LAS VEGAS (AP) — Mark Stone and Cole Smith scored for Vegas and the Golden Knights suffocated Colorado’s high-powered offense to beat the Avalanche 2-1 on Tuesday night for an unthinkable sweep to make their third Stanley Cup Final in nine seasons.The Golden Knights will get a break while they watch to see whether Carolina or Montreal emerges from the Eastern Conference Final.This is a crushing end for an Avalanche team that won the Presidents’ Trophy and had blown through the playoffs with an 8-1 record. Chicago in 2013 was the last team to claim the Presidents’ Trophy and the Stanley Cup in the same season.Stone scored for the Golden Knights on a lob pass from Brayden McNabb deep in his zone. Stone caught the puck and had a direct path to the net and made the most of it. Smith later tipped in Dylan Coghlan’s shot from the point with 5:45 left for a critical two-goal margin.
Carter Hart stopped 20 shots, coming within 2:03 of his first playoff shutout in six years.Gabriel Landeskog ended that shutout, one of the few highlights of the night for the Avalanche, who went the final 14:23 of the second period without a shot on goal and more than 22 minutes with just one shot.
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