Golden Knights Chase Sweep of Avalanche in Vegas Game 4

The Golden Knights chased a sweep of the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Avalanche in vegas game 4 on Tuesday night, with a win sending Vegas to the Stanley Cup Final for the third time in nine seasons. Colorado entered with the regular-season points lead, but the series had already shifted after the first three games.

Karlsson and Wedgewood

William Karlsson set the tone in Game 3 when he scored on Colorado goaltender Scott Wedgewood in Las Vegas. That goal helped put Vegas in position to close out the series one night later, while the Avalanche had to choose a new starter in Mackenzie Blackwood for Tuesday.

The change in net came after Jared Bednar’s team had already worked through injuries to Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon during the series. Colorado still reached this round on the strength of an 8-1 run through the first two playoff rounds, but the Knights had already taken the first two games without captain Mark Stone.

Tortorella’s 7-0-1 finish

Vegas reached this point after a late regular-season surge under John Tortorella. The Knights fired Bruce Cassidy with eight games left, then finished 7-0-1 to close the schedule before beating Utah and Anaheim in series victories.

That path created a direct contrast with Colorado’s season. The Avalanche won the Presidents’ Trophy, yet Chicago in 2013 was the last team to take both the trophy and the Stanley Cup in the same season.

Vegas final stakes

A victory Tuesday would push Vegas into its third Stanley Cup Final appearance, with the franchise’s previous trip coming in 2018, when it lost in five games to Washington. If the Knights finished the job, they would face Carolina or Montreal in the final.

For Colorado, the pressure was immediate: the West final had turned into a test of whether the regular-season leader could extend a playoff run against a team that had already handled two series and arrived with one more closeout chance in hand.