A 2-0 road start, then a hard lesson: The Golden Knights’ warning before Game 3

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Winning the first two games on the road, the Golden Knights returned home owning what seemed like complete control of their NHL playoffs series.

Against Colorado in 2026?

Try Dallas in 2024.

Vegas, which won the Stanley Cup less than a year earlier, instead returned home two seasons ago and lost Games 3 and 4 of their first-round series and eventually were eliminated in seven games.

It's a memory that could help the players who were on that Golden Knights team fully appreciate that while opening the Western Conference Final by beating the Avalanche twice on the road is impressive, their work is far from done.

“It's good to have that experience,” Vegas center William Karlsson said Saturday. “Obviously, that was a huge letdown after coming home with two wins on the road, so definitely learn from that.”

The Golden Knights will either take a major step toward their third Stanley Cup Final appearance in nine years when they host the Avalanche in Game 3 on Sunday night, or Colorado will give itself a realistic chance to at least make it a competitive series.

Avalanche forward Nicolas Roy was on that Golden Knights team that lost the 2-0 lead to the Stars.

“In these series, you never know,” Roy said. "If you have a great effort next game and you win it, then obviously shift the momentum. We believe in this group. You look at the video, think you can do better and we’ll be ready for the next game.”

This isn't quite the same Golden Knights team that played two years ago. Eight of the 19 players who took the ice in Friday night's 3-1 victory weren't on the 2023-24 roster.

But even those eight players have followed the leads this postseason of those who have been longtime stalwarts. The entire group is playing with confidence and poise and making nearly all the big plays.

That happened in Game 2 when the Avalanche entered the third period up 1-0 and spotless in all 45 prior times in the regular season and playoffs when taking a lead into the final 20 minutes. But then Jack Eichel and Ivan Barbashev — who played on the 2023 Cup team and the 2024 one that lost to Dallas — combined to score three goals to stun Colorado.

Defenseman Noah Hanifin also was on the '24 club, joining the team March 6 of that year after being dealt from Calgary.

“It’s big, obviously, getting two on the road, but it’s far from over and we know that,” Hanifin said. “It’s a long series. They’re a great team over there, and we got to stay even keeled. We got to come home and really take advantage of this home ice and dig in. Game 3’s going to be huge.”

Should the Golden Knights take a 3-0 lead, the Avalanche would attempt to become just the fifth team in NHL history to rally from such a deficit and win a series. Los Angeles in 2014 was the most recent team to accomplish that in eliminating San Jose in their first-round series.

The numbers also heavily favor Vegas even with a 2-0 lead. Teams that opened a conference final or league semifinals series by taking the first two on the road are 20-1, the 1945 Detroit Red Wings the exception.

That's a kind of history Vegas has no interest in making.

“We’re going to have to be better each and every game,” Golden Knights coach John Tortorella said. “They’re going to be better.”

Golden Knights captain Mark Stone, out since a lower-body injury in Game 3 of the second-round series at Anaheim, showed few if any limitations while taking part in an optional skate Saturday. He also skated when the team was in Denver.

Though the Golden Knights have won five of six games without Stone, his presence would be a major boost should he return to the lineup. His 28 goals and 73 points in the regular season were Stone's highest in seven years, and he produced three goals and four assists in nine playoff games this year.

AP Sports Writer Pat Graham in Centennial, Colorado, contributed to this report.

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Colorado Avalanche center Jack Drury, center, is congratulated by, from left, center Nicolas Roy, right wing Valeri Nichushkin, and defensemen Devon Toews and Brent Burns in the third period of Game 5 of an NHL Stanley Cup hockey second-round playoff series against the Minnesota Wild Wednesday, May 13, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Vegas Golden Knights center William Karlsson, front, collects the puck as Colorado Avalanche left wing Artturi Lehkonen (62) pursues 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)

Colorado Avalanche goaltender Scott Wedgewood, left, looks back in the net to see the puck as Vegas Golden Knights right wing Pavel Dorofeyev celebrates after a goal by left wing Ivan Barbashev during the third 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, right, is congratulated after scoring by right wing Pavel Dorofeyev, left, 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)

ABOARD THE RFA LYME BAY (AP) — Aboard the RFA Lyme Bay docked off the coast of Gibraltar, hundreds of British sailors are waiting to be deployed for a mine-clearing mission to the Strait of Hormuz that is still in doubt.

U.S. President Donald Trump has lashed out at allies for not doing more to support the United States' war effort in Iran, whose chokehold on the strait has crippled international shipping and sent energy prices soaring. In March, Trump told NATO allies to “go get your own oil” and secure the strait themselves.

On the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar, the U.K.’s Royal Navy is preparing to do that — but only once a peace agreement is reached. Trump said Saturday that a deal with Iran has been “largely negotiated” after calls with Israel and other allies in the region, but it still needs finalizing.

Britain’s Armed Forces Minister Al Carns took a small group of reporters to visit the RFA Lyme Bay as it prepares for a possible international operation, led by the U.K. and France, to secure the strait. As Carns spoke, the amphibious landing vessel, docked at the gateway to the Mediterranean, was being loaded with ammunition and mine-hunting sea drones equipped with sonar.

With a crew of several hundred sailors, the RFA Lyme Bay will soon depart Gibraltar to link up with the U.K. destroyer HMS Dragon and allied ships for air support before sailing through the Suez Canal to the Persian Gulf.

“Which other country can pull together 40 nations and come up with a solution to deal with a complex problem that we couldn’t predict because we weren’t involved?” asked Carns, responding to a question from The Associated Press about what Trump wants from his British ally.

After the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Feb. 28, Tehran retaliated by effectively closing the strait, a key waterway for the region’s oil, natural gas and fertilizer, causing global economic pain. The U.K. in particular has drawn the ire of Trump, who has described Britain’s navy as “toys” and Prime Minister Keir Starmer as “not Winston Churchill.”

At least 6,000 ships have been blocked from passing through the strait since the conflict began, Carns said.

Iran could have a “huge” variety of mines throughout strait, said Cmdr. Gemma Britton, who is in charge of the Royal Navy’s Mine and Threat Exploitation Group. Mines could be rocket-propelled, cabled or sit on the seabed and be triggered by sound, movement or light.

AP was shown autonomous systems that can scan the seabed and the water with sonar in about half the time it takes for a crewed vessel to enter and map potential dangers. The sea drones equipped with sonar produce a picture of objects under the water, from fishing traps to pipelines. The picture is used to identify mines that can be explored with advanced acoustic systems and cameras, Britton said.

Some of the systems on the RFA Lyme Bay can be loaded onto a smaller vessel that can be launched and piloted autonomously from the ship, which acts as a mother ship, waiting outside any potential minefield, Britton said. That reduces the number of people needed to enter, she said.

Once a mine has been located, a diver with explosives normally places a charge on the mine before swimming away to detonate it. But RFA Lyme Bay is trialing a remotely operated vehicle that dives and drops a charge by a mine before setting it off, Britton said.

The priority, she said, will be to clear a transit lane in the strait to allow around 700 ships to leave. A lane flowing in the opposite direction will then be cleared, allowing ships to enter, she said, but added that clearing the entire strait could take months or years.

It's still not clear if any mines are in the strait — or if the U.K. and its allies will be deploying to remove them.

When asked by AP if the British effort was partly for show, to curry favor with the U.S., Carns said he was sure some mines had been blown up or floated away but that assurance is not good enough for commercial insurance companies. He said those companies need “absolute certainty” to get vessels traveling through the strait again.

“That’s what this capability will provide,” he said.

The international effort to secure the strait would happen only once hostilities are over.

“Final aspects and details of the Deal are currently being discussed, and will be announced shortly,” Trump said Saturday on social media, with no details on timing.

This is not the first time in recent weeks that a deal has been described as close.

“We don’t know when the Americans, Iranians and Israelis are going to come up with a suitable solution,” Carns said.

In the meantime, the RFA Lyme Bay and its crew will be waiting and will be “really, really ready,” Carns said.

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Associated Press writer Konstantin Toropin in Washington contributed to this report.

Autonomous vehicles with sonar sensor that can detect and identify mines are soon on RFA Lyme Bay, in territory of Gibraltar, on Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Kwiyeon Ha)

Britain's Armed Forces Minister Al Carns, centre, inspects autonomous vehicles with sonar sensor that can detect and identify mines, on RFA Lyme Bay in territory of Gibraltar, on Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Kwiyeon Ha)

Britain's Armed Forces Minister Al Carns speaks during an interview on RFA Lyme Bay, in territory of Gibraltar, on Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Kwiyeon Ha)

UK Royal Navy personnel inspect autonomous vehicles with sonar sensor that can detect and identify mines, on RFA Lyme Bay in territory of Gibraltar, on Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Kwiyeon Ha)

UK Royal Navy personnel inspect autonomous vehicles with sonar sensor that can detect and identify mines, on RFA Lyme Bay in territory of Gibraltar, on Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Kwiyeon Ha)