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How Vegas Broke Colorado - And Dodged Two NHL Curses

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Golden Knights Vs Avalanche
Golden Knights end Avalanche’s season,

After firing Bruce Cassidy and hiring Tortorella, the Golden Knights won 7 of 8 to close the season, then swept 121-point Colorado. Can Vegas break the Conference Curse for a second Cup?


Tortorella’s gamble pays off, Golden Knights rolling past the Avalanche...


The tale of two curses: Vegas storm back to stun Avalanche and book Stanley Cup spot


The Colorado Avalanche came out firing in Game 3. Down 2-0 after dropping both home games in the Western Conference final, the regular-season champs knew they had to respond. They needed a statement win to get back in the series. Colorado started fast and were red-hot, potting three first-period goals to grab a 3-0 lead.


Vegas Golden Knights had never won a playoff game when trailing by three or more - 0-19 in that spot. Colorado, meanwhile, were 74-1 when up by three+. But on this night the script flipped. The Golden Knights roared back in the second, netting three unanswered to tie it up.


The final frame was end-to-end. Both sides peppered shots, but the goalies shut everything down. That was until Vegas’ Tomas Hertl picked up the puck on the left wing, danced his way in, and slipped a backhand under the bar.


That strike made it 4-3 Vegas with 11:39 left. Colorado couldn’t find an answer - they didn’t score again. Vegas put the game away with an empty-net goal to seal a 5-3 win in Game 3.






“This is a game where we showed some balls,” said head coach John Tortorella after the game.


“We’ve been all season long many times down,” Hertl added. “We’ve come back so many times. Even after the first, when we were down 3-0, we knew we could do it.”



Colorado were chasing history, aiming to become only the fifth team ever to rally from 3-0 down and win a playoff series. It wasn’t to be. Vegas closed it out with a 2-1 win in the decider and booked their third Stanley Cup Final appearance in just nine years as a franchise.


The Golden Knights locked it down defensively. They smothered one of the league’s most dangerous attacks and held Colorado to a single goal.


“It’s by far our best game,” said Tortorella. “Checking is something we’ve been concentrating on, and I think we’ve gotten better and better through the rounds. But tonight’s game was our best checking effort, and that’s a hell of a hockey team we played over there.”


With that win, Vegas completed the sweep of a team that was highly favored to win the title.






Defense wins series

The Avalanche led the NHL with 3.63 goals per game in the regular season. They were even better in the first two playoff rounds, averaging 4.11. But Vegas’ stubborn defense choked that number down to just 1.75 in the conference final.


“We ran into a buzz saw in Vegas,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “I think they deserved the credit. It’s not a knock on how hard they played, but they’re a well-oiled machine right now, peaking at the right time. I look at their series, and man-to-man, they’re playing at the top of their game. We’ll have to regroup and reassess and reflect on our season and the series and go from there.”


Vegas are rolling right now with their best hockey of the year. Yet only a couple months ago they were staring at missing the playoffs for just the second time ever.


Late March hit hard. The Golden Knights dropped three straight and lost six of seven. Sitting third in the Pacific, their postseason spot was suddenly in doubt.


After the Olympic break they went 5-10-2 and the team looked out of sync. Management saw the slide and decided they couldn’t wait. With eight games left, they made a bold call.


The move sent shockwaves through the NHL: Vegas fired Bruce Cassidy and brought in John Tortorella to take over behind the bench.




“Bruce will forever be remembered with the utmost regard by our organization for what was accomplished here. With the stretch run of the 2025-26 regular season upon us, we believe that a change is necessary for us to return to the level of play that is expected of our club,” GM Kelly McCrimmon said in a statement.


All-in move works

Cassidy delivered Vegas their first Stanley Cup in 2023 and finished with a 178-99-43 record over almost four seasons. But in a franchise built on pushing for more, patience never lasted long.


Rolling the dice on their fourth head coach in nine years turned out to be the right call for the Golden Knights.


Tortorella’s arrival flipped the switch. Vegas won seven of their last eight, grabbed the Pacific Division title, and locked up the No. 1 seed. They knocked out Utah Mammoth in six, then did the same to Anaheim Ducks.


Colorado were supposed to be the toughest matchup. Instead, the hot Golden Knights had them on their heels from the start, backed them into a corner, and didn’t let up - sweeping one of the most dominant teams in NHL history in four games.




Colorado weren’t just any top seed. They dominated the regular season, clinched the Presidents’ Trophy, and finished with 121 points.


They topped the league in goals per game, racked up 522 assists, and killed penalties at 84.6%. With Martin Necas, Nathan MacKinnon, and Cale Makar leading the way, the Avalanche also fired more shots than anyone - 2,766 on the year.


Defensively they were just as strong, surrendering the fewest goals in the NHL and posting the best team save percentage at .914.


The curse strikes again

Colorado looked unbeatable for months and carried the best Stanley Cup odds the whole way. But in the end they fell victim to the so-called “Presidents’ Trophy curse.” The old NHL saying goes: the team that finishes with the best regular-season record and wins the Presidents’ Trophy won’t lift the Cup.


Chicago was the last team to break it back in 2013. Every Presidents’ Trophy winner since has come up short when it mattered most.






Other powerhouse teams have hit the same wall. In 2019, Tampa Bay put up 128 points - the fifth-best regular season ever - then got swept in round one by Columbus.


Boston went even bigger in 2023, setting the NHL record with 135 points. That run ended fast too, falling to Florida in seven games in the opening round.


Colorado knows the Presidents’ Trophy double is brutal. They won it in 2021, only to be knocked out in round two by Vegas in six games.


This year felt different

Colorado looked ready to finally break the curse until they ran into a Vegas team peaking at the perfect time. Now the Golden Knights have their own superstition to deal with: the Conference Curse.


Back in 2018, Vegas won the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl as Western Conference champs, then dropped the Stanley Cup Final to Washington. That loss fed the belief that any team that touches the conference trophy is doomed to lose in the Final.



No trophy, no problem

When Vegas made it back to the Final in 2023, they left the Campbell Bowl untouched and rode that decision to their first Stanley Cup.


History repeated itself this year. After sweeping Colorado, the Golden Knights walked right past the conference trophy again.


So the question is: can Vegas stay superstitious and finish the job one more time?




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