The Colorado Avalanche dropped a 3-2 result to the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday night at Ball Arena. Colorado is now 19-14-3 on the season.
For the Avalanche, Nathan MacKinnon (1G, 1A) and Mikko Rantanen (1G, 1A) scored, while Artturi Lehkonen handed out two assists. Darren Helm made his season debut after being sidelined as a result of undergoing offseason surgery. Martin Kaut returned to the lineup after missing three games due to injury. In net, Alexandar Georgiev made 25 saves on 28 shots in the loss.
For Vegas, Nicolas Roy scored twice, while Michael Amadio also found the back of the net. Between the pipes, Logan Thompson made 27 saves on 29 shots.
GAME SUMMARY:
The Avalanche started out the game against the Golden Knights with a solid effort, but ultimately allowed three-straight goals and a skewed second-period effort while their power play went 0-for-5 in what unfolded as the team’s second-straight regulation loss.
Colorado’s promising start began as the team wasted no time in scoring the first goal of 2023 as it took just 25 seconds into play to do so. The game’s icebreaker unfolded off a quick passing sequence from its top line – who factored in both of the team’s goals – of Lehkonen to Rantanen to MacKinnon, where MacKinnon zipped into the right faceoff circle and wired his wrist shot to the far side of Thompson.
The Avalanche had two power-play opportunities in the first period, but didn’t capitalize and would head into the first intermission with a tied 1-1 score against the Golden Knights as they found the back of the net late in the frame.
Colorado had nearly doubled its lead off a Grade A look setup by MacKinnon and Rantanen, but Rantanen’s shot ricocheted off the crossbar. Vegas countered the other way and cashed in on their chance as Mark Stone carried the puck ino the offensive zone and dropped a pass back to Nic Hague. The blueliner fired a high shot on net and Amadio redirected it past Georgiev at 17:02.
The Golden Knights extended their lead 3-1 – as Roy netted both goals – with a dominant second period where they outshot the Avalanche 15-9.
Vegas took its first lead of the game at 7:14 as they put the pressure on in Colorado’s zone. Georgiev had kicked out a rebound and Keegan Kolesar won a wall battle to retrieve it before dropping it into the left faceoff circle. Roy skated into the loose puck and ripped his shot past Georgiev.
The Golden Knights then took a 3-1 lead at 14:46 as they quickly exited their zone and attacked Colorado with a three-on-two rush. Just as the Avalanche forwards backchecked, Roy took a pass from William Carrier, skated into the top of the right faceoff circle and zipped his wrist shot through Georgiev’s pads.
The Avalanche tightened up their five-on-five play – outshooting the Golden Knights 11-6 – in the third period and were awarded two power plays, but only mustered one goal midway through the frame and were unable to overcome the two-goal hole they dug themselves into.
Rantanen trimmed Colorado’s deficit down 3-2 at 11:07 on a persistent effort. The top line of the Avalanche once again combined to get on the scoresheet as MacKinnon sent a pass out to the flank for Lehkonen. The Finnish forward – while battling off a Vegas blueliner – managed to center the puck on net and Rantanen jammed the puck past Thompson’s pads as a scrum ensued. The play required extra video angles to confirm that the puck did in fact, cross the goal line.
NOTEWORTHY:
- MacKinnon (1G, 1A) scored his ninth goal of the season and first goal since returning from injury on New Year’s Eve against Toronto.
- Rantanen (1G, 1A) recorded his team-leading 25th goal of the season.
- Helm made his season debut after being sidelined as a result of undergoing offseason surgery. The centerman skated alongside Kurtis MacDermid and Kaut and totaled 8:55 minutes, threw five hits and was 44% in the faceoff circle.
- Kaut returned to the lineup after missing three games due to injury and skated alongside Helm and MacDermid. The Czech winger logged 7:00 minutes, threw two hits and fired off one shot.
- Georgiev made his 27th start of the season, while his record dropped to 15-9-3.
- Colorado finished the game 0-for-5 on the power play and 1-for-1 on the penalty kill.
- Jacob MacDonald, Evan Rodrigues (upper body), Valeri Nichushkin (lower body) were scratches for the Avalanche, while Pavel Francouz (lower body) was placed on IR.
NEXT GAME:
The Avalanche head on a two-game road trip across the border with their first stop on Thursday night in Vancouver. The puck drops between the Avs and Canucks at 8 p.m. MT.