Golden Knights advance to Western Conference Final

For the fifth time in their nine-year history, the Vegas Golden Knights are one of the final four teams remaining in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Powered by multipoint games from forwards Mitch Marner, Pavel Dorofeyev, and defenseman Shea Theodore, the Golden Knights defeated the Anaheim Ducks by a score of 5-1 in Thursday’s Game 6, winning their second-round series 4-2 and advancing to the Western Conference Final.

Vegas will now take on the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche, who won their second-round series against the Minnesota Wild in five games thanks to Wednesday’s Game 5 victory, in which they came back from a three-goal deficit to win 4-3 in overtime.

Marner once again starred for the Golden Knights on Thursday, opening the scoring just over a minute into the game with a spectacular solo effort that has to be considered the highlight of the postseason so far.

Marner added a beautiful assist on Brett Howden’s short-handed goal later in the first period and now leads the Stanley Cup Playoffs in scoring with 18 points.

Vegas’ series against Anaheim began as a closely fought duel, with the two teams trading wins back and forth over the first four games until the series was even at 2-2 heading into Tuesday’s Game 5.

As is often the case, Game 5 turned out to be the pivotal game in the series. The game was tight, and went into overtime tied at two. Just over four minutes into overtime, Dorofeyev scored to give the Golden Knights the 3-2 win, setting the stage for them to clinch the series on Thursday.

Despite the loss, this season was a success for Anaheim. They made the playoffs for the first time since 2018, and by beating the Edmonton Oilers in the first round, they now have proof of concept that their young core led by forwards Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier, and defenseman Jackson LaCombe can win in the postseason.