Vegas Golden Knights left wing William Carrier (28) and Colorado Avalanche defenseman Ryan Graves (27) battle for the puck during an NHL hockey game at T-Mobile Arena, Monday, May 10, 2021.
Published Monday, May 10, 2021 | 3 p.m.
Updated Monday, May 10, 2021 | 9:33 p.m.
For 50 minutes, the Golden Knights outplayed the Avalanche while down three skaters. Eventually, though, it was too much to handle and Vegas had to take the champagne off ice.
The Golden Knights scored first and looked like the better team for most of the game but dressed just 15 skaters because of injuries and not enough salary cap room to replace the hurt players. The Avalanche started to tilt the ice late in the third, and finally netted the game-winning goal to send Vegas to a 2-1 defeat at T-Mobile Arena.
A win would have clinched the West Division and the Presidents' Trophy for the Golden Knights. They can still win both, but would need to beat the Sharks on Wednesday and have Colorado lose either of its two games against the Kings this week.
The Golden Knights spent the first half of the third period not allowing the Avalanche to do much of anything. They killed off a Colorado power play without allowing a shot, and frustrated the Avalanche by tying up sticks and getting into shooting lanes to the tune of one Colorado shot in more than 10 minutes.
Colorado's first good chance came just past the midpoint when Robin Lehner lost sight of the puck after the first save, but Zach Whitecloud dove into the scrum to tie up the Avalanche forward and prevent him from swatting at the puck sitting on the ice.
Eventually, though, a poor change did Vegas in. Colorado collected a mini-rush as the Golden Knights were near the bench, and J.T. Compher crashed the net and redirected a shot from rookie Alex Newhook into the net at 11:33 of the third.
Alex Pietrangelo got things going for the Golden Knights in the first period with a vicious slap shot off a rebound. He pinched from his spot on the right point and stepped into the shot for his sixth of the season 8:11 into the game.
The Golden Knights controlled much of the play in the first and carried it into the second, where they held Colorado to just four shots. One of those went into the net, though, an Andre Burakovsky shot from the point at 7:04 of the second.
Theodore finished with 28:59 of ice time, falling about two minutes shy of a career-high.
The Golden Knights led 37-21 in shots on goal.
Check back to lasvegassun.com later for more coverage and read below for live updates from the game.
Golden Knights, Avalanche head to third period tied
The Golden Knights and Avalanche have two of the best teams in the NHL all season. They're a potential second-round playoff matchup for each other, and showed everyone just how fun that would be in the first two periods on Monday.
Back-and-forth the teams went in the second period, and the Avalanche even the score to send the game to the second intermission in a 1-1 tie at T-Mobile Arena.
Vegas scored in the first, but the Avalanche are too dangerous to think they'd be kept off the board all night. Andre Burakovsky had the equalizer in the second period for Colorado and what a shot it was. He had a clean look in the slot, hesitating just long enough and disguising the shot off his stick blade just enough that it beat Robin Lehner at 7:04 for his 100th career goal.
The rest of the period was a battle just to gain an inch. It was physical and high-flying at the same time, with both sides exhibiting a strong display of size and speed. Vegas seemed to have the upper hand through the first period and opening portion of the second, but it was fairly even from Burakovsky's goal onward.
In the time-on-ice watch, Shea Theodore led all skaters with 20:34 and Alex Pietrangelo was second at 17:44.
Vegas led 29-13 in shots on goal.
Short-handed Golden Knights lead Avalanche after a period
Short-handed because of salary-cap and injury issues, the Golden Knights needed a strong start against the Avalanche in a game where a win would clinch the West Division and the Presidents' Trophy.
Vegas scored first and held serve the rest of the way, finishing the first period with Colorado up 1-0 at T-Mobile Arena on Monday.
The Golden Knights sustained a nice push after a shaky first few minutes, including leading the Avalanche 9-4 in shots on goal at point. They also picked up the first goal of the game at 8:11 courtesy of an Alex Pietrangelo blast. Nicolas Hague's initial shot on goal deflected to Pietrangelo, who stepped into a one-timer and put the Golden Knights on the board.
Vegas had some opportunities to make it a bigger lead too. Keegan Kolesar hit the post late in the frame and Alex Tuch slid a 2-on-1 shot through the crease. The Golden Knights had 3:49 of power-play time, including 1:46 of 4-on-3, but could not net a special-teams tally. They did kill of Colorado's only power play of the period.
With 15 skaters, defensemen Shea Theodore and Pietrangelo are expected to carry a large share of the time on ice. Through a period, Theodore played 11:26 and Pietrangelo played 8:35, though he spent two minutes in the box for a roughing minor.
Vegas led in shots on goal 14-9 after one.
Golden Knights to play three players short vs. Avalanche
The Golden Knights will play Monday's game against the Avalanche with 15 skaters — 10 forwards and five defensemen — playing with three fewer skaters than the maximum allowed, general manager Kelly McCrimmon announced before the game.
Krebs suffered a broken jaw in Saturday's game, underwent surgery yesterday and is out "indefinitely," McCrimmon said. Defenseman Alec Martinez is out Monday after playing Saturday, and the Golden Knights are still without forwards Max Pacioretty, Tomas Nosek and Ryan Reaves, who have all missed varying amounts of time with injuries.
Vegas played last week short one forward, opting for rookie Peyton Krebs over two cheaper forwards. Even on an entry-level contract, Krebs has a higher cap hit than players like Tomas Jurco and Dylan Sikura who have filled in for the Golden Knights at times this season.
Division title on line for Golden Knights in showdown with Avalanche
All that's at stake tonight is the West Division title and home ice throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Other than that, not much.
The Golden Knights can clinch their third division title in four years and their first Presidents' Trophy with a victory against the Colorado Avalanche at T-Mobile Arena. With the playoffs right around the corner, a victory would give Vegas the top overall seed in the league. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.
"Oh, it's going to be a fun game for sure," Vegas forward Nicolas Roy said. "We've put ourselves in a position to have our own destiny so we're looking forward to that game and it's going to be a big game."
Vegas can eliminate any guesswork with a victory in any fashion. It would put the Avalanche too far behind the Golden Knights to catch them in Colorado's final two games, as well as guarantee at least a tie atop the NHL standings with Carolina. Because Vegas has more regulation wins, the first tiebreaker, Vegas would win the Presidents' Trophy.
A loss makes things interesting, depending on how Vegas loses. An overtime or shootout loss would give Vegas one point in the standings for 81 on the season with one game to go and give Colorado 78 points with two games to go. That means Vegas could still clinch with a victory over the San Jose Sharks in the regular season finale on Wednesday, even if the Avalanche win their final two games.
A regulation loss to Colorado tonight takes control of the West out of the Golden Knights' hands. They would have 80 points with one game left and Colorado would have 78 with two games left. Because the Avalanche have the regulation wins tiebreaker over Vegas, if Colorado wins tonight in regulation then wins its final two games, the Avalanche will win the division, even if Vegas beats San Jose on Wednesday.
A Vegas loss tonight means Colorado would have to lose again this season, and Golden Knights don't want to have to count on that happening.
"We're getting to that time of year where every point is crucial," defenseman Zach Whitecloud said. "Everyone knows what's on the line and it's a fun time of year."
The Golden Knights did not hold an on-ice workout this morning, and coach Pete DeBoer all season has refused to name a starting goaltender before warmups. If Vegas holds to its every-other-game rotation between Marc-Andre Fleury and Robin Lehner, it would be Lehner's turn in the rotation.
But it's worth noting the last time the Golden Knights broke the rotation was in late March, when Fleury played consecutive games against Colorado. Fleury has started all seven games against the Avalanche this season.
"I'm not making those decisions based on one game," DeBoer said. "We've gotten great goaltending all year from both guys, and we're going to need both guys in the playoffs, too."
The Golden Knights are 4-3-0 against the Avalanche this season, including a 2-1 mark at T-Mobile Arena. They last played on April 28 in Las Vegas, where Vegas won 5-2.
That Avalanche team wasn't the same one the Golden Knights will see tonight. That team was missing leading goal-scorer Mikko Rantanen, forwards Brandon Saad and Joonas Donskoi, and goalie Philipp Grubauer. All except Saad are expected back tonight, and rookie Alex Newhook is expected to play Vegas for the first time, though defenseman Samuel Girard will not play.
On the Golden Knights side, DeBoer said there will be game-time decisions in regard to the availability of forwards Max Pacioretty and Ryan Reaves. He said there will be an update today on rookie Peyton Krebs, who took a slap shot to the face in the second period Saturday and did not return.
TV: AT&T SportsNet (DirecTV 684, Cox 1313, CenturyLink 1760)
Radio: Fox Sports 1340 AM and 98.9 FM
Betting line: Golden Knights minus-115, Avalanche minus-105; over/under: 6 (EVEN, minus-120)
Golden Knights (39-13-2, 80 points; 1st place, West Division)
Coach: Pete DeBoer (second season)
Points leader: Mark Stone (60)
Goals leader: Max Pacioretty (24)
Assists leader: Mark Stone (39)
Expected goalie: Robin Lehner (2.30 GAA, .913 save percentage)
Avalanche (36-13-4, 76 points; 2nd place, West Division)
Coach: Jared Bednar (fifth season)
Points leader: Nathan MacKinnnon (65)
Goals leader: Mikko Rantanen (309)
Assists leader: Nathan MacKinnon (45)
Expected goalie: Philipp Grubauer (2.03 GAA, .919 save percentage)
Golden Knights projected lineup
Forwards
Peyton Krebs—Chandler Stephenson—Mark Stone
Jonathan Marchessault—William Karlsson—Alex Tuch
Mattias Janmark—Nicolas Roy—Alex Tuch
William Carrier—Keegan Kolesar
Defensemen
Brayden McNabb—Shea Theodore
Alec Martinez—Alex Pietrangelo
Nicolas Hague—Zach Whitecloud
Goalies
Robin Lehner, Marc-Andre Fleury
