LAS VEGAS — It’s stunning that the Vegas Golden Knights have reached this point. Only eight weeks ago, they fired their coach and were in real danger of falling out of the playoff picture. On Friday night, they flew home from Denver with a commanding 2-0 Western Conference final series lead over the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche.“I don’t think people had this on their bingo card, but I think the guys in this room, we knew we could do it,” Vegas defenseman Dylan Coghlan said after Friday’s 3-1 comeback win in Game 2. “Our goal was to come here and get two, and we weren’t satisfied with the split. I think getting back home and in front of our fans, T-Mobile Arena gets rocking, so hopefully it’s rocking.”After two road wins to open the series, history is heavily in Vegas’ favor. In NHL history, teams to do that in the conference finals have gone on to win 20 of 21 times. Since 1982, they’ve gone on to win the series all 13 times.Still, the Avalanche are formidable, and the Golden Knights players know they have work in front of them, starting with Game 3 on Sunday.“It’s far from over, and we know that,” defenseman Noah Hanifin said. “It’s a long series. They’re a great team over there, and we have to stay even keel. We have to come home and really take advantage of this home ice and dig in. This Game 3 is going to be huge.”Despite the history, the betting odds still give Colorado a chance. While the Golden Knights are now minus-240 favorites to win the series, if you bet on a specific outcome (i.e., picking a team in the specific number of games), the favorite is still the Avalanche in seven. It speaks to how good this Colorado team is.Here are three things the Golden Knights must do to close out the series, and three things the Avalanche must do to climb back into it.Three things Vegas must do to close out the series1. Ride the heater in netThe most obvious difference through the first two games of this series has been the goaltending. Colorado holds the edge in shots (68-53), scoring chances (66-47) and high-danger chances (26-14), but has been outscored 5-3, excluding empty-net goals.It’s not that Scott Wedgewood has been bad. He’s been solid and made several key saves in Game 2, including two on a breakaway by Mitch Marner early. The difference is that Carter Hart is on a pretty ridiculous hot streak at the moment.“Yeah, we’ve gotten some pretty good goaltending,” Vegas coach John Tortorella said. “Let’s state that right away. Carter has been very good in the first two games here.”Hart has produced a save percentage of .926 or better in eight of his last nine starts, dating back to Game 6 of the first-round series against Utah. Vegas didn’t have a stretch of goaltending like that all season, or in the last three regular seasons. It’s reminiscent of Adin Hill’s scorching hot streak that helped Vegas win the Cup in 2023. That year, Hill produced a save percentage north of .925 in eight of his 14 starts and finished third in voting for the Conn Smythe Trophy. Hart has done it in eight of 12 this season, and is still two wins away from reaching the Stanley Cup Final.“He’s a wall back there,” Coghlan said. “I think we’re trying to do whatever we can to make it simple for him, and obviously, there are going to be breakdowns and little mistakes that lead to chances, but he’s being a difference maker right now, and we appreciate him.”Hart’s reads have been sharp. His defensemen are allowing him to see shots, and he’s made it look easy. If he maintains this level of play moving forward, it feels like a near impossibility for Colorado to win four of the next five games.2. Stay above MacKinnonThrough two games, the Hart Trophy finalist has managed to generate only eight shot attempts and three shots on goal. MacKinnon has yet to score a goal, and hasn’t looked nearly as dangerous with the puck as we’re accustomed to.Jack Eichel has been a big reason for that. He matched up with MacKinnon most often over the first two games and has done an exceptional job of staying above the star centerman to limit his rush opportunities.