Ex-Rangers center Brett Howden scores Game 1 winner for Vegas in West final
Former New York Rangers center Brett Howden continued his playoff scoring surge for the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday night, netting the game-winning goal in a 4-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche in Game 1 of the Western Conference Final at Ball Arena in Denver. Vegas led 2-0 early in the third period when Howden blocked a shot by Colorado defenseman Sam Malinski just as Vegas defenseman Ben Hutton stepped back onto the ice after serving a tripping penalty. Hutton picked up the puck, raced in on a 2-on-1 break with Howden and shot, but Colorado goaltender Scott Wedgewood made the save.
However, the rebound popped into the air; Howden got a glove on the puck to deflect it into the crease, then tapped a backhander into the wide-open net at 1:32 to give Vegas a three-goal lead. Brett Howden makes it 3-0 for Vegas!!! 📺: @espn , @Sportsnet , & @TVASports pic.
twitter. com/uh3glXdQrz — NHL (@NHL) May 21, 2026 Howden’s ninth goal of the playoffs proved to be the game-winner when the Avalanche got within 3-2 on goals by Valeri Nichushkin and Gabriel Landeskog before Nic Dowd hit the empty net to put the game away. It also kept him one behind teammate Pavel Dorofeyev for the postseason goal-scoring lead.
Dorofeyev became the first player to reach double figures when he scored a power-play goal at 15:33 of the second period. Howden became the sixth player in NHL history to have a six-game goal-scoring streak on the road during the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He scored for the second straight game and the fourth in Vegas’ past five games.
His nine playoff goals are just three shy of his regular-season total of 12 in 58 games. Brett Howden scored his seventh road goal of the 2026 #StanleyCup Playoffs for the second most in a postseason in @GoldenKnights history behind Jonathan Marchessault (9 in 2023). #NHLStats : https://t.
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