[jg2977]

VEGAS 7, VANCOUVER 6 (10 INNINGS)
— A Wild One Out West, Smuggler Style —
By Han Solo, Captain of the Millennium Falcon

You ever find yourself in a hyperspace dogfight, the Empire on your tail, your ship rattling, alarms screaming, Chewie yelling something about the hyperdrive — and somehow, somehow — you survive?

Yeah. That was this game.

The Vegas Golden Knights just pulled off a wild one on enemy ice. They dropped into Rogers Arena like a freighter full of contraband and walked out with the prize — a 7-6 win in 10 innings over the 114-win Vancouver Canucks. That’s right — the Canucks were the biggest, baddest Banthas in the quadrant. Didn’t matter. Vegas had the bigger blaster.

Let’s get one thing straight: Ivan Barbashev? That guy flew like a Corellian starfighter. 3 hits, 3 RBIs, 2 home runs — including a go-ahead solo blast in the 10th. You don’t pull off a jump to the next round without a pilot like him at the controls.

Vegas came out fast — two runs in the first. Classic Han Solo move. Shoot first, ask questions later. Then came more runs in the third and seventh. But Vancouver? Credit to them — they struck back in the sixth with a 4-run barrage. Tied it. Looked like they might take the Falcon right out of hyperspace.

But like any good scoundrel crew, Vegas didn’t flinch. Barbashev launched one to the stars in the 10th, and Vegas slammed the hatch shut with a clean save from Turnbull. Game over. Mission complete. Get the hell outta here before someone wakes Jabba.

STATS FROM THE CANTINA:
Vegas and Vancouver both had 10 hits, no errors. But Vegas made theirs count when it mattered.
Morales and Golfin joined Barbashev in the longball club — Morales with a clutch 2-run shot in the 7th, Golfin with a 2-runner in the 1st. Explosive firepower.
On the bump, Vegas’s bullpen pieced together a patchwork escape. Ramos picks up the win, Turnbull gets the save, and nobody blew up. Good enough.
Vancouver’s R. Ugalde tried to play the hero with a solo shot in the 7th, but that ship never left the hangar.
NEXT MISSION:
Vegas jumps to the Conference Semifinals to face the rested, well-armed Chicago Blackhawks. The Hawks skipped the Wild Card battle — but Vegas? They’re hot, tested, and flying high.

So here’s the thing, kid: Vancouver was the Death Star, and Vegas just fired the torpedo.

Let’s see if they’ve got another shot in them.

Han out.
(Cue Chewie growl.)