Blog: Golden Knights take down Avalanche, open up lead in West Division

By Justin Emerson

Published Wednesday, April 28, 2021 | 2 a.m.

Updated Wednesday, April 28, 2021 | 9:05 p.m.

The Golden Knights knew how important Wednesday's game was in the hunt for the West Division title. Jonathan Marchessault said Tuesday it was "100%" the most important game of the season so far, and Brayden McNabb said it was going to have a playoff-like feel.

Vegas extended its franchise-best winning streak to 10 with a 5-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche at T-Mobile Arena, and opened up a six-point lead at the top of the standings with two weeks to go in the season.

The Golden Knights led 3-2 heading to the third in a game where Colorado spent much of the night driving play. A couple of unusual goals helped Vegas take the lead, but it felt like it would need at least one more to feel comfortable.

The Golden Knights got that just 55 seconds into the third period, when Mark Stone and Max Pacioretty broke loose on a 2-on-1. Stone fed Pacioretty, and Pacioretty scored his second of the game to put Vegas up 4-2. Both Stone and Pacioretty finished with three points on the night.

Colorado was aggressive in trying to fight back, pulling the goalie down two goals with 4:21 to play in regulation. Colorado had some nice looks at the net, but Jonathan Marchessault iced the game with an empty-netter with 1:19 to go.

Colorado finished with a 37-26 edge in shots on goal.

The Golden Knights scored 10 seconds into the game courtesy of a William Karlsson breakaway, the fastest goal to start a game in NHL history. Karlsson took advantage of a misplay of the puck from a Colorado defenseman, then rushed in alone and finished on the backhand. Colorado answered with a Devon Toews goal later in the period to even it up after one.

The second period saw a pair of funky Vegas goals. Pacioretty scored his first of the night on the power play from next to the Vegas bench, as his shot looked to be deflected by a Toews swipe trying to defend. The puck moved just enough to fool goalie Devan Dubnyk, and the puck got by him for a 2-1 Vegas lead.

Next up was Stone, who scored from behind the net. He followed up a Chandler Stephenson try by banking it off Dubnyk's back and giving the Golden Knights a 3-1 advantage.

Ryan Graves returned the contest to a one-goal game in the final minutes of the second period, and Vegas led 3-2 after two.

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

Golden Knights hold edge on Avalanche heading to third period

The Golden Knights will take the goals how they come, no matter the fashion.

Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone each netted some unusual goals, and the Golden Knights took a 3-2 lead over the Colorado Avalanche into the second intermission at T-Mobile Arena on Wednesday.

The second period started with a Colorado power play nine seconds into it and the Avalanche proceeded to not allow Vegas to shoot for a large portion of the period. The Avalanche dominated puck possession, never allowing the Golden Knights to set up in the offensive zone, and managed six shots on goal before Vegas got one. The Golden Knights' first shot of the period didn't come until the 9:36 mark of the second.

The good news is that first Vegas shot went in the net. After power-play struggles in the first period, the Golden Knights needed just 14 seconds of time with the extra man in the second to go back on top thanks to Pacioretty's 23rd goal of the season.

Pacioretty didn't get all of the shot from near the benches, but it looked like defenseman Devon Toews redirected the shot in a way that fooled goalie Devan Dubnyk, who didn't get down to the ice in time to stop it. The puck slid by him, and the Golden Knights reclaimed the lead, 2-1, near the midpoint of the frame.

Vegas' next goal was equally weird. Chandler Stephenson had a strong look initially, but Dubnyk denied it and Stone collected it behind the net. Instead of moving the puck out, Stone took and attempt from behind the net and scored. He banked it off Dubnyk's back, who was still had his body facing the net while his head was turned. It put Vegas up 3-1 with 5:21 to go in the second.

According to stats site Moneypuck.com, Pacioretty's shot had a 1.4% chance of going in, and Steone's had a 1% chance of scoring.

But the Avalanche netted one more before the period ended. They had been the better team for much of the second without much to show for it, and finally got it with 2:54 to go. Nathan MacKinnon put it on a tee for Ryan Graves, who pulled back and whipped it into the net from the top of the faceoff circle to bring the game within a goal.

Vegas had just six shots in the second despite the two goals, and trailed in that department 25-17 after 40 minutes.

Golden Knights set mark for fastest goal to start a game vs. Avalanche

In the biggest game of the season so far, the Golden Knights scored the fastest goal in team history. William Karlsson gave Vegas the lead 10 seconds into Wednesday's game against the Colorado Avalanche at T-Mobile Arena,

The anthem had barely finished by the time Karlsson was rushing to the net. Alex Pietrangelo's stretch pass bounced off the skates of Colorado defenseman Samuel Girard and he appeared to lose sight of the puck. Karlsson didn't though, and he zoomed by Girard to get a clean look at the net, where he back-handed home a 1-0 lead.

The Golden Knights had two early power-play tried but came up empty on both of them. It's been their biggest weakness this season, as they came into the game with the 23rd-ranked power play in the league at 18.6% and missed a chance to put a crooked number on the board. They missed another chance late in the period too, starting the game 0-for-3.

After that, the Avalanche arrived in earnest. They started to control play the other way, led by a couple of star-power shifts from Nathan MacKinnon. They didn't score when he was on the ice, but he helped create some sustained zone time for when Colorado did get on the board.

It was Devon Toews who finished the scoring play. The Avalanche clustered in front of the Vegas net, and the defenseman came in from the line and put home a rebound from just outside the crease at 13:43 to even the game at 1-1.

Colorado led 12-11 in shots on goal after a period.

Pregame

The Golden Knights’ Jonathan Marchessault isn’t afraid to talk about the importance of tonight’s game.

Vegas is in first place of the West Division by four points with the visiting Colorado Avalanche right on its heels. There are just nine games left in the season for Vegas, including two with Colorado, bringing extra significance to the highly anticipated contest. Puck drop is at 6:30 p.m., and the game will be televised on NBCSN.

“We worked hard all year to put ourselves into position to be the best team in the league, and (tonight) by winning that game we can be the best team in the NHL in the standings,” Marchessault said.

There’s a strong case to be made that these are the best two teams in the league.

The Golden Knights (34-11-2, 70 points) and Avalanche (31-11-4, 66 points) have the first- and fifth-best raw point totals in the league, but the first- and third-best points percentage based on games played. Vegas is riding a nine-game winning streak, and the Avalanche had a six-gamer snapped by two losses this week.

“It’s a big one,” Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb said. “It very well could be for first place. It’s going to be a playoff-like feel I feel like.”

Colorado won’t be at full strength, with standout forward Mikko Rantanen, goalie Philipp Grubauer and forwards Brandon Saad and Joonas Donskoi expected to be out.

The Golden Knights are expected to return forwards Reilly Smith and Keegan Kolesar to the lineup after multiple games without each. Forwards Tomas Nosek and Nicolas Roy are not expected to play.

This battle between western heavyweights will likely stretch until the end of the season, and it’s not just the division crown on the line. These two teams are also among the handful of contenders for the Presidents’ Trophy, given to the team with the most points at the end of the year. Vegas has never won, and Colorado has won twice but not since 2001.

“We’ve just got to go and play,” coach Pete DeBoer said. “(It) wasn’t that long ago we were quite a ways on the outside looking in with not a lot of hope of catching Colorado."

“The fact that we’ve done what we’ve done over the last month in order to put ourselves in this spot I think is a testament to our group, and now we’ve just got to make sure our game is in a good place over the last nine," he said.

The season series has been split. Each side has won three games, with Vegas scoring 12 goals to Colorado’s 13. The Golden Knights are 1-1 against the Avalanche at home, and tonight will be the last meeting until the penultimate game of the season on May 10.

Whether that game means something hinges a lot on how tonight’s game goes. If the Golden Knights win in regulation, they’ll be six points up on the Avalanche with one more game played. That means if Vegas wins even half of its remaining eight games, Colorado would need 14 points in its final nine games to tie — a 7-2 pace.

But if the Golden Knights lose in regulation, the Avalanche will be in position to tie with one win and one more Vegas loss. The Avalanche have a much easier schedule the rest of the way, with games against the Sharks and Kings. Vegas still has two each with the Wild and Blues, likely playoff teams.

The Golden Knights don’t want to have to wait until the last week of the season to wrap up a third division title in four years. They can take a big step toward that with a win against the Avalanche tonight.

TV: NBC Sports Network (DirecTV 220, Cox 38, CenturyLink 640)

Radio: Fox Sports 1340 AM and 98.9 FM

Betting line: Golden Knights minus-145, Avalanche plus-125; over/under: 5.5 (minus-125, plus-105)

Golden Knights (34-11-2, 70 points; 1st place, West Division)

Coach: Pete DeBoer (second season)

Points leader: Mark Stone (53)

Goals leader: Max Pacioretty (22)

Assists leader: Mark Stone (35)

Expected goalie: Marc-Andre Fleury (2.08 GAA, .926 save percentage)

Avalanche (31-11-4, 66 points; 2nd place, West Division)

Coach: Jared Bednar (fifth season)

Points leader: Nathan MacKinnon (60)

Goals leader: Mikko Rantanen (26)

Assists leader: Nathan MacKinnon (41)

Expected goalie: Devan Dubnyk (3.04 GAA, .900 save percentage)

Golden Knights projected lineup

Forwards

Max Pacioretty—Chandler Stephenson—Mark Stone

Jonathan Marchessault—William Karlsson—Reilly Smith

Dylan Sikura—Mattias Janmark—Alex Tuch

William Carrier—Keegan Kolesar—Dylan Coghlan

Defensemen

Brayden McNabb—Shea Theodore

Alec Martinez—Alex Pietrangelo

Nicolas Hague—Zach Whitecloud

Goalies

Marc-Andre Fleury, Robin Lehner