Ex-Rangers center Howden keeps rolling, but Vegas loses Game 2 of Cup Final
Brett Howden had the Vegas Golden Knights in position to win Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final on Thursday night. The former New York Rangers forward scored his playoff-leading 12th and 13th goals to give Vegas a two-goal lead entering the third period, but the Carolina Hurricanes rallied for a series-tying 4-3 overtime win.
Howden opened the scoring at 13:33 of the first period. He outmuscled ’Canes defenseman Sean Walker in the Carolina zone to gain possession of a long lob pass by linemate Mitch Marner, shoving him aside to get room to operate before wristing a shot from the slot past goaltender Frederik Andersen for a 1-0 lead.
The goal came on Vegas’ second shot of the game – and its last one in the opening period.
He made it 2-0 at 7:23 of the second period, taking a pass from Ivan Barbashev as he entered the offensive zone and muscled his way past Carolina defenseman Jaccob Slavin before sweeping across the top of the crease and tucking a forehand past Andersen’s pad.
“What an unbelievable play!” ESPN analyst Ray Ferraro gushed during the replay. “Twice we’ve seen the strength of Howden. Once he shoved aside Walker. And here he protects the puck against one of the game’s best, Jaccob Slavin.”
Sportsnet’s Kevin Bieksa said of Howden: “He has straight-line speed and strength. A lethal combination.”
It looked like Howden would be credited with his fourth game-winning goal of the playoffs when the Golden Knights kept the Hurricanes off the board through the first half of the third period. But Logan Stankoven’s unassisted goal at 10:20 cut the deficit in half and ignited the previously quiet sellout crowd of 18,710 at Lenovo Center in Raleigh. Mark Jankowski tied the game by beating Vegas goalie Carter Hart at 12:46.
Carolina then took the lead at 15:25 on a power-play goal by Jordan Staal that was set up when Vegas lost a coach’s challenge on what would have been a go-ahead goal by the Golden Knights. But Vegas tied it at 18:39 with Hart on the bench for a sixth attacker when Marner’s shot hit teammate Mark Stone, then deflected off Andersen and was accidentally poked into the net by Slavin.
However, Carolina’s Seth Jarvis won the game and evened the series at 3:56 of OT, beating Hart with a power-play one-timer from the left circle.
Ex-Rangers forward Brett Howden continues magical playoff run despite Game 2 loss in Cup Final
Howden finished with two goals, three shots on goal, one hit, three blocked shots and a plus-1 rating in 15:35 of ice time. He also had a goal in Vegas’ 5-4 win in Game 1.
He tied the Vegas franchise record for goals in one playoff year, matching Jonathan Marchessault’s 13 during the Golden Knights’ run to the Cup in 2023. His 13 playoff goals are one more than he scored in 58 regular-season games this season. Even more impressive is that none of the 13 goals came on the power play, tying him with Claude Lemieux for the most in one playoff season without a PPG.
It was his second multiple-goal game of this year’s playoffs, matching his career total in 489 regular-season games. He’s also the third player in the past 30 years to have multiple points in the first two road games of the Final, joining Florida defenseman Nate Schmidt last year and Vegas teammate Mark Stone in 2023. His 16 points this spring (13 goals, three assists) are six 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 leads all players with three short-handed goals — tying him with seven others, including Wayne Gretzky, for the most in a single postseason. Howden is also tied for the postseason lead with three game-winners – including the third overtime goal of his career.
On April 29, he became 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.
The Tampa Bay Lightning selected 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.
Howden had 16 goals, 49 points and was minus-29 during three seasons with the Rangers before general manager Chris Drury sent him to Vegas on July 17, 2021. In all, he has 163 points (74 goals, 89 assists) in his 489 NHL regular-season games – but 31 points (22 goals, nine assists) in 61 playoff games.
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.
Coach John Tortorella put Howden together with William Karlsson and 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.
His play earned trust from Tortorella, who’s willing to use him in any situation. Howden’s average ice time of 16:36 through 18 playoff games is a significant jump from his regular-season average of 14:54.
