The Colorado Avalanche were on the receiving end of a preseason pounding, losing 6-1 on Tuesday night at Ball Arena.
Jere Innala opened the scoring with a power play goal at the 3:57 mark of the first period. However, it was all Vegas from there. The Avs kept the game close at 3-1 following 40 minutes of play. But then, Vegas opened the floodgates, scoring three times in the third period to put the game on ice.
Zach Aston-Reese had two goals for the Golden Knights, while Brendan Brisson, Tanner Pearson, Joe Fleming, and Tanner Laczynski also scored for Vegas.
With the disappointing loss in the books, it’s worth taking a closer look at key points from Tuesday night's loss against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Notes from the Colorado Avalanche preseason loss to the Vegas Golden Knights
The Avs could not sustain early momentum
The Colorado Avalanche came flying out of the gate. They controlled the game for the first five minutes or so. Their reward was the opening goal by Innala on the power play.
However, the Avs took a number of penalties, including two in a row that led to a 5-on-3 power play for Vegas. The Avs had killed off the first one, but could not hold on leading to the tying goal. In the end, Colorado was 3-for-4 on the penalty kill.
After four penalties in a row during the first period, the Avs settled down and did not step into the penalty box for the rest of the night.
Defensive lapses were costly
Tuesday night’s theme was defensive lapses. In virtually every goal, the Avs’ defense did not pick up screens, lone players, or trailers coming out of nowhere.
In the first goal, no one picked up the screen in front of Alexandar Georgiev. Tanner Pearson was allowed to stand in front of the net and deflect Ben Hutton’s point shot.
Similarly, the Brendan Brisson goal was possible due to a lack of coverage. After a rebound landed in the high slot, Brisson walked in and buried his first of the game.
It’s tough to blame Georgiev for all six goals. Given the lack of defensive coverage, the Golden Knights’ goals were more of a collective responsibility than an individual one.
The power play looked dominant
Despite only scoring once, the power play looked dominant. Nathan MacKinnon wheeled-and-dealed throughout the night. In particular, Nikolai Kovalenko also looked good, providing a solid netfront presence, while moving the puck well, too.
Ultimately, the Avs went 1-for-5 with the man advantage. Perhaps a full lineup could have made a difference. But moving forward, the Colorado Avalanche will need to connect more often in order to win games. A 20% power play rate will not cut it for a contending team.
Then again, if there was a bright spot from Tuesday night’s game, it would have to be the Avs power play’s potential to be a difference-maker throughout the season.