Golden Knights Have Become Royal Pain for Rest of NHL

What a royal pain the Golden Knights have become for the NHL.

Las Vegas swept aside the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference Final on Tuesday in a 2–1 thriller that put the team into the Stanley Cup Final for the third time in nine years since the team’s inception in the 2017–2018 season.

The Knights, who made a miraculous run to the Cup Final in their inaugural season, put the President’s Cup-winning Avalanche on ice relatively easily. The toughest of the four victories was a rally from three goals down in Game 3, which they won 5–3.

Las Vegas has won the Pacific Division five times in its history, while losing in the conference final once and failing to qualify for the playoffs only once (the 2021–2022 season).

There are a few unlikely heroes this season who played a role in crafting this edition of playoff folklore for the Knights.

First up is coach John Tortorella, who became a difference-maker behind the bench with just eight games left in the regular season.

The Knights were 7–0–1 to close out the schedule after Tortorella took over when Las Vegas pushed out Bruce Cassidy in late March. The team brought in the veteran coach, who made an immediate impact as the Knights caught fire at the perfect time.

Tortorella, who has been the top man on the bench for four clubs, has taken the experienced talent he was handed in Las Vegas and used a unique winning formula to mold a playoff monster.

“In the short time I’ve been with them, I watch them and listen to them. I’ve learned a ton from them,” Tortorella said in postgame media availability after Tuesday’s series clincher.

“I’ve learned coaches overcoach. And I think we get in the way sometimes. This group here, especially, after me being with younger teams prior to this, I learned, I hope, to be a better coach, and learned more to have some listening skills when you’re dealing with veteran players.”

“That’s what they brought to me. I think in the regular season, there wasn’t even much in the regular season—sometimes you coach at them. During the playoffs, you coach with them. So, it gave me an opportunity to see what they see,” he added.

Tortorella, who last coached the Philadelphia Flyers from 2022–2025, had taken teams to the playoffs eight times. This is his first appearance in the final.

The next impactful pickup is Mitch Marner, a 29-year-old forward who grew screamingly frustrated with the Toronto Maple Leafs and bolted from that organization via an offseason trade.

Marner netted his first career postseason hat-trick and an assist in a second-round 6–2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks in Game 2, and has seven goals and 14 helpers in the playoffs.

Marner spent nine long years in Toronto, where the team often had high expectations, much in part because of successful regular-season finishes, but couldn’t come through in the playoffs. He inked a sign-and-trade deal to jump to the Knights in the offseason and has turned up the heat on the desert ice.

Third is Jack Eichel, a 29-year-old center who disagreed with treatment recommendations doctors from the Buffalo Sabres issued and wanted his own method of care for a herniated disk in his neck. He skipped off to Las Vegas in a 2021 trade and sought out a groundbreaking procedure. That decision was the start of a brand-new day with the Knights, for whom he’s playing in his second Stanley Cup.

A number of other Knights have stepped into the spotlight—goalie Carter Hart being one of them—during this run to the Final, but that’s the case for any team that wins this time of year.

Meanwhile, Avalanche coach Jared Bednar couldn’t hide his disappointment after the loss to the Knights. But despite a twinge of chagrin, he slid all his chips over to Las Vegas after the series beatdown.

“We ran into a buzzsaw in Vegas, I think they deserve the credit,” Bedbar said in his postgame media session after being swept. “And it’s not a knock on our guys and how hard we played. But they’re a well-oiled machine peaking at the right time.

“I look at their series and man to man, they’re playing at the top of their game.”

When asked about the headspace of his players, Bedbar said, “I don’t know about lack of confidence, that’s a tough one—like maybe certain players here or there may have not played their best during the series. A good team can make you doubt what you’re doing.”

The Knights will face the winner of the Montreal Canadiens–Carolina Hurricanes matchup in the Eastern Conference in the Stanley Cup Final. No doubt, Vegas is going to be difficult to bet against.