Utah carries a 2-1 series lead into Monday's Game 4 against the Vegas Golden Knights at Delta Center after Lawson Crouse scored twice in 5:42 of the second period Friday in a 4-2 Mammoth win. [1] Game 4 is in Salt Lake City. The paper's Saturday brief on the Mammoth's first home playoff game in franchise history treated the night as a relocation-legitimacy file. Sunday's read is what Vegas's coach has explicitly named: the deficit is mental.

John Tortorella, in his first postseason as Vegas head coach after taking the job March 29, told reporters Saturday the Golden Knights need to play with "arrogance" in Game 4 to avoid falling behind 3-1. [2] He flagged the power play as needing a different approach — more aggressive on the outside, less deliberate. He did not call for tactical changes. He called for confidence the team's veterans should already have. The roster has Mark Stone, Jack Eichel, Shea Theodore, and Mitch Marner; the franchise won a Stanley Cup in 2023. [2] Tortorella's word selection — arrogance — is a coach asking experienced players to remember they are experienced.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal named the structural problem: Utah's top players have produced; Vegas's depth has not. [3] Mammoth top-line forwards have driven the goal-scoring; Vegas has gotten three goals from its fourth line and two from Stone. The series score is 9-8 in favor of Utah. Game 4 is, in Tortorella's framing, a test of whether the Golden Knights can summon what they used to be before they lose the option.

-- AMARA OKONKWO, Lagos