Wednesday night’s 4-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 1 of the Western Conference Final is no reason for Colorado Avalanche fans to worry, at least for now.
The game was close most of the night, with Colorado dictating much of the pace. However, the Golden Knights managed to get a couple of goals that changed the game’s entire facet.
Despite pulling to within one, the Avs just ran out of runway. A few more minutes of game time would have yielded the game-tying goal. Alas, this isn’t a schoolyard, next-goal-wins type of thing.
So, the Avs head into Game 2 down 1-0 in the series and looking to pull even before heading to Sin City for Game 3. There really isn’t much Colorado has to do to win Game 2. As Nathan MacKinnon drilled down in the postgame interviews, it’s all about execution.
Looking at the film, the Avalanche didn’t do much to fail. Yes, Cale Makar was a noticeable absence. But the team played well overall. If anything, Wednesday night’s tilt resembled Game 3 against the Wild. Colorado lost that game 5-1, despite playing a decent game.
Bear in mind that this is the conference finals. Even if the Golden Knights didn’t run away with the Pacific Division, they were still the division winners. They are no pushovers and have shown that they can hang with the best of them.
But the Avalanche are this year’s best team. They are also the deepest squad in the NHL. So, there’s no reason to believe they won’t do what they’ve done so well all season: Bounce back and play a dominant performance.
Avalanche could turn tables on Golden Knights
The last time the Avalanche and Golden Knights faced off against one another was back in the second round of the 2021 playoffs. That postseason, the Avalanche won the opening game 7-1 at Ball Arena. They followed that up with a 3-2 overtime win to take a 2-0 series lead.
That was it.
The Golden Knights went on to win four straight, dumping the Avalanche in the second round. It was a bitter defeat, and one that would pave the way for Colorado’s Stanley Cup the following season.
This time around, it was Vegas that drew first blood in the series. So, the Avalanche will be looking to turn the tables on the Golden Knights. It would hardly be a bad thing to see the Avs win four in a row to leave the Knights in the rearview.
There is still plenty of hockey to be played, with Game 2 set for Friday night at Ball Arena.
Add us as a preferred source on Google