RALEIGH, N.C. — And things were going so well for the Vegas Golden Knights.
Of course, anyone who thought the Carolina Hurricanes were going to roll over and play dead were deluding themselves.
Yet, the Knights had a chance to gain a solid grip on the Stanley Cup Final had they been able to maintain their 2-0 lead over the final 10 minutes of Game 2 Thursday night at the Lenovo Center. Brett Howden had both goals and was making a case as a legitimate contender for the Conn Smythe Trophy, which goes to the Most Valuable player of the playoffs.
Instead, that path hit a pothole thanks to Seth Jarvis, who scored 3:56 into overtime to give the Canes a 4-3 win and even the series at 1-1.
Game 3 is 5 p.m. Saturday at what will be a raucous T-Mobile Arena.
Obviously we would’ve liked to have gotten two out of here but they’re a good team,” Vegas captain Mark Stone said. “We’ll regroup and be dialed in for Game 3.
There were four goals combined scored over the final 9:40 of regulation, three by Carolina and the fourth by Stone which came with 1:21 left and Carter Hart on the bench for a sixth attacker.
In between, the Knights thought they had scored what would’ve been a third goal only to have it waved off for goaltender interference of Carolina’s Frederik Andersen. They challenged the ruling on the ice, lost the appeal and the Hurricanes’ Jordan Staal scored on the power play to put his team in front, 3-2.
The explanation from the NHL’s Stephen Walkom was: “The ruling on the play was goaltender interference. He waved it (off) immediately. He believed that it was under the goalie and the Vegas player went after the puck and interfered with the goalie and his ability to freeze the puck and waved it off immediately.”
Vegas coach John Tortorella obviously saw things differently.
“I saw a loose puck in front of Freddie (Andersen). Our players stabbed it, didn’t move the goalie and it went in,” Tortortella said of the controversial play. “I would challenge that 10 out of 10 times.”
Stone said of the play and the subsequent challenge: “It was deemed it was goaltender interference. I didn’t think it was, that’s why we challenged.”
The loss of defenseman Brayden McNabb late in the first period after he took a puck to the face also impacted the outcome. It was more pressure on the remaining five defensemen as Tortorella mixed and matched the quintet hoping to get through the remainder of the contest.
Noah Hanifin, one of those five defensemen looking to pick up the slack, said: “That’s playoff hockey. We’re in the Stanley Cup Final. You lose an important guy like that, everyone has to dig in and do their job. It’s adversity.”
When asked if he had an update on McNabb, Tortorella said: “I haven’t talked to the medical people yet. I thought the other guys played well.”
For a long while, it looked like Game 2 was going to belong to Brett Howden. The forward scored the first two goals of the contest and now has 13 for the pl
Of course, anyone who thought the Carolina Hurricanes were going to roll over and play dead were deluding themselves.
Yet, the Knights had a chance to gain a solid grip on the Stanley Cup Final had they been able to maintain their 2-0 lead over the final 10 minutes of Game 2 Thursday night at the Lenovo Center. Brett Howden had both goals and was making a case as a legitimate contender for the Conn Smythe Trophy, which goes to the Most Valuable player of the playoffs.
Instead, that path hit a pothole thanks to Seth Jarvis, who scored 3:56 into overtime to give the Canes a 4-3 win and even the series at 1-1.
Game 3 is 5 p.m. Saturday at what will be a raucous T-Mobile Arena.
Obviously we would’ve liked to have gotten two out of here but they’re a good team,” Vegas captain Mark Stone said. “We’ll regroup and be dialed in for Game 3.
There were four goals combined scored over the final 9:40 of regulation, three by Carolina and the fourth by Stone which came with 1:21 left and Carter Hart on the bench for a sixth attacker.
In between, the Knights thought they had scored what would’ve been a third goal only to have it waved off for goaltender interference of Carolina’s Frederik Andersen. They challenged the ruling on the ice, lost the appeal and the Hurricanes’ Jordan Staal scored on the power play to put his team in front, 3-2.
The explanation from the NHL’s Stephen Walkom was: “The ruling on the play was goaltender interference. He waved it (off) immediately. He believed that it was under the goalie and the Vegas player went after the puck and interfered with the goalie and his ability to freeze the puck and waved it off immediately.”
Vegas coach John Tortorella obviously saw things differently.
“I saw a loose puck in front of Freddie (Andersen). Our players stabbed it, didn’t move the goalie and it went in,” Tortortella said of the controversial play. “I would challenge that 10 out of 10 times.”
Stone said of the play and the subsequent challenge: “It was deemed it was goaltender interference. I didn’t think it was, that’s why we challenged.”
The loss of defenseman Brayden McNabb late in the first period after he took a puck to the face also impacted the outcome. It was more pressure on the remaining five defensemen as Tortorella mixed and matched the quintet hoping to get through the remainder of the contest.
Noah Hanifin, one of those five defensemen looking to pick up the slack, said: “That’s playoff hockey. We’re in the Stanley Cup Final. You lose an important guy like that, everyone has to dig in and do their job. It’s adversity.”
When asked if he had an update on McNabb, Tortorella said: “I haven’t talked to the medical people yet. I thought the other guys played well.”
For a long while, it looked like Game 2 was going to belong to Brett Howden. The forward scored the first two goals of the contest and now has 13 for the pl
5 months ago
