VANCOVUER, British Columbia (AP) — Cole Smith's goal midway through the third period proved to be the winner as the Vegas Golden Knights held on to beat the Vancouver Canucks 2-1 on Tuesday night.
Max Sasson opened the scoring for the Canucks (22-47-8) with a wrist shot over the glove of Golden Knights goalie Carter Hart at the 12:50 mark of the second period. It was his 13th goal of the season.
Brayden McNabb replied for Vegas (36-26-16) less than three minutes later, sending a shot through traffic to tie the score at 1. Smith scored the go-ahead goal 12:13 into the third.
Vancouver had a prime chance to force extra time when Vegas defenseman Rasmus Andersson was called for interference with less than two minutes left. The Canucks pulled goalie Nikita Tolopilo in favor of an extra attacker, but failed to score.
Hart stopped 10 of the 11 shots he faced for the Golden Knights. Tolopilo made 26 saves for the Canucks.
Vegas extended its winning streak to four games under new head coach John Tortorella, who took over behind the bench March 31.
The Golden Knights swept the three-game season series between the teams after winning 5-2 on Feb. 4 and 4-2 on March 30 in Vegas.
Up next
Golden Knights: Visit Seattle on Thursday.
Canucks: Start a three-game road trip at Los Angeles on Thursday.
-
'Go Knights Go': Las Vegas seniors join in to cheer on the Guys in Gold
When you think of cheering on our Guys in Gold, did you ever wonder what some of the oldest and wisest fans in our valley do for each game? Well, Channel 13 wanted to find out! The
Mitch Marner scores 2nd career postseason hat trick in Stanley Cup Final Game 3
Marner's three goals mark his second career postseason hat trick, both of which have come in the 2026 postseason and his first season with the Vegas Golden Knights.
VGK defenseman Brayden McNabb returns for Game 3 after taking puck to face
Until just before puck drop, it was unclear if McNabb would play, but he took the ice in a full face cage, to massive applause from the crowd at T-Mobile Arena.
Tortorella likes where the Golden Knights stand with the Stanley Cup Final tied
John Tortorella is confident about how the Vegas Golden Knights are playing in the Stanley Cup Final, even after falling in overtime in Game 2.
