Andersson hit 'reset button' to help Golden Knights to West Final

LAS VEGAS -- Rasmus Andersson doesn't know exactly when things started to turn around for him this season. 

The Vegas Golden Knights defenseman did recall it happened sometime during or after one of the worst 12-game stretches of his NHL career. He had a goal and two assists and was minus-11 from Feb. 25 to March 14 following the break for the 2026 Winter Olympics, where he played two games for Team Sweden.

"After the Olympics, it was one of those things where you know you've looked forward to an event for so long," Andersson said. "And then you come back and you are a little jet lagged. You get off on the wrong foot, so it just took longer than expected to get out of that slump."

Andersson looks to keep the vibes going when the Golden Knights open the Western Conference Final against the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena in Denver on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, TVAS, CBC). He had a pair of conversations in lieu of a big speech or a change in the lineup. One was with himself. Another with his mental coaches.

"Just hit the reset button," Andersson said.

Next came a turnaround on the ice nearly two months after he was traded to the Golden Knights by the Calgary Flames on Jan. 18 for Zach Whitecloud, Abram Wiebe, a first-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft and a second-round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft. He had 10 points (five goals, five assists) and was plus-7 in his final 12 regular-season games.

"I played some really good hockey the rest of the way," Andersson said. "Slumps are going to happen during a season."

The trip to the Western Conference Final will be the furthest Andersson has gone into the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He's played 93 games between the regular season and playoffs and will likely play more. In the big picture, that tough stretch was a pixel on a larger body of work.

"If you told me I was going to have 12 bad games before that, I would take it any day of the week," Andersson said. "You just try to stick with it."

Golden Knights coach John Tortorella noticed. Since Tortorella replaced Bruce Cassidy on March 29, Andersson's average time on ice is 23:22, an increase of three minutes from his slump.

"I like his personality," Tortorella said. "I think he's a bit of a renegade. He plays on his instincts, not to play in areas that you need to play in. Very aggressive getting up the ice. I think he fits this style of play."

Though the trip to the conference final is a new frontier, Andersson is keeping things in perspective even with the Avalanche 7-1 in the playoffs. It's a challenge he is ready to accept and will keep it simple.

"In the playoffs, you have to defend first," Andersson said. "I think we've done a good job with that."

Andersson did have a guess on when his season may have turned around, thinking it was either against the Nashville Predators on Dallas Stars. The game log says five shots on goal and two blocked shots in 21:50 of ice time that helped the Golden Knights to a 3-2 win at the Stars on March 22. Andersson isn't dwelling on the details. He's moved on and only focused on the present.

"I wanted to go here to have a chance to win," he said. "We've just shown that we're a resilient group throughout the playoffs and we just stick with it."