3 Takeaways From Vegas Golden Knights’ 3-1 Game 2 Win vs. Avalanche – The Hockey Writers – Vegas Golden Knights

The Vegas Golden Knights are no strangers to pulling off a third-period comeback, and they did it yet again. This time, against the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche on Friday night, which resulted in a 3-1 win, extending their series lead to 2-0 as they head back to Vegas for Games 3 and 4.

Jack Eichel and Ivan Barbashev scored for the Golden Knights. Carter Hart made 29 saves on 30 shots.

The Comeback Kids Strike Again

When head coach John Tortorella was hired on March 29, the Golden Knights were a lock to make the playoffs, but not a lock to do anything of substance after that. The 2025-26 season was one marked by inconsistency, and because of that, they were rightly doubted heading into the postseason. One thing that has always been consistent about this team, though, is that they love themselves a good comeback, and that has carried on into the spring.

In the regular season, the Golden Knights spent 1,965:10 trailing, which was second only to the Vancouver Canucks. They also had 10 third-period comeback wins, which was tied for second with the Montreal Canadiens. In the playoffs, they have four, including a big one on Friday night.

“We just played simple,” Barbashev said. “I think we’ve been a really good third-period team all season long. We’ve had a lot of comebacks, and we just stuck with that.”

“Obviously, we’re very comfortable in the third periods,” defenseman Noah Hanifin said after Game 2. “All year, we’ve had a lot of comebacks, so I thought we had a good game. Obviously, we knew they were going to push tonight after (a 4-2 Vegas win in Game 1). I thought we handled it well and stayed composed and had a great third period.”

Now, a one-goal deficit might not be a comeback for the ages, but down 1-0 with 11 minutes left in enemy territory is nothing to sneeze at. Throughout the second period, it looked like the speed of the Avalanche had finally caught up to the Golden Knights. Vegas seemed like it was always a step behind, losing puck races and battles in the process. But they were able to survive and stay just one goal down heading into the third.

“I thought that was a key moment of the game,” Tortorella said of surviving the second period. “We felt we were in a good spot going into the third. Down by a goal, in this building, Game 2, we wanted to just keep on playing.”

The party started with Eichel scoring at 9:15 of the third. Just over two minutes later, the Golden Knights had a 2-1 lead and never looked back.

“I thought we played a patient game,” Eichel said. “We had some chances. We had some chances early. And credit their goalie: (He) made some big saves. Just want to try and defend hard and, when you get an opportunity, capitalize, and I thought we did a good job of that.”

Eichel Finally Breaks Through

Heading into Game 3, while Eichel was sitting with teammate Mitch Marner atop the leaderboard in points, it had been 10 games since he last found the back of the net. On Friday night, Eichel finally broke through with a big goal at the right time.

“I think it just gave us some life,” Hanifin said. “After that second period, it was a little bit of a grind, and I think just when he scored that goal, it just gave us some life. And from there we got rolling a bit.”

Despite the lack of goals and the spotlight being on Marner’s play, Eichel has had a strong postseason. However, one cannot deny the disparity between the Golden Knights’ opponents in the first two rounds and the Avalanche. If the Golden Knights have any chance in this series, it is likely that Eichel has to rack up his number in the goal column.

You could argue that there was no bigger goal this postseason than Eichel’s on Friday night. It’s no secret who the favorite is in this series, and heading back to Vegas with the series tied 1-1 is clearly way less of an advantage than the 2-0 lead they currently hold.

Eichel added an assist on Barbashev’s game-winning goal to bring his point total to two goals and 18 points in 14 games.

Carter Hart Starts WCF Strong

While some numbers suggested otherwise, Hart left a lot on the table as far as his play in the first round against the Utah Mammoth. In Round 2, he really started to elevate his game. Yet, in a lot of people’s minds, it was still the Anaheim Ducks, so who cares?

Well, against the Avalanche, he has been phenomenal, and a big reason why his team heads home with a chance to put Colorado away.

Through two games in the Western Conference Final, Hart has stopped 65 of 68 shots, for a goals-against average (GAA) of 1.50 and a .956 save percentage (SV%). For the postseason, Hart has a 2.48 GAA and a .911 SV%.

The game looks easy for Hart right now. Simple. He’s not fighting pucks, and he’s letting the game come to him. A 2-0 series deficit is nothing for a team like the Avalanche, so Hart will need to continue to elevate his game as the series rolls on.

WCF Heads to Vegas

Game 3 is on Sunday night in Vegas, while Game 4 goes on Tuesday.