Golden Knights will be 'ready to play' in Game 4, Tortorella says

SALT LAKE CITY -- When John Tortorella took over as Vegas Golden Knights coach on March 29, he used a positive approach to snap them out of an 8-15-4 funk. They went on a 7-0-1 run down the stretch.

“I think for a long time there, self-doubt comes in, guys gripping the sticks, just not feeling confident,” forward Keegan Kolesar said the other day. “And he just came in here and just kind of slapped us in the face, said, ‘You guys are a good team. Act like it. Play with it. Have that confidence and that arrogance to it.’”

Is that what the Golden Knights need after losing consecutive games to the Utah Mammoth, falling behind 2-1 in the Western Conference First Round?

“Absolutely,” Tortorella said Saturday.

Tortorella sounded upbeat after a 4-2 loss in Game 3 at Delta Center on Friday and again in the middle of reviewing video of the game Saturday, saying he thought Vegas took “a step forward” in some areas after its 3-2 loss in Game 2.

He said he wants to show the players positive clips when they review video together Sunday “just to keep them on the upswing as far as confidence” heading into Game 4 on Monday (time TBD; Utah16, SCRIPPS, ESPN).

“They will see some of the good things that we did, individuals will see some of the good things they have done and (I will) just keep on trying to help them,” Tortorella said. “This isn’t about browbeating and going after them, because I thought we did some good things.”

On the surface, Game 3 looked bad for the Golden Knights. They fell behind 4-0 after goalie Carter Hart allowed four goals on the first eight shots he faced. They went 0-for-4 on the power play and 0-for-1 on the penalty kill.

But Tortorella said he didn’t consider pulling Hart. And although some of it was due to the score -- and the 5-on-5 shot attempts were more even, with Vegas leading 72-63 -- the Golden Knights outshot the Mammoth 32-12.

Tortorella said he isn’t worried about Hart, whom he coached with the Philadelphia Flyers from 2022-24.

“I’m still trying to figure out the guys, but if there is one player I do know very well, it’s him,” he said. “And I know him. He’s pushed that away already, and we’re doing the same thing. And I don’t think it’s a bad game. I think we needed one or two more saves from him, but it was a funny game. It was a really weird game.”

Tortorella thinks each team had chances in Game 3. The difference was that Utah capitalized, and Vegas didn’t. Center Jack Eichel got on the board with a goal, and that could relieve some pressure on him.

That said, Tortorella shuffled his lines, looking for a spark. Some players are struggling to produce, like forward Pavel Dorofeyev, who has no points in the series after leading the Golden Knights with 37 goals in the regular season.

“I think we’re a play or two away, someone maybe getting hot,” Tortorella said. “Listen, I’m not going to shy away from it. Our top guys have got to score some goals for us. They know that too. I don’t have to remind them. They know that. That’s how we’re going to get over this and try to get the momentum on our side. But I still think they’ve done some good things. We just haven’t finished.”

Tortorella said the coaches worked on special teams Saturday. The power play was too deliberate in Game 3, holding onto the puck and allowing the Mammoth to get into the positions they wanted based on their scouting. He thinks the Golden Knights need a different look.

“I just think we’re on the outside too much, on the outside too much on the power play, and if there’s one thing in our 5-on-5, if we’re going to start scoring some goals, we’ve got to be on the inside more,” he said. “And it’s not a big change. It’s just a little bit of a mindset, an emphasis on those types of things.”

Vegas is loaded with veterans, many of whom won the Stanley Cup there in 2023. The Golden Knights know how important Game 4 will be. Teams that have fallen behind 3-1 in a best-of-7 series have won the series only nine percent of the time (32-325) in NHL history.

“Our players know where they're at,” Tortorella said. “I don’t have to remind them in these situations when momentum swings in series happen. We win the first game; they get two. The momentum’s on their side. We don’t have to remind this group here.

“They’ll be ready to play Game 4, as they were in Game 3. They were ready to play. I thought they came out, did some things we wanted to do. Funny things happen in games. I know the group will be ready to play.”