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Exactly How The Golden Knights Must Play To Defeat The Carolina Hurricanes

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On June 2, 2026

In Game Analysis

(Photo Credit: @GoldenKnights on X/Twitter)

If you ask John Tortorella what the Golden Knights need to do to win four games against the Carolina Hurricanes and claim the Stanley Cup, he’ll probably say “I’m not talking about the other team.” Luckily, I am willing to do it, and I think VGK’s path to winning the Cup is fairly straightforward.

First, Vegas will have to be under control when retrieving pucks in their own end. Carolina is good both off the rush and on the forecheck. They play a high-pressure system that creates turnovers and then gets the puck directly to the goal for quick strike chances. So far in these playoffs, the Golden Knights have been excellent at handling opposing pressure in the defensive zone.

In this series, they must have good gaps when defending Carolina’s rush game (especially against the Aho and Stankoven lines), then quickly get back to pucks that are dumped in. The first pass on dump-ins will be critical as the Canes are lethal when they disrupt breakouts. Carter Hart will have to be good with his stick to help slow pucks down, then the group of six Vegas defensemen must move it quickly and efficiently to negate Carolina’s pressure.

Lastly, safe is better than sorry against the Hurricanes. Flip outs, rim outs, off the glass and out, and even icings are better than turning the puck over deep in the zone.

If VGK can successfully limit Carolina’s quick-strike turnover-based game, it will completely change the balance of puck possession in these games and give Vegas a much better chance to get to work offensively.

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Leader In Postseason +/- Since VGK’s Entry Into NHL, William Karlsson’s Impact Is Immense

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On May 26, 2026

In Game Analysis

(Photo Credit: SinBin.vegas Photographer Brandon Andreasen)

For the Golden Knights, a lot has changed in the last few months. New head coach, new starting goalie, new 4th line, new “mindset.” But, maybe bigger than all of it is something that’s not new at all. The return of William Karlsson.

From the moment Karlsson stepped back into the lineup, the Golden Knights have looked like a more complete team. It has shifted Mitch Marner into a new position, his natural one; it has allowed Tortorella a chance to utilize Jack Eichel and Pavel Dorofeyev in a more offensive role; and it has given Vegas the ultimate shutdown line, which has neutralized Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Necas, Leo Carlsson, and Troy Terry.

Well, he is one of the originals, right? Has won a Cup, has been a leader of this team, has been a huge part of the organization. -John Tortorella

Nowhere has this been more evident than in one stat: William Karlsson leads the entire NHL since the Golden Knights entered the league. In Karlsson’s 115 postseason appearances, he has registered a +47 rating. That’s three better than Jaccob Slavin’s +44, seven better than Nathan MacKinnon’s +40, and an unbelievable 27 better than Connor McDavid’s +20.

This postseason, Karlsson has been on the ice for eight goals for while just three goals against. One of the goals was during a power play, which means his +/- in the nine games this postseason is +6.

In his VGK playoff career, Karlsson has been on the ice for an incredible 124 Vegas goals while out there for just 73 against.

He’s a legitimate, bona fide, shutdown center, and has been for eight consecutive playoff runs for the Golden Knights. In addition, he’s scored 76 points, 32 goals, three shorthanded goals, and three game-winning goals, including an OT clincher in Game 3 of 2018 against the Sharks.

The team is 69-46 in the postseason when he’s in the lineup. They are 333-181-55 (.634) in the regular season.

It’s impossible to quantify how much each change to the roster has had on the Golden Knights’ success, but there’s no question Karlsson’s injection into the lineup has had a massive impact and is a huge reason why Vegas is one win away from a third trip to the Stanley Cup Final.

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Practice Made Perfection; No Team More Prepared For Historic Comebacks Than VGK

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On May 25, 2026

In Game Analysis

(Photo Credit: @GoldenKnights on X/Twitter)

It may not have been the plan all along, but the Golden Knights were built for this.

Throughout this 82 game season, we put ourselves in some pretty pretty tough spots that we were able to dig ourselves out of. It’s not ideal to get down three-nothing early on, but we’ve been through that this year, and I think we could really rely on the games where we were able to come back and then the games that we let just completely go. -Mark Stone

Only one team in the NHL trailed for more time this season than the Vegas Golden Knights. In other words, only Vegas and Vanvoucer, have had as much experience trying to recover games from a losing position.

Time and time again this year the Golden Knights fell behind then got to work and began the climb back to even or better. 21 times in the regular season the Golden Knights came back to win a game they trailed. There were more than 10 others in which they fought back to send the game to OT but fell in the extra session. They allowed the first goal of the game 48 times and trailed entering the 2nd period on 36 separate occasions.

For us it’s kind of been that way all season. We’ve been down a lot, and we never quit. We’ve come back so many times. After the 1st, even being down three nothing, we knew we could do it because we’re a veteran team and we have great players. -Tomas Hertl

The Colorado Avalanche had won 54 consecutive games in which they held a multi-goal lead. They had not lost a single game in regulation when they held a lead after the first 20 minutes (30-0-4). And, the Golden Knights were 0-19 when trailing by three at any point in a playoff game.

But for this team, none of it mattered.

This is a game where we showed some balls. -John Tortorella

For most teams, falling behind is unsustainable. For most teams, overcoming 54, 34, and 19 game streaks is impossible. For most teams, being the outlier is unlikely.

Not for this team.

Not in this moment.

They always say, practice makes perfect, and right now, the Golden Knights are perfect.

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Dominance Along The Walls Has The Golden Knights On The Doorstep Of The Stanley Cup Final

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On May 23, 2026

In Game Analysis

(Photo Credit: @GoldenKnights on X/Twitter)

The Colorado Avalanche may be the faster team, and they may even be the more skilled team. When the puck is in the center of the ice, the Avs have controlled both Games 1 and 2. Yet, the Golden Knights are heading back to Las Vegas with a 2-0 stranglehold on the series.

The reason for it is in large part due to their dominance when the puck is along the walls.

Through the two games at Ball Arena, the Golden Knights came out victorious time and time again when the game moved from open ice to confined spaces. It’s the one clear and obvious place VGK have the advantage, and it’s clear that was a focus heading into the series.

You see it all the time in these games, it’s little things that turn into big things. There’s not always going to be a perfect play, there’s not always going to be a pass that will advance the game up the ice, but there are always going to be little plays where you can get the puck out to the neutral zone and just reset. -Cole Smith

John Tortorella refuses to take credit for it, but it’s one of the most noticeable places of improvement for the Golden Knights since the coaching change. It’s highly unlikely Cassidy wasn’t putting an emphasis on it, but for whatever reason, what wasn’t happening for 74 games in the regular season is now.

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Colorado Fearing Vegas Set To Ruin Cup Dreams Once Again

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On May 22, 2026

In Game Analysis

(Photo Credit: @GoldenKnights on X/Twitter)

Some in Colorado are calling Vegas’ Game 1 victory a punch in the face to the Avalanche. The fear is real in Denver. Colorado fans are worried their beloved Avalanche will trip and fall out of the playoffs at the hands of the Golden Knights once again. For a team that posted 26 more points and 14 more wins than Vegas in the regular season, Colorado has shown some concern.

They won the year after us. They have a lot of guys who know what it takes. I can’t see this being a short series. It’s going to be tough, we are ready for a seven gamer. -Nathan MacKinnon, COL center

Superstar center Nathan MacKinnon looked a lot like the player the Golden Knights defeated in 2021. The Avs top player missed the net on four occasions in Game 1 and had several errant passes that could have created quality chances. Vegas’ team defense frustrated Colorado’s playmakers by blocking 24 shots and forcing them to miss wide 18 times. The expectations are that the Avalanche will clean up their game and even up the series. But, there’s another team that will have a say on Friday night.

We saw this movie against the Los Angeles Kings. It was boring, grueling, but ultimately rewarding.

The difference between the Kings and Golden Knights is that Las Vegas can, you know, score. The Kings played as Las Vegas did, but their endgame was to play keep-away, not to win the game.

The Golden Knights are not passengers. On Wednesday, they were more productive in space than the Artemis II astronauts.

They played better than the Avs. But they are not the better team. –Troy Rencke on The Denver Post

Wednesday night represented the Golden Knights’ third straight postseason victory, and eighth in 10 tries. Five of the last six wins have been by multiple goals. In fact, Vegas has only three one-goal wins this postseason and every single one of them was in overtime. So, it’s not like Vegas has been living by the edge by desperately holding onto one-goal advantages. Against the Avalanche, the Golden Knights were ahead by one for less than five minutes in a 60-minute affair. Overall, Vegas led for a total of 28 minutes, while the Presidents’ Trophy winner never led.

There is pressure. But you want that pressure. Teams that don’t have that are either not playing or didn’t make the playoffs. You want this. You want to be in the last dance. -Nic Roy, COL forward

There’s pressure on the Golden Knights as well tonight. A victory in Game 2 would give Vegas an 80% chance of advancing to the Stanley Cup Final. After doing their job of guaranteeing a series split on Wednesday, the Golden Knights will try to secure their sixth straight playoff win over the Avalanche in Game 2.

We gave them easy scoring chances. Some of them off odd man rushes, some off turnovers, some of them off execution. I didn’t think we made them earn their chances that were the difference makers in the game. – Jared Bednar, COL coach

According to the Denver press, if Vegas advances, Colorado will be nothing but a “footnote” in NHL history. And you thought we were tough.

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VGK Can Still Use Lessons From 2021 Series Win Over Colorado

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On May 19, 2026

In Game Analysis

(Photo Credit: SinBin.vegas Photographer Brandon Andreasen)

It’s hard to believe considering the level of dominance these two teams have held over the rest of the Western Conference in the past decade, but this is just the second ever playoff series between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Colorado Avalanche.

A lot has happened since the Second Round series back in 2021. Both teams have won a Stanley Cup, they’ve each seen some significant turnover in their rosters, and they’ve had a few playoff heartbreaks along the way.

The core of each team still remains though and there’s certainly something to be taken away from how the Golden Knights managed to win that series, as well as what went wrong for the Avs.

Here’s a look at the lineups from Game 6 on June 10th, 2021. (Players in red are no longer with the organization.)

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Golden Knights Have No Reason To Be Worried About “Overrated” Altitude Of Ball Arena

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On May 18, 2026

In Game Analysis

(Photo Credit: bloggar.aftonbladet.se)

If there’s one thing the city of Denver loves to talk about, it’s altitude. The “Mile High City” is not an exaggeration, it literally sits more than 5,000 feet above sea level, by far the highest elevation of any city in the NHL.

The sign from the picture above is posted in an area where visiting players will see it as they prepare for games against the Avalanche. The team heavily leans into the concept having named their team store and broadcast networks after the term “altitude.” And though they don’t go as far as the Denver Broncos’ “Altitude Sickness Is Real” sign outside the visitors locker room at Empower Field, Colorado is proud and bordering on obnoxious about the number 5,280.

The Golden Knights are unfazed.

It’s overrated. We’re certainly aware of it, right? You have to be. But I think if you spend too much time talking about it, fixing this, going here, going there, oxygen here, I think it manifests itself into something bigger than it should be. -John Tortorella

Few teams are as uniquely prepared as the Golden Knights to deal with the altitude issues that Denver presents.

T-Mobile Arena, which sits on the Las Vegas Strip, at the base of the valley, is more than 2,000 feet above sea level. City National Arena, where the Golden Knights practice is located in Summerlin, about 15 miles west of the Strip, and it’s at nearly 3,500 feet of elevation. Finally, the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, where VGK played their first round series against the Utah Mammoth, is more than 4,000 feet above sea level.

We might have to catch a couple of breaths here and there along the way, but we’re going to play. That’s all we’re worried about. -Tortorella

There’s plenty for the Golden Knights to worry about in this Western Conference Final series against the Presidents’ Trophy winning Avalanche.

Altitude is not on the list.

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