Brett Howden has become the postseason’s most dangerous scorer, netting 13 goals for the Vegas Golden Knights through three rounds and three games of the Stanley Cup Final. The 28-year-old center credits a tough-love conversation with his first NHL coach, David Quinn, for transforming his game.
Howden leads all playoff scorers after managing just 12 goals during the entire regular season. He has three goals and five points in the Final’s first three games, helping the Knights take a 2-1 series lead into Tuesday’s Game 4 at T-Mobile Arena.
The turnaround began roughly six years ago when Quinn, then coaching the New York Rangers, sat Howden down for an honest talk. The message: Howden needed to become consistently harder to play against, shift after shift, to reach his potential.
“He really helped mature my game, grow up and be more consistent,” Howden said. “Essentially made me hard to play against night in and night out.”
Current Knights coach John Tortorella sees the results. “He’s playing with a ton of confidence,” Tortorella said Monday. “It’s a good match on that line with (William Karlsson and Mitch Marner). He does a lot of things right.”
Howden’s physical growth has been key. In Game 2, he scored twice — once by fighting off defenseman Sean Walker to collect a backhand pass from Marner, then by shielding Jacob Slavin with one hand while scoring on Frederik Andersen with the other.
“As I’ve gotten older, I’ve started to develop my body a little bit,” Howden said. “In the playoffs, it gets more physical … that’s something I’ve really enjoyed.”
Howden is one goal away from breaking Jonathan Marchessault’s franchise record for goals in a single postseason. He also has three game-winners this spring, including a short-handed double-overtime winner — just the second such goal in NHL history.
“I have no idea. I don’t pay attention to that,” Howden laughed when asked about his place in the record book. “We’ll wait and (reflect) after. Right now, we’re just trying to stay in the moment.”
