Woolly bullies: Golden Knights dispatch Mammoth in Game 6, advance to 2nd round

SALT LAKE CITY – The script of the first round was, indeed, the same as the last.

The Vegas Golden Knights are moving on to the second round after defeating the Utah Mammoth 5-1 in Game 6 at Delta Center on Friday.

Next up will be the Anaheim Ducks in the second round for the first playoff matchup ever between the Interstate-15 rivals. Anaheim just upset the two-time Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers in six games.

Game 1 will be at T-Mobile Arena. The day of the opener has yet to be announced.

Mitch Marner scored twice for his first goals of the playoffs, and Brett Howden scored his fourth goal in three games.

The Knights trailed the series 2-1 after losing 4-2 in Game 3 in Utah. But just like last year's first-round series against the Minnesota Wild, the Knights responded with back-to-back overtime wins and a convincing Game 6 victory to send them to the second round.

Goaltender Carter Hart finished with 21 saves. He carried a shutout for nearly 48 minutes until Utah winger Kailer Yamamoto squeaked a shot by Hart from the right circle.

Colton Sissons answered 1:58 later on a rebound for his second goal of the series and restored the two-goal lead.

Coach John Tortorella was asked before the morning skate if the Knights needed to get off to a fast start.

"I certainly don't want a slow start," Tortorella said, in a light-hearted manner.

The messaging was if the Knights play the way they're capable of, they want to get to it quickly.

They did with a 10-6 edge in shots through the first period. They were rewarded with the game's first goal.

Who else, courtesy of the hottest goal scorer in the series?

Howden – responsible for the game-winning goal in Game 5 – opened the scoring by scoring on a weak-side rebound with 4:58 left in the first for a 1-0 lead.

Utah made its push in the second period, but Hart – who stopped all seven shots he faced in the second period – stood tall.

Marner's goal with 45 seconds left in the middle frame didn't ice the game, but it might as well have been the dagger.

The Knights had a shift of nearly two minutes where they cycled the puck, worked it down low and hemmed Utah's defense in.

The puck eventually landed on Marner's stick, who skated toward the right circle and fired a slap shot that hit the far corner for his first playoff goal as a member of the Knights.

That was all the Knights needed.

Experience, in the end, played a factor in this series. The young Mammoth had their chance with two third-period leads and a chance to put a stranglehold on the series.

Three overtimes in a 48-hour span took the life out of the Mammoth. It showed in that second goal, and it showed as Game 6 wore on.

The Knights are moving on to the second round. What are they going to do next?

They're going to Disneyland.

Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.

This story was originally published May 1, 2026 at 10:36 PM.