The Vegas Golden Knights eliminated Anaheim in six games Wednesday night, advancing to the Western Conference Finals to face Colorado. And if you're keeping score at home, that's five conference finals appearances in just nine seasons of existence.
H-I-S-T-O-R-I-C.
Yes, I know, we've beaten that word to death when it comes to Vegas. But folks, this franchise has done something truly special. Five conference finals in nine years is more than any other team during that span. More than Colorado. More than Tampa. More than anyone.
Love them or hate them, the Golden Knights have built a dynasty in the desert.
The clinching game was pure Vegas - methodical, ruthless, and featuring some absolute highlight-reel magic. Mitch Marner opened the scoring with a between-the-legs goal just 1:02 into the game. The highlight has been called "the goal of the playoffs so far," and it's hard to argue. Erik Karlsson threaded a perfect stretch pass through three defenders, and Marner - with all the audacity in the world - went between his own legs to beat the goalie.
That's art, folks. That's a world-class player doing something most guys can't even attempt. This is why the playoffs exist - to watch the best players on earth do things that make you rewind the DVR three times.
But it wasn't just Marner. Brett Howden scored a shorthanded goal - his third shorthanded goal of these playoffs and his eighth goal overall. Three shorties in one postseason. That's absurd. That's the kind of two-way dominance that wins championships.
Shea Theodore added a power-play goal, and put the game away with two third-period tallies. Vegas rolled to a 5-1 victory and never looked back.
