The Avalanche were looking to avoid being the fifth different President's Trophy team to be swept in a Stanley Cup playoff series, and the first since the 2021/22 Florida Panthers.
Things did not start well for the guests at the T-Mobile Arena, as it only took four minutes and 42 seconds for the Golden Knights to get the opening goal. Brayden McNabb played a pass over the top to Mark Stone. In one-on-one with MacKenzie Blackwood, the 34-year-old made no mistake in finding the back of the net.
The rest of the opening frame saw the Avs get into the game a bit more. Yet, they could not find an equalizer from any of their eight shots in the first 20 minutes. Save for Game 3, when they went up 3-0, Colorado failed to score in any of the other games in the first period.
Things did not get much better for the visitors in the second period, where Vegas continued to put the number one seed under pressure. While the Avalanche did outshooot the Golden Knights 12-8, it was the home team who had the best chances. Twice in the space of a minute did Blackwood come to the Avs' rescue, making two impressive saves to keep them in the game.
Yet, despite being by far the best team in the league this season, the Avs simply had no answer for the Golden Knights, who continued to make things difficult for them. In the final period, Colorado had just seven attempts on goal, one more than Vegas.
The decisive goal came with 5:45 left in the game. Dylan Coghlan's shot was tipped in by Cole Smith to double the Golden Knights' lead. The crowd erupted as their team was on the cusp of pulling off a memorable upset.
Now in desperation mode, the Avs spent the final five minutes playing with six skaters. That was when they finally got on the board. Gabriel Landeskog's shot from distance found its way in with 2:03 left to give his side some hope.
Unfortunately for them, that was the furthest they got to closing the deficit. Vegas held on for the final two minutes to prevail and reach their third Stanley Cup in franchise history.
As for Colorado, they join the Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Detroit Red Wings, and Calgary Flames as the only President's Trophy teams to be swept in a playoff series.
The Golden Knights will face the winner of the Eastern Conference final between the Montreal Canadiens and Carolina Hurricanes, with the latter leading the series 2-1.