Mammoth match physicality early, fade late in Game 1 loss

LAS VEGAS — Utah got its first taste of playoff hockey Sunday night, but it wasn't the result the team was looking for in Sin City.

The Vegas Golden Knights scored three goals in the third period to take Game 1 from the Mammoth with a score of 4-2.

Colton Sissons recorded a goal and an assist, while Noah Hanafin picked up two assists for Vegas. Golden Knights goaltender Carter Hart shook off a couple miscues as he settled in and stopped 31 shots on 33 attempts in the win.

"I liked the way we came out and I think the guys were pretty composed," Mammoth head coach Andre Tourigny said. "It was a hard-fought game. We know when we exploit our speed was a good factor for us so we need to keep focusing on that."

There was no love lost between the two teams as players scrapped with each other many times throughout the game.

There's no question the physicality increased in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and the Mammoth did a great job of handling it early in what was the first playoff appearance for multiple players on Utah's roster.

Multiple mixups between the two sides led to a couple roughing penalties and some blood, and the Mammoth were unable to capitalize on its first man advantage.

In the final seconds of the first period, Logan Cooley capped off the opening frame with the game's first goal when he found Lawson Crouse before he dumped it off to Nate Schmidt, who then set up Cooley with a no-look pass for the one-timer goal.

The Golden Knights tied it up with a goal from Sissons shortly after the start of the second period when Sissons was able to get behind Karel Vejmelka and tap the puck into the net.

Just minutes later, Hart found himself out of the net before he had to get back into position quickly but he misplayed the puck after a shot from Kevin Stenlund hit off Hart's pad and then Kaedan Korczak's stick and into the net.

Despite leading 2-1 going into the final frame, playoff experience and the home ice atmosphere started to crack Utah as Vegas turned the tides..

The Golden Knights had its first power play in the third period, and Mark Stone helped Vegas take advantage after he cleaned up a play with a wrist shot for the equalizer.

The pressure from the Golden Knights intensified as the home team took its first lead of the game on a goal from Nic Dowd after he got a stick on the feed from Noah Hanafin.

The Mammoth tried its best to respond, but Hart was a brick wall down the stretch, making plenty of crucial saves for Vegas.

Vejmelka failed to leave the net when the bench called him over; and by the time he left the crease, the Golden Knights controlled the puck, to which Ivan Barbashev scored an empty-net goal to seal the win.

Things didn't go Utah's way in the end, but plenty of the young guys who took the ice for their first career playoff game showed why they belong on this stage. Cooley not only scored the first playoff goal in franchise history but he was also in the midst of many scrums and was not backing down from the physicality.

"He was on a mission, he was really good," Tourigny said. "I think him and his line played a solid game. You guys know how competitive he is and I think he just put it on display."

The Mammoth will have to do a better job of reacting to the increased hits like they did earlier in the game. Vegas recorded 52 hats compared to Utah's 30, a number that will need to be evened out if they want to bounce back and steal a game on the road.

"You just want to get better," Tourigny said. "From now on, it's a race of improvement. I think we have stuff we can be better and we'll make some adjustments. Really proud of the way we performed."

Game 2 is set for Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. MST.

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