Three takeaways from the Golden Knights' preseason loss to Colorado

The first period doomed the Golden Knights for the second straight night, losing their second preseason game 3-2 to the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena on Monday night.

Much like Sunday, overreactions aren't necessary. It was another mix of veterans and rookies that resembled the lineup in Vegas' 5-2 loss to the San Jose Sharks on Sunday.

Sheldon Rempal and Lukas Cormier scored for Vegas, and Logan Thompson stopped 10 of 12 shots in his first start since March.

"It's tough. You're flying almost three hours the day of the game, get off the plane and try to get to the game right away," coach Bruce Cassidy said. "At the end of the day, you've got to be ready to go. That's the schedule."

The Golden Knights resume exhibition play Wednesday against the Los Angeles Kings, this time at T-Mobile Arena (7 p.m.).

Here are some takeaways from a night that saw Vegas drop to 0-2 in preseason.

Welcome back, Logan Thompson

The Golden Knights' goalie returned to the crease for the first time since two lower-body injuries ended his season; the first after the All-Star Break, then in March, in Calgary, after a 37-save effort.

He watched goalie partner Adin Hill lead the Golden Knights to the Stanley Cup. Thompson is back and is likely to get a lot of reps to get up to speed before the start of the season.

Thompson played a little more than 30 minutes with both goals coming in the first period.

"It got better as the game went on. I felt comfortable there in the second period," Thompson said. "Obviously, it's been a long time since I was in the game, but it was a good step in the right direction."

The goals were far from Thompson's fault. The first came on the power play after defensemen Kaedan Korczak and Nic Hague broke their sticks and had to use twigs from forwards Mason Morelli and Jakub Brabanec.

Valiant as the Vegas penalty kill was, Ryan Johansen scored late in the man advantage for Colorado to tie it 1-1.

Minutes later, forward Paul Cotter turned the puck over in the defensive zone and sprung an odd-man rush. Avs forward Oskar Olausson capitalized to give Colorado a 2-1 lead into the first intermission.

It's the first step for Thompson, who is expected to have a more split role with Hill this season, to get back on track. He didn't face many dangerous chances, but he fared well in his first action in six months.

"He needs to play. It's that simple," Cassidy said. "It was a good half game for him."

Rempal keeps it up

Cassidy has been impressed with Rempal, the forward who tied for the team lead in Henderson with 25 goals last season.

Rempal continued his good play with a power-play goal that opened the scoring at 14:19.

The five-year AHL veteran is coming off back-to-back 60-point seasons, including 63 (25 goals, 38 assists) with Henderson in 2023. Rempal, 28, has been noticeable throughout camp with his scoring touch.

Cassidy said Rempal has been great with winning puck battles and working hard in the corners.

"He's been good since Day 1," Cassidy said. "He came up last year, we weren't playing our best hockey, didn't have a great outing, and I think he's trying to correct that and make a better impression this time, and he certainly has."

Whitecloud leaves early

Defenseman Zach Whitecloud played under four minutes in the first period before leaving the game following a hit by Colorado's Kurtis MacDermid.

Whitecloud was ruled out in the second period with an upper-body injury.

Cassidy didn't have an update on the third-pairing defenseman, but he'll be evaluated Tuesday when the Golden Knights return to Las Vegas.

"We have an off day, so he's going to get treatment at home, or a better look at it, pictures, whatever he has to get," Cassidy said. "We should have an update certainly by Wednesday morning."

Danny Webster can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Danny on Twitter at twitter.com/DannyWebster21.