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Ex-Rangers forward Howden helps Vegas rally to win Game 1 of Cup Final
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- Ex-Rangers forward Howden helps Vegas rally to win Game 1 of Cup Final
Former New York Rangers forward Brett Howden continued his playoff heroics for the Vegas Golden Knights , scoring a third-period goal and adding an assist in their 5-4 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Tuesday night.
Howden had the second assist on William Karlsson 's goal 4:35 into the second period that put Vegas ahead 3-2 after trailing 2-0, and his playoffs-leading 11th goal at 1:21 of the third period gave the Golden Knights a 4-3 lead. He cut through the left circle and redirected a diagonal pass from defenseman Shea Theodore under goalie Frederik Andersen 's right arm.
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"I felt like he kind of (saw) me jump around my guy," he told ESPN. "Whether he was shooting it to an area or something, I thought it was an unbelievable play by [Theodore]."
Hurricanes defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere tied the game by beating Vegas goaltender Carter Hart at 11:19, but Vegas went ahead to stay to stay when Tomas Hertl zipped a shot from the slot past Andersen with 3:24 remaining.
"It was a wild game," Howden said. "Obviously a lot of momentum swings both ways. I thought we did a really good job of staying with it, especially early on.
In addition to his goal and assist, Howden finished the game plus-1 with two shots on goal and three hits in 14:51 of ice time . He was selected as the game's Third Star after the Golden Knights won their seventh straight game and handed Carolina just its second loss in 14 games this spring.
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The 28-year-old is a major reason the Golden Knights are three wins away from their second Stanley Cup championship in four years. He passed teammate Pavel Dorofeyev for the most goals this postseason and is one away from matching his regular-season total of 12. His 14 points this spring are four more than he had in the 2023 postseason, when he helped Vegas win its first championship.
Howden was a member of the Rangers for three seasons before they traded him to the Golden Knights in July 2021. He became a useful bottom-six producer with Vegas and helped his new team win the Cup in 2023 by scoring five goals and adding five assists in 23 postseason games.
But Howden is an even bigger contributor for the Golden Knights this spring. He tops all players with three short-handed goals — tying him with seven other players, including Wayne Gretzky, for the most in a single postseason. He's also tied for the postseason lead with three game-winners – including the third overtime goal of his career.
Howden hit all three of those categories on April 29, when he became just the second player since 1933-34 (when the NHL began tracking goals by type) to score a short-handed winner in a playoff game that required multiple overtimes. His historic goal gave Vegas a 5-4 double-overtime win over the Utah Mammoth in Game 5 of their first-round series.
Ex-Rangers forward Brett Howden helps Vegas win Game 1 of Stanley Cup Final
The Tampa Bay Lightning took Howden in the first round (No. 27 overall) of the 2016 NHL Draft. They traded him to the Rangers on Feb. 26, 2018, before he ever played a game in the NHL, in a deal that sent defenseman Ryan McDonagh and forward J.T. Miller to Tampa Bay . Yes, we're talking about THAT trade — the one that got New York's rebuild off to a shaky start after issuing The Letter.
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Howden had 16 goals, 49 points and was minus-29 during three seasons as a bottom-six forward with the Rangers before general manager Chris Drury sent him to Vegas on July 17, 2021, for defenseman Nick DeSimone (who never played a game for the Blueshirts) and a fourth-round pick in the 2022 draft that became center Noah Laba.
In all, he has 163 points (74 goals, 89 assists) in 489 NHL regular-season games – and 29 points (20 goals, nine assists) in 60 playoff games.
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Few players have elevated their game during the playoffs as much as Howden, who's become a consistent source of offense in key moments. His ability to score in a variety of situations has helped Vegas get within three wins of the Cup.
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Coach John Tortorella put Howden together with Karlsson and Mitch Marner at the start of Vegas' second-round series against the Anaheim Ducks after Karlsson returned from an injury. The three meshed almost instantly,with their combination of skill, speed, and relentless pressure creating matchup problems for opposing defenses.
Another reason for Howden's success is versatility – in addition to his offensive contributions, he takes on tough defensive assignments and kills penalties. His play has earned trust from Tortorella, who's willing to use him in any situation and has praised Howden's reliability and competitiveness. Howden's average ice time of 16:39 through 17 playoff games is a big jump from his regular-season average of 14:54.
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