The Vegas Golden Knights dominated the Utah Mammoth in Game 6, winning 5-1 behind a three-point night from Mitch Marner (2G, 1A) to close out the First Round series at the Delta Center on Friday. Here's what Head Coach John Tortorella and a few Golden Knights had to say following the series-clinching win.
Head Coach John Tortorella on Mitch Marner's performance…
It was his best game of the series. He just looked comfortable. I thought [Brett Howden] with him, it looked like a really good line. Mitchie's been doing a lot of little things people don't understand, some small plays, but he made some big plays tonight that everybody could see. Really good for him, for his confidence going into the next series.
Tortorella on the fourth line's impact…
There was no panic on the bench. The third goal is a pretty big one for us, with still about 10 minutes left. We just settled ourselves down. That fourth line, I don't know if I can call it the fourth line anymore. They scored a big goal for us and had some big minutes in this series.
Tortorella on what he loves most about the group…
The thing I love about this team is they just kept their heads down through the momentum swings against a really good, very well-coached hockey team, and just found our way.
Marner on the shift at the end of the second period that led to his goal…
It was great. I think it was two lines that went out there and really just put their force down, cycled the puck well and made plays when they were there. We did a really good job. We had opportunities to get pucks to the net, but no one was really around it, so the two lines just held onto it and wore them down. Then it was a great change by [Jack Eichel] I just tried to find high ice, and [Ivan Barbashev] found me, and lucky enough to finish it off.
Marner on whether this is what he envisioned when he came to Vegas…
This is what I hoped for, for sure. An opportunity to do something special. When I first got here, I knew it was a special group. All four lines contributed throughout the series. There were different moments where we needed every line to step up and come up big, and every line did that. This is what I hoped for, but there's a lot more work to do.
Carter Hart on his mentality throughout the series…
You can't control anything that's happened in the past. You win or you learn, that's the mindset you have to have. We're in the business of what have you done for me, so you put it behind you and get ready for the next opportunity.
Hart on his progression after a tough Game 3…
Game 3 obviously wasn't my best, but I felt better in the last few games and felt more like myself. Just a one-day-at-a-time mentality. We did a good job of competing and battling. Kudos to them; they played hard. They have a lot of skill on that team. They make plays, and it was a hard-fought series.
Colton Sissons on how the team stayed the course after falling behind in the series…
We just trusted our game. We were playing some good hockey for the most part. We had our moments throughout the series where we weren't quite up to par, but that happens in the playoffs. We just stuck with it and kept the faith.
Mark Stone on the team's ability to stay calm when Utah took a 2-1 series lead…
We've been here before. We don't have the panic that maybe some teams do, but we can calm ourselves pretty quickly. Look at Games 4 and 5, things got away from us a little bit, but we were able to calm ourselves down, tie the game, and win in overtime. Tonight was a little more flawless, I'd say.
