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Vegas Steals Game 1 In Denver As Makar Watches From The Tunnel

By JR·2 min read
Vegas Steals Game 1 In Denver As Makar Watches From The Tunnel

TLDR: The Avs without Cale Makar look like a different team, and the Golden Knights just used that math to take Game 1 behind a Brett Howden hot streak that refuses to cool off. Ryan Whitney live-tweeted the whole thing, and by the end he was begging Vegas to bottle whatever Carter Hart was drinking.

  1. The real story player-wise is Brett Howden, who entered the playoffs as a third-line guy and has somehow already matched his entire previous postseason goal total in a single run. 9 goals in 43 career playoff games coming in, 9 goals in this run alone. That is not a bottom-six contribution - that is a difference-maker rewriting his own resume in real time.

    Ryan Whitney
    Ryan Whitney
    @ryanwhitney6

    That’s game. Brett Howden what a playoff. Had 9 goals in 43 previous playoff games and this year has 9 already. What a run

    Denver did not go quietly. MacKinnon, because he is MacKinnon, dragged the Avs back into the game with a move that left Brayden McNabb spinning in place looking for his stick. Even short Makar, you do not bury a team that has 97 on it without a fight, and for a stretch it looked like Vegas was going to have to sweat the third period out.

    Ryan Whitney
    Ryan Whitney
    @ryanwhitney6

    Oh my god mackinnon just put McNabb in the blender. WE GOT A GAME FOLKS

    Then came Dowd. An empty-netter that Whitney swore was going to be waved off for icing turned into the seal, and Carter Hart - who has quietly been excellent this run - locked it down on the other end. Vegas is up 1-0 in the series, and now the only question that matters is whether Makar can get a needle and a prayer and suit up for Game 2. Because if he can't, this thing is going to get weird fast.

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