DENVER – It started as a joke on the Vegas Golden Knights’ bench. Now it’s one of the biggest reasons they’ve taken a shocking 2-0 lead over the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference final as the series shifts to Las Vegas.

“It hurts more if it goes by you.”

The phrase, which was apparently started by Vegas assistant coach John Stevens, refers to the pain suffered by blocking a shot compared to the anguish felt when a puck sails by the defender and into the net.

“I think it started as a joke, but I don’t think anybody takes it as a joke,” Golden Knights defenseman Dylan Coghlan said following Friday’s 3-1 win. “It’s true. If it goes by you and it’s in the net, then it’s not a great feeling. Rather than taking it to a soft spot, and it stinging a little bit. We’re willing to do whatever, and it’s shown.”

Vegas has blocked 39 shots in the two wins against Colorado to begin this series. It has blocked 242 shots in the postseason. Not only are the Golden Knights’ defenders stifling the Avalanche’s high-volume shooting offense by eating puck after puck, but their willingness to get into shooting lanes could be creeping into the heads of Colorado’s shooters, causing them to fire more shots wide of the net.

“You’re shooting it from that area every chance you get, if they block some, they block some, but some of the chances, like some of our best chances, we just simply miss it,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “We’re in, we’re one timing shots, we’re walking into good areas, and you’re trying to score, so you’re looking at the net, picking a corner, but it’s the last little bit of execution.”

Through two games, the Avalanche have converted 144 shot attempts into only 68 shots on goal (47.2 percent). That’s nothing new for this Golden Knights’ defense in the playoffs. In the second round, the Anaheim Ducks converted 406 attempts into only 186 shots on goal (45.8 percent). In the first round, the Utah Mammoth turned 379 attempts into only 167 shots on goal (44.1 percent).

“It’s been huge, especially against a team like them with a lot of shot volume,” defenseman Noah Hanifin said. “They shoot from the points, and it can be tough to do that and get into lanes. It’s a lot of hard work, and a lot of grit by our guys up front.”

Hanifin led all Golden Knights with three blocks on Friday, the first of which was one of the biggest plays of the game. Less than three minutes into the first period, Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon curled beneath the Vegas goal line and fed a pass to Gabriel Landeskog right in front of the net. Hanifin charged Landeskog, and dropped to one knee as he fired a one-timer toward the net. The puck ricocheted off Hanifin’s shin pad and harmlessly wide.

It was early, but the block was so pivotal that it lingered in the minds of both sides until well after the game. Multiple players and Bednar mentioned it after.

“We took some good shots and got them blocked,” Bednar said. “They had a breakdown in the first period off our forecheck. We get it to Landeskog right in the middle of the ice, he’s walking in, and the D comes in and blocks it.”

“We knew that they were going to try to fire a lot of pucks tonight from all angles and we got a lot of big blocks there,” said Vegas goaltender Carter Hart. “We set the tone early. There was a huge block early in the game … I think it was Hanny but I’m not 100 percent. The willingness to block shots and the willingness to sacrifice for the better of the team is crucial.”

Vegas’ commitment to blocking shots has skyrocketed in the playoffs. In the regular season, the Golden Knights ranked 19th in the NHL with 14.10 blocks per 60 minutes. In the postseason, they rank fourth with an average of 16.34.

“It’s a willingness to put your body on the line,” Coghlan said. “Everybody in here, or more than half of the group has done it before, and won (the Stanley Cup) together. They know what it takes. For guys like myself, and other people who haven’t won yet, they’re leading by example.”

The emphasis could be attributed to John Tortorella, even if he refuses to take credit for it.

“Obviously, Torts is a pretty motivational guy, and you’ll run your head through a wall for him,” Coghlan said. “It’s just one of those things you have to do, and I think Johnny (Stevens) said it a few times, ‘It hurts more if it goes by you.’ So just have that mentality, and try to do everything you can.”

It’s a phrase often uttered on the Vegas bench during this postseason. Coghlan isn’t the first player to bring it up after a game. Pavel Dorofeyev blocked a blistering slap shot early in Game 5 of the second-round series against Anaheim that left him hobbling to the dressing room for treatment. He returned to score the overtime winner that night, then said, “I just blocked a shot. It’s kind of a s— part of my job, but it hurts more when I miss it.”

When the Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup in 2023, their team motto was “It hurts to win.” The players wore T-shirts with the phrase during that postseason. This new motto could be this year’s version.

The courage to get in front of a shot is only part of the equation. If it were that easy, every team would block nearly every shot. There’s a skill to anticipating where the shots will come from and getting into those shooting lanes.

“Minney was blocking shots as well, but I think Vegas is doing it a little bit more,” Colorado defenseman Josh Manson said ahead of Game 2. “The way they slide in lanes, the way they hold their defensemen off the post at the net front to step up in front of shots, the way they kind of smother half of the ice in the D-zone, it’s almost like they line up as many bodies as they can as the shot comes through.”

The fortress of bodies the Golden Knights build around their net has led to more shots going wide. It’s a trend that has carried across all three of their playoff series. The Utah Mammoth and Anaheim Ducks were plagued by misses on many of their most dangerous chances, and the Avalanche have suffered a similar fate through two games.

“I think back on some big moments, four-on-four, we’re in the zone for a minute-plus, we get MacKinnon from the slot, we miss the net,” Bednar recalled. “We get (Devon Toews) from the slot, we miss the net, we get Nichushkin coming downhill, we miss the net. We’re going to have to force them to make some difficult saves.”

Hart is playing his own role in that dynamic. The 27-year-old netminder was outstanding again Friday, stopping 29 of the 30 shots he faced. He has been excellent for nine straight games for Vegas, and that could be another reason players are trying for perfect shots near the corners of the net, leading to misses.

“He’s a wall back there,” Coghlan said of Hart. “I think we’re trying to do whatever we can to make it simple for him, and obviously, there are going to be breakdowns and little mistakes that lead to chances, but he’s being a difference maker right now, and we appreciate him.”

If the Avalanche are going to overcome a 2-0 deficit after losing both games at home, which no team has done since 1982, they’ll need to find a way around the blocks, and around Hart, to find the offense that has fueled them to this point.

Meanwhile, the Golden Knights will need to maintain their desperation as they head home controlling the series. Tortorella isn’t worried about his players getting ahead of themselves.

“We won’t,” he said defiantly. “I guarantee you. We won’t. I don’t have to say anything to them. They just understand the situation. 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.”