LAS VEGAS, May 26th, 2026– Six days ago, the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche were the team to beat. All that success ended with Mark Stone, Captain of the Vegas Golden Knights, alone behind their defense with enough time to order fries and a drink with that before scoring.

Hockey is a strange sport. Despite winning the Pacific Division, the Golden Knights were underachievers for almost all of the regular season. Now, they’re bound for the Stanley Cup Final, and are just four wins away from hoisting the greatest trophy in all of sports.

The Golden Knights’ star players have carried them through most of the postseason. But in Games 3 and 4, it was their fourth line that scored two of the most important goals. Cole Smith’s third-period goal at 14:15 in the third period gave his team a 2-0 lead, and stood as the game-winning goal.

The Golden Knights await the winner of the Eastern Conference Final, where the Carolina Hurricanes are up 2-1 on the Montreal Canadiens.

The Western Conference Final was over when the Golden Knights won Game 3 to take a stranglehold 3-0 lead in the series. In fact, it’s possible that the Western Conference Final was over from the minute that Mark Stone scored on the power play to start the comeback in Game 3.

The Avalanche played Game 4 as if it were a formality, like they had already lost, gone through the handshake line, and hit the links to kick off the offseason.

The Golden Knights also played Game 4 as if it were a formality. They, however, played like they had already won, gone through the handshake line, and moved on to the Stanley Cup Final.

The underdog famously won in the story of David vs. Goliath. Tonight, history repeated itself.

Very few analysts had the Avalanche losing this series. They wrote the Golden Knights off, and after winning the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl, Vegas didn’t write back.

Fifty-eight days ago, the Golden Knights were in a rut. They had just racked up their ninth streak of three or more losses, and they were in serious danger of missing the postseason.

Enter John Tortorella.

Teams in the playoff hunt don’t just switch coaches with just eight games remaining in the regular season– at least, not usually. But it worked for the Golden Knights. Today, they are four wins away from their second Stanley Cup in franchise history. Would they be here without Tortorella at the helm?

The bench boss himself certainly seems to think so.

“This team activated itself,” he said following the 2-1 win in Game 4 of the Western Conference Final. “Let’s get that straight. The coaches, our job is to get rid of the obstacles in front of [the team] so they can play. But this team activated itself.

“They know what it takes,” Tortorella finished. “We’re just kind of guidance counselors. That’s the way I look at us coaches, especially with this group. Sometimes, I need to bring them back in, and put them on the tracks facing the right way. I’ll nudge them there and try to get them there. But they’re the ones that play.”

Regardless of what Tortorella says, this was a broken team before he took over. Maybe he was right all along– maybe it is all about having the right mindset.

To touch, or not to touch– that is the question.

One of the biggest points of contention during the postseason is during the presentation of the Prince of Wales Trophy for the Eastern Conference and the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl for the West. Hockey is a superstitious sport, and players typically hold the belief that touching these lesser trophies will jinx their chances of winning the Stanley Cup.

The Golden Knights broke the unwritten rule in 2018 and ultimately lost the Stanley Cup Final in five games. They did not touch the trophy in 2023, and ultimately won their first Stanley Cup in franchise history in five games.

Following their Game 4 victory over the Colorado Avalanche, the Golden Knights elected not to touch the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl.

“We did the same thing in Dallas,” said Mark Stone following the 2-1 win. “Our ultimate goal is to win the other one.”