SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Mitch Marner had two goals and an assist, Carter Hart made 21 saves and Vegas Golden Knights beat the Utah Mammoth 5-1 on Friday night in Game 6 to wrap up the first-round series.
Vegas will face Anaheim in the second round. The Ducks advanced Thursday night with a 5-2 home victory over Edmonton in Game 6.
The Golden Knights have surged since John Tortorella took over as coach from the fired Bruce Cassidy, closing the regular season 7-0-1 after the change. They ripped off three straight wins after Utah took a 2-1 series lead.
“This is what I hoped for,” Marner said. “There’s a lot more work to keep going.”
Marner had two goals and five assists in the series. Friday was the first multi-goal playoff game for the Vegas forward since April 20, 2023, against Tampa Bay.
“It was his best game of the series. He just looked comfortable,” Tortorella said.
Brett Howden opened the scoring with his fourth goal of the series, all coming over the last three games. Colton Sissons added a third-period goal for Vegas soon after Utah’s Kailer Yamamoto cut it to 2-1. Cole Smith capped the scoring with an empty-netter on the heels of Marner converting a power play for his second goal.
“We’ve been here before,” Vegas captain Mark Stone said. “We don’t have the panic. Maybe some teams do. We can calm ourselves pretty quickly.”
Karel Vejmelka made 21 saves for Utah. The Mammoth led in the third period in each of the first five games before trailing the whole way in Game 6.
“I didn’t have that in my bingo card,” Utah coach Andre Tourigny said. “I was really confident we would go to Vegas tomorrow.”
Howden scored with 4:58 left in the first period. Marner’s shot went to the right of the goal and rebounded out front for Howden to put a wrist shot home.
On Wednesday night in Game 5, Howden scored the winner in the Golden Knights’ 5-4 double-overtime victory. Vegas also won 5-4 in overtime in Game 4 after getting two goals from him in regulation.
Marner made it 2-0 with 45 seconds left in the second after Vegas had the puck in Utah’s end for more than two minutes. He blasted a slap shot from the top of the right circle off Ian Cole’s knee and into the net.
“I’ve had a couple opportunities in that same area that I had just missed on,” Marner said. “That’s why I just decided to quickly wind one up and see if I could get a clapper through.”
AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Join us at the San Mateo Performing Arts Center on May 1 and May 2 at 7:30 PM for a dynamic … Read moreMateo Motion XXII
Come support local artists and small business! Our 3rd annual Spring Studio Sale! Read moreSpring Studio Sale
AMERICAN ROSE SOCIETY Read moreAmerican Rose Society NCNH District Rose Show & Rose Sale
Join us for community fun at the San Mateo Senior Showcase at the San Mateo Senior Center lo… Read moreSan Mateo Senior Showcase
Doug North Central said:
CA Is Burning said:
CA Is Burning said:
Should politicians who intentionally lie and mislead their flocks be waterboarded?
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.