Golden Knights fall into 2-0 series hole after painful loss to Avalanche

By Justin Emerson

Thursday, June 3, 2021 | 12:04 a.m.

DENVER — It took about four periods for the Golden Knights to arrive in the series.

After a whooping in Game 1 and a so-so first period Wednesday, Vegas became the aggressor and controlled play for the final 40 minutes of regulation in Game 2. They played the style of hockey that gave them the most wins in the league and made them a legitimate Stanley Cup contender.

Yet when Mikko Rantanen’s power-play goal in overtime hit the net, it didn’t matter. The Golden Knights lost 3-2 to the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena despite being the better team for the final two periods, and that doesn’t make the reality of a 2-0 series deficit any easier to take.

“We really took over the game as it went on,” captain Mark Stone said. “We just came out and played really solid, but it stings no matter what.”

The call in overtime to put Colorado on the power play will be debated for a while, and any opinion on it will depend almost entirely on which team you root for. Reilly Smith was flagged for slashing Rantanen’s stick, and by the letter of the law it was a penalty, but is that one that should be called in overtime of a playoff game? The Golden Knights don’t think so.

Stone said it was a “tough call” and said he goes into 30 stick battles off a faceoff per game and that he doesn’t drop his stick when he’s slashed. “There’s got to be a little bit of onus on the guy holding his stick,” he said.

“Just a soft call,” coach Pete DeBoer said. “I can’t even blame the refs because they’re fighting through the embellishment of grabbing your face or falling down or dropping your stick every period. I can’t even blame the referee on it. They fooled them on it.”

Rantanen replied by saying it would be foolish to intentionally drop his stick in the defensive zone in overtime, and Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said it was “an easy call” after his player’s stick came out of his hand.

Agree with the call or not, the Avalanche went to the power play for the sixth time in the game and connected for the second time. Nathan MacKinnon found Rantanen across the ice, and Rantanen walked down the wing and fired from the right faceoff dot, sending the 10,491 in attendance into hysteria.

“That last one there, it’s on me,” goalie Marc-Andre Fleury said. “I should have made the save and kept our team in the game."

Fleury actually got a piece of Rantanen’s shot, but like the Golden Knights’ game as a whole, it just wasn’t enough.

In the second and third periods, the Golden Knights finally started to play the game they wanted to. They forechecked well, forcing turnovers and keeping the puck low in the Colorado end. They cycled in the zone, and whenever the Avalanche did break out, they rarely made it much farther than the red line before dumping it in.

For the final 40 minutes of regulation, Vegas out-attempted the Avalanche 60-31, outshot them 31-12 and had 11 high-danger scoring chances compared to seven against, according to Natural Stat Trick. The ice was tilted, but a Smith goal 10:28 into the second was all Vegas mustered on the scoreboard.

And like it so often does in the playoffs, the game was decided by goaltending. Fleury was good, but in the duel of Vezina Trophy finalists, Colorado backstop Philipp Grubauer showed why he’s not just the man behind a team full of star skaters.

He was particularly strong in the back half of the third period, with a little help from his friends. Officially the Golden Knights were credited with hitting the post three times, but a few more dinged off the pipe after nicking Grubauer. It didn’t matter — the sound of rubber meeting iron is going to be ringing through the Golden Knights’ ears all night.

In the final 10 minutes of regulation alone, the Golden Knights had a short-handed attempt go off the post, a breakaway end up in Grubauer’s glove and four power-play shots in the final two minutes get swallowed up. 

“I thought we deserved better. I really liked a lot of the things we did and our effort, but we’ve got to find a way to bury one of those chances and win a game,” DeBoer said. “After Game 1, we were out to prove that we can play with this team, and I think we did that tonight.”

Indeed, the Golden Knights were bullied off the ice in Game 1 and looked much more like they belonged. They again gave up an early goal like they did on Sunday — a weird shot that Brandon Saad whiffed on but still snuck by Fleury at 3:39 of the first — but Vegas didn’t shrink this time. Alec Martinez blasted home the tying goal on the power play later in the frame, and even answered Tyson Jost’s goal with Smith’s in the second.

The Golden Knights didn’t have a chance to tie it again, though. Vegas has lost its last four playoff overtimes dating back to last season, two of which came on an opposing power-play goal and another that came moments after a penalty expired.

Vegas played better Wednesday night but it’s hard to pat yourself on the back for a moral victory this time of year. The Golden Knights certainly weren’t and are already looking ahead to Game 3 on Friday, a game that is as close to a must-win as you’ll have in a non-elimination game.

The Golden Knights need to win at least one of Games 3 and 4 at T-Mobile Arena in order to extend the series and return to Denver, and quite frankly might need both. It’s an uphill climb to be sure, but the Golden Knights got better as Game 2 went along and have steadily improved as the series has progressed.

Will it be enough? The Golden Knights are counting on it. Their season depends on it.