3 thoughts on Colorado Avalanche’s shellacking by Vegas Golden Knights

The Colorado Avalanche did not have the season opener they were hoping for. Despite a brilliant performance from Mikko Rantanen, the Avs got shellacked 8-4 at T-Mobile Arena on Wednesday night.

The Avalanche started off strong, leading the game early on a beautiful one-timer from Rantanen. But then, the tide turned, leading to an uncharacteristic loss by the Avalanche.

So, let’s dig deeper into the Colorado Avalanche’s 8-4 season opener loss against the Vegas Golden Knights.

3 thoughts on the Colorado Avalanche’s season opener loss

The offense held up its end of the bargain

Offensively, there was little question about the Avs’ performance. The Avalanche got off to a strong start, controlling much of the first half of the first period. The reward was a nifty one-timer from Rantanen.

The Avalanche’s offense hung tough throughout the game. They kept pace with the Golden Knights till about midway through the third period. Rantanen’s third goal of the night brought the Avs to within a goal at 5-4.

However, four goals weren’t enough for the Avs on Wednesday night. The defense didn’t hold up their end of the bargain, leaving the Avs’ goaltenders out to dry (more on that in a moment).

One bright spot worth pointing out is Nathan MacKinnon notching his 900th career point. MacKinnon hit the milestone with an assist on Rantanen’s first goal of the game. Kudos to MacKinnon who could surpass the 1,000-point mark with another video game-like season.

The defense was a mess

While the offense got the job done, for the most part, the defense did not. Colorado’s usually reliable defensive corps got burned several times throughout the game.

In particular, a couple of instances stand out. First, with the game 4-3 late in the second, the Knights got a power play. As the Knights moved the puck around, no one picked up Victor Olofsson. Olofsson had all the time and space to rip one at the net, burying the shot past Alexandar Georgiev. Meanwhile, Devon Toews made a cursory attempt at blocking the shot, but to no avail.

Second, Ivan Barbashev’s second goal of the night was a beauty in which he undressed Sam Girard and then beat Justus Annunen on a breakaway to make the game 7-4. The play started with a turnover at the Vegas blueline, leading to the rush chance that ended up in the back of the net.

These two goals stand out among other plays in which the Avs’ defense largely broke down. It was certainly uncharacteristic to see such a performance, but here’s hoping it was just a one-off.

The goaltending was disappointing

Vegas lit up Georgiev in these two teams’ last meeting during the preseason. The game ended 6-1 but was ultimately meaningless as it was a preseason game.

This time around, more of the same situation occurred. The Knights scored five times on Georgiev on 16 shots. Georgiev looked out of place several times during the game, especially on the goal by Zach Whitecloud in the second period. Justus Annunen took over in the third and proceeded to give up two goals on four shots.

Now, is it time for the Avs to push the panic button?

On the whole, no. It’s the first game of the season and there is plenty of hockey to be played. However, the goaltending situation could become an issue down the road if not addressed now. Unfortunately, it seems the clock has started ticking on the two Avs’ goaltenders who will need to find answers to the questions surrounding them sooner rather than later.