Barbashev, Eichel score in 2:07 span, Golden Knights stun Avs 3-1 to take 2-0 series lead

DENVER (AP) — The Colorado Avalanche, the NHL's best team during the regular season, are in serious danger thanks to a Vegas squad that's on a run after a late-season coaching change.

“I don’t think people had this on their bingo card,” Golden Knights defenseman Dylan Coghlan said. “We knew we could do it.”

Jack Eichel and Ivan Barbashev scored in a 2:07 span in the third period and the Golden Knights stunned the Avalanche 3-1 on Friday night to take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference Final.

Eichel tied it, then set up Barbashev for the go-ahead goal with 8:38 remaining. Barbashev added an empty-netter with 1:03 left. The comeback stunned the capacity crowd and wiped out the top-seeded Avalanche's 1-0 lead.

By winning twice at Ball Arena, the Golden Knights put the Presidents' Trophy-winning Avalanche in a huge hole. Since 1982, road teams that started 2-0 in the conference finals have a 13-0 series record.

“They understand the situation,” said Vegas coach John Tortorella, who has watched his team go 17-4-1 since he took over on March 29. “I’m not sure where the series goes. I’m not sure where Game 3 goes. But I know I’m not going to have to worry about that, because they get it."

Carter Hart had another stellar performance, stopping 29 shots. He made 36 saves in a 4-2 win on Wednesday.

Colorado was cruising after Ross Colton opened the scoring in the first period. But things unraveled for the Avalanche in the third. Eichel lined a shot past Scott Wedgewood for his first goal in 11 games to get Vegas on the board.

“I haven’t scored in a million days,” he cracked.

The Golden Knights then took advantage of a miscue — Devon Toews and Brock Nelson struggled to clear the puck along the boards in the Avalanche end — as Eichel sent a pass to Barbashev, who rang in a shot off the post.

This was the fourth third-period comeback by the Golden Knights in this postseason, the most in a single playoffs in team history, according to NHL Stats.

“Just resiliency,” Hart said. “That’s the key word for our group here — we’ve just stuck in games and just grinded it out, and just battled. Resiliency, that’s a term that describes our group really well. We’re never out of the fight, and we’re always grinding in games.”

Game 3 is Sunday night in Las Vegas. The Avalanche are hoping to have star defenseman Cale Makar back in the lineup. He has missed the last two games because of an upper-body injury.

“There's urgency to get him back since he got hurt,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “He's doing all the work he can possibly do to get back as fast as he can.”

Before the Golden Knights' rally, the Avalanche were 45-0-0 when leading after two periods in the regular season and playoffs combined.

“It stings for sure right now,” Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog said. “But tomorrow we’ll wake up, have a meeting, fly to Vegas and regroup. That’s all you can do.”

Vegas struggled on the power play, going 0 of 4. The team also saw defenseman Brayden McNabb limp to the locker room in the first period soon after taking a check along the boards. He returned for the third period. The hard-checking Golden Knights finished with 32 hits and 16 blocked shots.

“We know how hard it is to win,” Eichel said. “A lot of that falls on playing hard defensively.”

Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson briefly left late in the second period after delivering a check on Barbashev and then ramming his face into the boards.

Wedgewood had 22 saves.

“We can't ride the emotional roller-coaster like fans,” Bednar said. “If you lose Game 1, you're getting swept. If you win Game 1, we're sweeping them. That's not reality. You have to deal with the task at hand and what's to come. We're not going to try and win four games the next night in Vegas. We're going to try to win one game.”

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Colorado Avalanche goaltender Scott Wedgewood prepares for the second period in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights, Friday, May 22, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Vegas Golden Knights left wing Ivan Barbashev, front, falls after being tripped by Colorado Avalanche center Martin Necas (88) during the second period in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series Friday, May 22, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel (9) drives with the puck as Colorado Avalanche defenseman Brett Kulak (27) and center Martin Necas (88) defend while Golden Knights defenseman Noah Hanifin (15) trails the play during the second period in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series Friday, May 22, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Vegas Golden Knights center Nic Dowd, left, puts a shot on Colorado Avalanche goaltender Scott Wedgewood during the first period in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series Friday, May 22, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Vegas Golden Knights left wing Ivan Barbashev, center, is congratulated by Vegas Golden Knights defensemen Rasmus Andersson, left, and Noah Hanifin during the third period in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series against the Colorado Avalanche Friday, May 22, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

TOKYO (AP) — The first woman to conquer the world's second-highest peak, K2, three times has also summited all 14 of the world's tallest mountains.

But Naoko Watanabe, 44, says climbing is less about piling up records than enjoying an adventure, being happy and experiencing new people, food and culture. She's planning to return in June to her favorite climb, Pakistan's Nanga Parbat, known as the “killer mountain,” with a group of amateur trekkers.

“I’m just an ordinary person who has happened to achieve records while climbing the Himalayas during my vacations,” Watanabe told The Associated Press in a recent interview in Tokyo. “I don’t consider myself a mountaineer.”

In 2006, when she was a student nurse, Watanabe successfully reached the 8,201-meter (26,906-foot) summit of the world's sixth-highest mountain, Cho Oyu, on the Nepal-China border.

It was the first time she climbed one of the world's 14 peaks exceeding 8,000 meters (26,246 feet).

After becoming a full-time university hospital nurse in 2009, she struggled to balance work and climbing, eventually switching to temporary nursing so she could climb more often.

She has since regularly scaled the Himalayas and sees it as a way to regain her peace of mind from Japan's often stressful conformity-bound environment. She now wants to share the joy of mountain climbing with those who need a break.

Watanabe is preparing for a trek in June to Nanga Parbat in Pakistan, the world's ninth-highest peak, which she reached in her second attempt in 2022. This time, she plans to go with a group of amateurs, most of whom will stay at the base camp.

“The Nanga Parbat base camp is extremely scenic and it's my favorite among the 14 peaks," Watanabe said. “I want everyone to see that.” The participants are encouraged to follow at their own pace, freely stop, take photos and talk to the Sherpa guides.

“They are not supposed to be working hard,” Watanabe says. ”I want (the climbers) to be free from the stereotypes and realize that the Himalayas can be fun ... and to know there are more important things than reaching the summit."

Born in Onojo City in southern Japan in 1981, Watanabe was encouraged by her mother to join a kids’ adventure club and started climbing at age 3. She went to an island camp in China, an expedition on the Mongolian grasslands with other children, and climbed a snowy mountain in Pakistan at 12.

Growing up, she said that her passion for adventure and climbing helped her pull through difficult times as she struggled with pressure in Japan to join collective activities and not stand out.

Her medical training has helped during her 31 expeditions over the past 20 years.

“The experience (as a nurse) has become useful in the mountains when I face emergencies and need to make a quick decision on the spot about the weather or my own health conditions."

In her first attempt at Everest in 2011, with the peak just 150 meters (160 yards) away, she decided to turn back when the weather suddenly deteriorated. Her tearful Sherpa protested, saying it was only an hour to the top. But Watanabe said she anticipated a shortage of oxygen in the tank if the weather worsened and slowed them down. On the way back, she lost her sight. They made it back safely, although she came down with pneumonia.

Back at Everest in 2013 on an extremely windy day, the conditions seemed better. Other climbers retreated, but she carefully went on and safely reached the summit.

Watanabe became the first Japanese women to scale the world's 14 highest peaks in October 2024, when she reached the 8,027-meter (26,335-foot) Mount Shishapangma in China.

In July 2024, she also became the first woman to reach the top of the 8,611-meter (28,251-foot) K2, the world's second-highest mountain, three times, an achievement recognized by the Guinness World Records.

Watanabe plans to keep climbing for the joy it brings her.

“I will probably end up climbing (mountains in the Himalayas) about 100 times,” she says. “It would be fun if that eventually becomes a record that I set in my own unique way."

Naoko Watanabe, who has become the first Japanese woman to scale all 14 of the world's mountains that reach 8,000m above sea level, poses for a photo after an interview with The Associated Press in Tokyo, Wednesday, April 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Naoko Watanabe, who has become the first Japanese woman to scale all 14 of the world's mountains that reach 8,000m above sea level, poses for a photo with her climbing clothes and gear after an interview with The Associated Press in Tokyo, Wednesday, April 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)