The Vegas Golden Knights have been calm, composed, and resilient till now in the Western Conference Final against the Colorado Avalanche. And the team’s head coach, John Tortorella, believes their biggest strength is not just skill, but patience under pressure.

After a 3-1 comeback win over the Colorado Avalanche in Game 2, coach John Tortorella said patience is the main reason for their success.

“Patience isn’t being on your heels,” Tortorella explained as reported by NHL.com. “You still have to be on your toes, but you also have to let the game come to you sometimes.”

In Game 2, the Vegas Golden Knights were 1-0 down after two periods. Even then, the team did not panic and made a strong comeback. Forward Jack Eichel tied the game at 9:15 of the third period before Ivan Barbashev added two more goals.

"There's no panic," Tortorella said. "They settle themselves down, and they know what to do. We may have a couple of things that we need to rectify, whether it be X's and O's, whatever it may be, but they just go out and do it."

Even though the team had some shortcomings, the coach saw patience as a silver lining. The team’s defensemen, Rasmus Andersson, also admitted that the team did not feel stressed in any situation.

"We haven't really been too stressed in either situation we've been in," Andersson said. "We just keep chipping away, shift by shift. That's the mentality you have to have in the playoffs."

The Vegas Golden Knights are leading the series 2-0 at the moment. This is a big achievement because the Colorado Avalanche is a very strong team and the winner of the Presidents’ Trophy this season.

Vegas Must Not Lose Focus, Felt John Tortorella 

Now that the Knights are leading the series, they should not lose focus. The job is not finished yet. They still need two more wins to reach their third Stanley Cup Final. Tortorella also warns Vegas to avoid risky play and stay disciplined, as Colorado can punish mistakes quickly in transition.

“You don’t want to open yourself up and start doing crazy stuff and opening yourself up,” Tortorella said. “That team will make you pay.”

The coach said the team is trying to improve game by game.  "We're trying to get better each and every game, each and every period. … It's not science. It's just trying to play better. This group understands how to go about it."

The Knights scored the most third-period goals in the NHL (108) and allowed the second-fewest goals (61) in the third period. They also took the most shots on goal in the league and won 10 games in the third period by coming from behind in the regular season.

In the playoffs, they have already done this 4 more times. This shows how good they are in the late-game situations.

Now, going into Game 3, they would stick to their patience game and try to extend the lead in the series. The next game is scheduled on May 24, 2026. 

Read more at the NHL Fan Central.

Written by

Kapil Manghnani

Edited by

Kaamna Dwivedi