Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Dylan Coghlan, front, shoots the puck for a goal after driving past Colorado Avalanche center Brock Nelson during the second period in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals NHL Stanley Cup playoff series on Wednesday in Denver. (AP photo)

DENVER — A Western Conference Final loaded with offensive firepower was ignited by the unlikeliest of sparkplugs.

Dylan Coghlan’s wrist shot under Scott Wedgewood’s legs ended a scoreless deadlock and helped the Vegas Golden Knights steal home ice from the top-seeded Colorado Avalanche with a 4-2 statement win Wednesday night at Ball Arena.

“Honestly, I didn’t know it went in until I looked at Shea (Theodore) and he was just smiling at me,” Coghlan said.

It was Coghlan’s first career NHL playoff goal, his fist score in the league in nearly five years and just his seventh net-finder of his career. Adding to his big night, the 28-year-old defenseman made a terrific breakup of a 3-on-2 breakaway that kept the Avalanche scuffling to find the net themselves.

“Yeah, so happy for him,” winning goalie Carter Hart said. “He came in in the Anaheim series. I thought he did a tremendous job then. Stepped up tonight huge. That was a huge first goal for us tonight and I couldn’t be happier for the guy.”

Vegas forward Pavel Dorofeyev praised Coghlan’s overall game, saying, “It’s not just about his goal. He did a lot of things right, especially in D-zone, on breakouts.”

But, that goal …

Coghlan hadn’t scored since Dec. 17, 2021, in a game against the New York Islanders, and half of his six career goals came on a hat trick in a 4-3 loss to the Minnesota Wild on March 10, 2021.

“He’s an easy guy to pull for,” Golden Knights coach John Tortorella said.

Coghlan had 14 goals in 62 games this season for Henderson in the American Hockey League. He was scoreless in three regular-season games for Vegas.

“When you say Dylan Coghlan to me, I think of no fear,” Tortorella said. “I think he’s one of our best defensemen since he’s been with us and in the lineup. … He’s a bit unflappable.”

The Golden Knights stole home ice from the top-seeded Avalanche, who had won eight of nine games in these playoffs before their dud in the Western Conference Final opener.

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This story has been corrected to fix the spelling of Pavel Dorofeyev’s last name.

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AP Sports Writer Pat Graham and AP freelancer Ashlyn Stapleton contributed to this report.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl