Vegas Golden Knights continued their stunning postseason run Tuesday night, defeating the Colorado Avalanche 2-1 to complete an unexpected sweep and advance to the franchise’s third Stanley Cup Final in just nine seasons. Goals from Mark Stone and Cole Smith, combined with a dominant defensive performance, helped Vegas shut down one of the NHL’s most explosive offenses. The Golden Knights now await the winner of the Eastern Conference Final between Carolina and Montreal while enjoying valuable rest before the championship series begins.— NHL (@NHL) For Colorado, the defeat marked a shocking and painful finish to a remarkable season. The Avalanche entered the series after winning the Presidents’ Trophy and storming through the playoffs with an impressive 8-1 record. Expectations were high for another Stanley Cup run, but Vegas completely disrupted Colorado’s rhythm throughout the series.— NHL (@NHL) Stone opened the scoring after collecting a long lob pass from Brayden McNabb deep in the defensive zone. With a clear path to the net, the Vegas captain calmly finished the breakaway opportunity. Later in the third period, Smith redirected Dylan Coghlan’s point shot with 5:45 remaining, giving Vegas a crucial two-goal cushion.Goaltender Carter Hart delivered another steady performance for Vegas, stopping 20 shots and coming close to his first playoff shutout in six years. Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog finally broke through late in the game, scoring with just over two minutes remaining. However, the Avalanche offense struggled badly overall, including a lengthy stretch of more than 22 minutes with only one shot on goal.— NHL (@NHL) Colorado goalie Mackenzie Blackwood, making his first start of the series, kept his team competitive with 24 saves, including a spectacular glove stop on Pavel Dorofeyev during a Vegas power play.Vegas’ road to the Final has been filled with adversity. The franchise made the controversial decision to fire coach Bruce Cassidy late in the regular season before replacing him with John Tortorella, who quickly transformed the team. Vegas closed the regular season strongly before eliminating Utah, Anaheim, and finally Colorado to continue an unlikely march toward another Stanley Cup opportunity.