Blog: Golden Knights drop Game 1 in rout to Avalanche

By Justin Emerson

Published Sunday, May 30, 2021 | 2:52 p.m.

Updated Sunday, May 30, 2021 | 8:56 p.m.

It’s hard to find things that went right for the Golden Knights on Sunday in Game 1 against Colorado in the second round playoff series.

Vegas trailed fewer than five minutes into the game, and things just got worse from there in an ugly 7-1 defeat.

It’s the most goals Vegas has ever given up in a playoff game.

Robin Lehner started in net for Vegas, making his first appearance of the postseason and first at all since May 10 — the regular season home finale against the Avalanche. He struggled to contain Colorado’s firepower, allowing seven goals on 37 shots.

Colorado did most of its damage in a four-goal second period. The top line of Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog combined for five goals and eight points, including a pair of goals from MacKinnon in the second.

The Golden Knights scored their goal with 5:01 to go in the second period.

Colorado finished the scoring with 4:11 left in the third period, a power-play tally from Cale Makar for his fourth point of the night.

The game devolved into a mess in the third. The teams combined for 62 penalty minutes, including four 10-minute misconducts stemming from a brawl near the Colorado net.

Ryan Reaves was assessed a match penalty for intent injure after taking down Colorado defenseman Ryan Graves.

A match penalty is an automatic ejection and an automatic suspension until commissioner Gary Bettman makes a ruling.

Check back to lasvegassun.com later for more coverage and read below for live updates from the game.

Golden Knights dominated by Avalanche through two periods

The Golden Knights had an early chance in the second period, but Reilly Smith couldn't corral a breakout pass. After that, the Avalanche went ahead and put Vegas in an enormous hole.

The Avalanche added two more goals in the first 4:03 of the second period, and ended the middle frame with a commanding 6-1 lead at Ball Arena on Sunday. It tied the most goals the Golden Knights had ever surrendered in a playoff game.

Brandon Saad scored first for Colorado, collecting a rebound and firing it back just 64 seconds into the period. With the secondary assist, defenseman Cale Makar picked up his third point of the night.

And then came Nathan MacKinnon. The Avalanche superstar didn't have a point when his linemates scored in the first period, so he made up for it in the second. He collected the puck in front of the net, waited, then fired a missile by Robin Lehner to put the Avalanche up 4-0 at 4:03 of the second.

A scary moment occurred at the 8:26 mark of the period when Colorado defenseman Ryan Graves caught Mattias Janmark up high with a hit. Janmark was sprawled on the ice and when he finally was able to get up, he immediately went down the tunnel and did not return. Graves was assessed a two-minute minor for interference as Vegas lobbied for a major.

The Golden Knights did not score on that power play, but put Colorado on back-to-back power plays of their own when William Carrier took a roughing minor, exited the box, and took another roughing minor. The second one hurt, as Gabriel Landeskog tapped in a feed from Mikko Rantanen and MacKinnon to put Colorado up 5-0.

The Golden Knights got one back — a William Karlsson deflection with 5:01 to go to make it 5-1 — then MacKinnon turned on the jets for a highlight-reel goal. He blew by everyone, skated around the Golden Knights and went in alone on Lehner, beating him to make it 6-1.

The six goals tied the most the Golden Knights had allowed this season, and tied the most they've allowed in a playoff game. They lost Game 4 of the 2018 Stanley Cup Final 6-2 to Washington.

Colorado led in shots on goal 27-17 through two periods.

Golden Knights fall behind Avalanche early in Game 1

The Golden Knights had trouble starting fast in the first-round series against the Wild. It didn't hurt them in the end — they won in seven games — but the Colorado Avalanche might be a different animal.

Vegas allowed a pair of goals in the first period and will spend at least the second chasing this year's President's Trophy winner, trailing 2-0 after a period at Ball Arena on Sunday.

The Avalanche gave their home fans something to cheer about early, scoring on their third shot of the game. Devon Toews made a nice play in the Colorado zone to exit, and let Mikko Rantanen glide down the right wing. He fired a back-hander on net from in tight, and it dinged off the post and in to put Colorado up 1-0 at the 4:55 mark of the first.

The second goal was an even prettier one by the Avalanche. Cale Makar, who could win the Norris Trophy as the league's top defenseman, walked the line for a moment, then fired a bullet across the ice to a streaking Gabriel Landeskog. The Colorado captain didn't miss, firing the puck into a wide open net at 10:13 for an early two-goal lead.

The Golden Knights struggled to get going, not scoring until the 8:22 mark on the power play and not until Colorado already led by a goal. They had a couple of shots on that power play, including one dangerous rebound try where Jonathan Marchessault had his stick tied up, but that was about it for Vegas chances in the first.

Makar even dropped another dime late in the period and almost put the Avalanche up by three, but Toews couldn't pull the trigger on the back-door finish.

Colorado led 14-8 in shots after a period.

Golden Knights embracing rare underdog status against Avalanche

You can't get plus money very often when wagering on the Golden Knights, which was the betting favorite in nearly all of its games this season.

But in both Game 1 and in the second round playoff series against the Colorado Avalanche, the Golden Knights are listed as the underdogs. Colorado is a minus-190 favorite for the series.

It's only the second time in Golden Knights history they aren't favored in a series — along with the 2018 Western Conference Final against Winnipeg — but Vegas is embracing it.

Statistically, Colorado was not only the best team in the NHL this year, but one of the best in a decade. The Golden Knights are pretty good though, and aren't shrinking from the challenge. They'll get a chance to establish footing in the series when the puck drops for Game 1 at 5 p.m. at Ball Arena and televised on NBC.

"It's different than the first round, being an underdog, and coming in I guess with a little chip on your shoulder and trying to prove to everyone else that says that we have no shot of beating Colorado and that Colorado is the team to beat," forward Alex Tuch said. "In our locker room we think that we're the team to beat."

Colorado led the NHL in goals (Vegas was third) and was third in goals against (Vegas was first). The Avalanche also led the NHL at 5-on-5 in shot share (59.0%) percentage of scoring chances (60.4%) and expected goals (60.1%).

The expected-goals number is particularly impressive. They're the only team to surpass 60% for a series since Natural Stat Trick began tracking such numbers in 2007-08. When the Golden Knights led the league in expected-goals percentage last year, they did so with a 56.1% mark.

"You look at the analytics, they're overwhelming," coach Pete DeBoer said. "They're great in every area, they're rested, they're fresh, they're healthy. We're going to have to be dialed in in all our areas in order to compete."

Indeed, the Avalanche haven't played since last Sunday after polishing off a sweep of the Blues in the first round where it outscored St. Louis 20-7. Vegas meanwhile played a physical seven-game series against the Wild, and has not had more than two days off in two weeks.

But the Golden Knights are getting healthier. They are not expected to have defenseman Brayden McNabb (COVID list) or forward Tomas Nosek (undisclosed injury), but Vegas played its trump card in Game 7 against Minnesota in the form of Max Pacioretty. He hadn't played in nearly a month, then returned to score the series-winning goal.

A trickle-down effect of Pacioretty returning is slotting everyone else into their preferred spots in the lineup. Tuch performed well on the top line in Pacioretty's absence, but his return meant Tuch slid back down to the third line, where DeBoer believes he forms mismatches with Nicolas Roy and Mattias Janmark.

Case in point: Janmark had a hat trick and the trio combined for six points in the Game 7 victory.

"We've had chemistry since the start it's the first time in a lot of games that we've been able to play together," Tuch said. "It provides a boost in our goal-scoring confidence for sure and I think it gives us a little bit of a deeper look, I guess you could say."

The Golden Knights are expecting a similar lineup to Game 7 on Friday, with the only change coming in net. Marc-Andre Fleury started all seven games of the Wild series, but it was Robin Lehner who left the ice first for morning skate, a usual indicator of that night's starter. Lehner has not appeared this postseason, but started 16 of the team's 20 games last year.

The Golden Knights finished the regular season 4-4 against the Avalanche, including 2-2 at Ball Arena. Vegas is 6-3 all-time in Game 1, but has lost its last two. The Golden Knights are 4-1 in the series when they win Game 1, and 2-2 when they lose.

Stanley Cup Playoffs Round 2

Series: Tied 0-0

TV: NBC (Channel 3)

Radio: Fox Sports 1340 AM and 98.9 FM

Betting line: Golden Knights plus-160, Avalanche minus-180; over/under: 5.5 (minus-105, minus-115)

Golden Knights (4-3, West Division No. 2 seed)

Coach: Pete DeBoer (second season)

Points leader: Mattias Janmark (6)

Goals leader: Mark Stone (4)

Assists leader: Chandler Stephenson (5)

Expected goalie (regular season stats): Robin Lehner (2.29 GAA, .913 save percentage)

Avalanche (4-0, West Division No. 1 seed)

Coach: Jared Bednar (fifth season)

Points leader: Nathan MacKinnon (9)

Goals leader: Nathan MacKinnon (6)

Assists leaders: Gabriel Landeskog, Mikko Rantanen (6)

Expected goalie: Philipp Grubauer (1.75 GAA, .936 save percentage)

Golden Knights projected lineup

Forwards

Max Pacioretty—Chandler Stephenson—Mark Stone

Jonathan Marchessault—William Karlsson—Reilly Smith

Mattias Janmark—Nicolas Roy—Alex Tuch

William Carrier—Patrick Brown—Ryan Reaves

Defensemen

Alec Martinez—Alex Pietrangelo

Nick Holden—Shea Theodore

Nicolas Hague—Zach Whitecloud

Goalies

Robin Lehner, Marc-Andre Fleury