Vegas won because faceoff dominance (55.4%) and a 19-minute collapse from Colorado turned a 3-0 first-period lead into a 5-3 defeat.
β‘TURNING POINT
Stone's power-play goal 19 seconds into the second period arrived before Colorado could regroup after the intermission, converting the 3-0 lead into a suddenly fragile 3-1 margin. The timing was surgical β it denied Colorado any settling possession and signalled that the penalty-minute disparity (COL 18, VGK 10) would define the period's shape.
πWHY VGK WON (ranked by impact β most decisive first)
1
Faceoff Control: 55.4% (31 of 56) β Vegas won the possession battle at every drop, generating sustained zone time that starved Colorado of puck recovery opportunities across two full periods.
2
Physical Dominance: 35 hits vs. Colorado's 18 β Vegas' physical engagement wore down Colorado's structure progressively, with Howden (4 hits) and Stone (4 hits) leading the attrition.
3
Discipline Differential: 10 PIM vs. Colorado's 18 β Vegas surrendered fewer power-play opportunities, converting 1/5 on their own chances while keeping Colorado scoreless on 5 attempts.
πWHY COL LOST (ranked by impact β biggest failure first)
1
Penalty Discipline: 18 PIM, 0/5 power play (0.0%) β Colorado generated five man-advantages and converted none, wasting the entire structural advantage their first-period lead created.
2
Giveaways: 19 vs. Vegas' 16 β Colorado's puck management collapsed in the final two periods, gifting Vegas the transition opportunities that produced four even-strength goals.
3
Shorthanded Concession: Colorado allowed a shorthanded goal in P1 while generating zero power-play production β the net special-teams swing across the game was decisively negative.
Three Stars
Tomas Hertl1st
VGK, C
1G 1A 2P3 SOGTOI 13:23
Hertl produced the go-ahead goal in P3 and drove Vegas' forward depth at even strength.
Mark Stone2nd
VGK, R
1G 1A 2P3 SOGTOI 15:454 hits
Stone's power-play goal 19 seconds into the second period was the turning point and his physicality (4 hits) reinforced Vegas' territorial control.
Mitch Marner3rd
VGK, R
0G 2A 2PTOI 23:59+/- 0
Marner's 24 minutes of ice time anchored the transition game, with primary assists on both the power-play goal and Karlsson's even-strength strike.
