Golden Knights top Canucks in Tortorella’s debut

The Vegas Golden Knights (33-26-16) were victorious in their first game under John Tortorella, who made his Vegas debut Monday night after replacing Bruce Cassidy as head coach Sunday afternoon. The Golden Knights overcame two one-goal deficits and defeated the Vancouver Canucks (21-44-8) 4-2 thanks to a three-goal second period. Vegas got goals from Rasmus Andersson, Shea Theodore, Reilly Smith and Cole Smith, who netted his first as a Golden Knight with an empty-net goal to seal the win with 1:10 remaining in the third period. The Golden Knights were hesitant in the first period, which was their worst period of the night. The Canucks scored the lone goal of the frame after Jeremy Lauzon pinched but didn’t secure the puck. In his 1000th career game, Evander Kane beat Adin Hill on a 2-on-1 at 12:19 of the first. EVANDER KANE IN GAME 1000!!️ pic.twitter.com/qsT4Afwz89 — Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) March 31, 2026 Once again, the Golden Knights found themselves trailing after 20 minutes of uninspired hockey. However, they used the intermission (during which Tortorella reportedly addressed the team) to reset before a very strong second period. Tortorella tweaked the lines at the start of the middle frame, most notably switching Jack Eichel and Mitch Marner, with Eichel joining Brett Howden and Pavel Dorofeyev and Marner skating with Mark Stone and Ivan Barbashev. Both lines responded, with Marner coming close to pulling off a highlight-reel finish with a between-the-legs attempt that went just wide. “I just thought we looked stale offensively as the game started,” Tortorella said after the game. “We just looked tentative. I liked the way the lines progressed as we went through the game. I thought there was some chemistry there; I thought everybody chipped in.” Just under eight minutes into the period, the red-hot Andersson activated in...