot in Stanley Cup Final
The Vegas Golden Knights clinched their place in the Stanley Cup Final for the third time with a 2-1 victory over the Colorado Avalanche in Game 4 of the Western Conference Final at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday.
Cole Smith scored, while Carter Hart made an impressive 20 saves. The win marked a four-game sweep by the Golden Knights ahead of their opponents.
“It was probably one of our better games from start to finish,” said Smith. “Other games in the series we’ve had little lulls where they’ve taken over, and tonight we stuck with it for pretty much the whole game.”
“Our ultimate goal is to win the Stanley Cup,” stated Stone. “We still have four more wins that we want to accomplish. Happy with where we are, and we put ourselves in a spot to ultimately compete for it.”
Mackenzie Blackwood tallied 24 saves in his first start of the series for Colorado.
Avalanche coach Jared Bednar expressed disappointment over the loss, noting how close they were to their lofty goals. “Losing sucks. Losing four straight is worse,” he said. “The closer you get to accomplishing (goals), the more losing can swipe it all away in an instant.”
“I was able to get behind, but the lane wasn’t there,” Stone explained. Landeskog redirected Martin Necas’ shot from the point down off the ice and over the blocker of Hart.