The Colorado Avalanche fell to the Vegas Golden Knights o Wednesday night by a final score of 4-2. After a first period that ended in donuts (0-0), Vegas scored two goals in the second frame, and then two more in the third period, while the Avalanche got two of their own in the third.
Their comeback attempt was just not enough. With a couple of fluke goals going Vegas’ way, it almost doomed Colorado at that exact time. This one hurts significantly because it was at home at Ball Arena. Home-ice advantage is something that teams strive for ahead of the playoffs. With the Avalanche earning the Presidents’ trophy, they were rewarded, but in this particular instance, it didn’t quite matter.
Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog spoke with media members following the game and was asked if this loss puts pressure on the team to win Game 2, which will be played on Friday at Ball Arena.
"For sure. I mean, you definitely want to win. You want to take advantage of home-ice advantage. It’s as easy as that, but what’s in the past is in the past. They won this one. Whether they won this one or we won this one, we’re going to regroup the same, learn from it, see what we can do better, and get ready for Game 2."Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog
The absence of Cale Makar certainly made an unfortunate difference for the Avalanche. If he was in, perhaps some of the goals the Avs let in wouldn’t have found their way past goaltender Scott Wedgewood. Colorado would also see a little bit of an increase in offense, though I’m not suggesting their offense was poor in Game 1.
It was just a matter of solving Carter Hart, which the Avalanche were able to do, but when it was too late.
Head coach Jared Bednar shuffled up the team’s lines some time into the game, and the team saw Artturi Lehkonen play with three separate groupings: Brock Nelson and Nicolas Roy (7:40), Landeskog and Nathan MacKinnon (2:09), and Nicolas Roy and Valeri Nichushkin (0:19).
However, it was the line of Landeskog, MacKinnon, and Martin Necas which saw the most good, but also the most bad in terms of shots. That line had 13 shots and 13 shots against. The line of Ross Colton, Nazem Kadri and Valeri Nichushkin had a shot differential of 14-7.
There is some good to take away from this game despite the loss. The Avalanche have to build on it throughout the rest of the series. The Golden Knights put up a stellar performance, and Colorado was lacking their best defender. Hopefully Makar is back for Game 2.
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