Live blog: Golden Knights fall at Colorado, 3-0

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AP Photo/David Zalubowski

Colorado Avalanche left wing Andrew Agozzino, front, reacts after scoring a goal as Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Malcolm Subban reacts in the second period of an NHL hockey game Monday, Feb. 18, 2019, in Denver.

Published Mon, Feb 18, 2019 (5 p.m.)

Updated Mon, Feb 18, 2019 (9:34 p.m.)

Vegas squandered a power play early in the third period and Colorado tacked on another goal midway through the third period en route to defeating the Knights, 3-0. 

The Golden Knights came into the game riding high after defeated Nashville at home on Saturday, but they were disorganized in the defensive zone and unlucky on offense. Colorado controlled play for most of the game, and Avs forward Matt Calvert finished things off by knocking in a rebound out of the air to make it 3-0. 

Vegas drops to 32-25-4 on the season. 

Golden Knights trail at Colorado, 2-0

The Knights were sloppy in their defensive zone throughout the second period, and Colorado was able to cash in to extend its lead to 2-0 at the second intermission.

Five minutes into the period, Colorado caught the Knights sleeping and Gabriel Landeskog was able to fire a pass across the crease to Andrew Agozzino, who was all alone on the other side, waiting to slam home his first career goal. That made it 2-0, and it could have been even worse if the Avs had been able to convert two other scoring chances later in the period.

Vegas had a chance to get on the board late when Nate Schmidt threaded a pass to Max Pacioretty in the offensive zone. Pacioretty skated into the right circle and fired an unobstructed shot, but Colorado goalie Semyon Varlamov turned it away with five seconds remaining.

Colorado has out-shot the Knights, 28-24. Vegas will have 20 minutes to make something happen on the offensive end, or it's back to the loss column.

Defensive miscue puts Knights in early hole

Vegas did not carry any momentum from Saturday's win over to the first period tonight. The Knights have been outplayed through the first 20 minutes and are lucky to trail just 1-0 at the first intermission.

Colorado got on the board midway through the period thanks to a defensive miscue from the Knights. Pierre-Edouard Bellemare attempted to carry a puck out of the corner, but lost control. Colin Miller and Jon Merrill converged to clean it up, but neither was able gain control and the puck slipped into an open area in front of goal. Avalanche center Tyson Jost was in the right place at the right time and banged home the loose puck to put the Avs on top.

The Knights went on the power play with six minutes left in the period but were unable to generate any scoring chances. Colorado actually generated two genuine shorthanded chances, but Malcolm Subban turned away both attempts.

Knights starting Subban again at Avalanche

After Malcolm Subban played such a big role in helping to snap the Golden Knights' three-game losing streak on Saturday, coach Gerard Gallant announced that Subban will get the starting nod again on Monday when Vegas takes on the Colorado Avalanche.

Subban turned in a sterling performance on Saturday, stopping 29 of 30 shots to lead Vegas to a 5-1 win over Nashville at T-Mobile Arena. That continued a strong stretch for Subban, who has posted a .962 save percentage and a goals-against average of 1.26 over his last four games.

Gallant said Subban's hot stretch and the opportunity to rest No. 1 goalie Marc-Andre Fleury were the deciding factors.

"Malcolm had a great game the other night, and it's a good time to get the other guy a little bit of a rest," Gallant said after the team's morning skate in Denver. "Subban played outstanding, so we're going to give him another shot tonight."

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.

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