As far as regular season games go, they don’t get much more important than these.
The Golden Knights completed the second contest in a four-game set with the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night, falling 3-2 at T-Mobile Arena. The Golden Knights and Avalanche figure to be two of the best teams in the West Division this season, so every game matters more than most in a yearlong jockeying for the top spot in the standings.
The teams split the first two meetings with each side scoring three goals combined. Every shift is intense, every inch of the ice is contested and every game feels like a postseason battle.
“There’s no doubt that the level of play and the speed of the game was higher than at any point so far this season that we’ve seen,” Vegas coach Pete DeBoer. “I like how we responded to it. We were right there.”
Related content
The first was a tough period for the Golden Knights, who spent plenty of time short-handed thanks to three penalties. Nathan MacKinnon scored for the Avalanche, and Vegas never grabbed the lead in the game.
The good news is the penalty kill was tremendous, killing off all three penalties and not allowing a shot on any of them.
But it takes a team out of its groove when it has to spend that much time short-handed. Players who aren’t part of the penalty-kill rotation don’t get on the ice, and the team has to adjust.
“We got behind the eight ball, we killed six minutes of penalties in the first period,” forward Mark Stone said. “You’re taking guys out the game, out of their rhythm. I think that’s why they maybe took advantage of us in the first, but overall I don’t think we really got outskated.”
After the first the Golden Knights were much better. Max Pacioretty scored on the power play in the second, and after Brandon Saad restored the Colorado lead, Jonathan Marchessault netted one in the third. Both goals erased Colorado’s lead and tied the game.
Marchessault’s goal was just Vegas’ second at 5-on-5 since Zach Whitecloud’s late winner a week ago against the Ducks. Pacioretty said after Sunday’s game the team needs to be better at even strength, and said after Tuesday’s game he wasn’t sure about the numbers, but felt like it was the team’s best 5-on-5 period in a while.
Well, the numbers do back it up. According to Natural Stat Trick, the Golden Knights held the edge in shot attempts 20-15, scoring chances 15-10 and most impressively, high-danger scoring chances, 7-3. That’s the most 5-on-5 high-danger scoring chances in a period since they had nine in the first period against the Blues on Jan. 26.
It all made Nazem Kadri’s late goal, with 40 seconds left in the third period, such a heartbreaker. The Golden Knights and Avalanche figure to jockey for position in the West Division all season and not getting to overtime and letting Colorado leave T-Mobile with two points to Vegas’ zero was disappointing.
“It’s a shame to lose the game after a period like that and coming back and trailing by one goal against such a good team,” Pacioretty said.
Vegas and Colorado will take things outside for the third game of their “series.” The next time they meet will be at noon Saturday on the shores of Lake Tahoe, a chance for the hockey world to see what kind of future playoff series is brewing in February.
“As much as you want to put on a show because so many people are watching, we have a lot to prove after this game,” Pacioretty said. “It’s kind of been a back-and-forth couple of games here where each team has grabbed momentum at times.
“This is the setting that big players tend to show up for. They have some big players over there, we know that they’re going to show up, and ours will be the same.”
Join the Discussion:
Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.
Full comments policy