Knights unable to wield third-period magic in 3-2 loss to Mammoth
Utah's Logan Cooley broke a 2-2- tie to give the franchise its first-ever playoff win.
Vegas Golden Knights left wing Ivan Barbashev (49) looks to deflect the puck towards Utah Mammoth goaltender Karel Vejmelka (70) during the first period of game two of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at T-Mobile Arena. LAS VEGAS — That third-period magic we’ve seen from the Vegas Golden Knights all season failed to materialize when the team needed it the most. The Knights, who were a plus-27 in the third period this year, were unable to get the key goal in order to hold serve in their opening-round series with Utah.
Instead, it was the Mammoth’s Logan Cooley who delivered with six minutes remaining to give the franchise its first-ever playoff victory, 3-2 at T-Mobile Arena Tuesday night. Game 3 will be Friday at the Delta Center where the Mammoth now have the home-ice advantage by virtue of its split in Las Vegas. “I thought we prepared today to win the game and we stayed in the present,” Mammoth coach Andre Tourigny said.
”I was proud of our guys for staying on an even keel. They’re a good team with a lot of structure. “We got one.
But we still have a lot of work to get done. ” For John Tortorella, it was the first time he experienced losing in regulation since taking over March 30 for Bruce Cassidy. Vegas was 7-0-1 in the regular season and had won Game 1, 4-2.