Golden Knights aiming to punch ticket to second round against Mammoth
Vegas Golden Knights F Brett Howden (21) celebrates after he scored the game winning goal against the Utah Mammoth in Round 1 Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Las Vegas, Nevada. An emotionally charged Game Five has the Vegas Golden Knights holding the sword to their opponent’s throat. On Friday, the Golden Knights head to Salt Lake City for the final time this series as they look to finish off the Utah Mammoth in Game Six.
Venue : Delta Center, Salt Lake City, UT Date : Friday, May 1 Time : 7:00 pm PST How To Watch : SCRIPPS, ESPN Radio : 1340 AM, 94. 7 FM On Thursday, the Golden Knights learned that winning the series means a date with the Anaheim Ducks in the second round after they defeated the defending Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers. However, no one can look ahead yet until the final horn sounds on the fourth win of the series.
All focus has to remain on the Mammoth, who the Golden Knights have on the ropes after two straight overtime victories. Here is how Vegas can guarantee that the next time they hit the ice, they will have a different opponent the next time around. Trust the process What the Golden Knights are doing is historically unprecedented.
In 29 instances where a team has trailed in the third period of all five games of a playoff series, the Golden Knights are the only one that is not either behind or simply eliminated. Resilience has been a theme all season long for Vegas (the only team that trailed for more time in the regular season was the last-place Vancouver Canucks), and that mentality appears to have carried through into the postseason. Say whatever you will about sustainability, but there is something to say about the Golden Knights finding an unconventional way to reach this stage of the postseason.
Pressing the advantage The Golden Knights carried a heavy special teams advantage heading into the series, but they had struggled to maximize it. The last couple of games have changed the script, however. Back-to-back games with shorthanded goals from Brett Howden and Game Five’s power play goal from Pavel Dorofeyev have turned special teams into the X-factor the Golden Knighfs were hoping for.