Cale Makar and Gabriel Landeskog each tallied a goal and an assist during a dominant four-goal second period, leading the Colorado Avalanche to a 5-1 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights in a key West Division clash on Thursday night.
Joonas Donskoi and J.T. Compher also found the back of the net in the second, during which the Avalanche overwhelmed Vegas, outshooting them 16-5 to overturn a 1-0 deficit into a commanding 4-1 lead. Pierre-Edouard Bellemare added another goal early in the third to seal the win.
Philipp Grubauer made 17 saves to secure his eighth straight victory, allowing the Avalanche to tie Vegas in points (45) atop the West Division. The two teams are set to meet again at Ball Arena on Saturday.
“Guys stepped up big,” said Landeskog. “Overall, a good team effort.”
For Vegas, the lopsided defeat will be a hard one to forget.
“When you lose 5-1, you have to sit down, review it, and see what went wrong,” said Golden Knights forward Mark Stone.
Vegas had a quick start, with Max Pacioretty scoring just 40 seconds into the game. Marc-Andre Fleury held strong in the first period but faltered in the second, conceding four goals in a span of just over 11 minutes. Fleury finished the game with 27 saves.
Donskoi tied the game by knocking in a bouncing puck on a power play, and Compher followed up with a goal that tricked Fleury, giving the Avalanche the lead. Landeskog and Makar combined for two more goals, extending the lead to 4-1 by the end of the second.
“Getting a few of those bounces gave us confidence,” said Makar. “After that first goal, we just started rolling.”
Grubauer improved his record to 20-7 this season, becoming the first goalie in Avalanche/Nordiques history to reach 20 wins in fewer than 30 games.
Both teams saw this two-game series in Denver as a potential preview of playoff matchups.
“If we want to win it all, we’re definitely going to have to go through each other,” said Vegas forward Jonathan Marchessault.
Pacioretty returned from a two-game absence due to injury and immediately scored career goal No. 297 after splitting two Colorado defenders and beating Grubauer with a backhand shot.
“The start was a bit of fool’s gold,” said Vegas coach Pete DeBoer. “We were lucky to be up 1-0 after the first period. I’m not sure we deserved it.”
Colorado’s scoreless first period snapped their streak of scoring in 20 straight periods, a franchise record.
“We found a way to score some timely goals and defended hard,” said Avalanche coach Jared Bednar. “But it was a bit sloppy, and I didn’t think we had a lot of energy.”
That wasn’t the perspective from the Golden Knights, though.
“If you turn pucks over, they come at you,” Stone said. “They play a different style than most teams, and we’ll have to adjust.”
Boulder Strong
During the pregame warmups, the Avalanche wore special jerseys with “Boulder Strong” written on the back, honoring the 10 victims, including a police officer, who were killed in a mass shooting at a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado, earlier in the week. The jerseys, all featuring the number 10, will be signed and auctioned, with proceeds going to the Colorado Healing Fund to support victims and their families.
A moment of silence was also observed before the game.
Injury Updates
Avalanche coach Jared Bednar remains unsure if defenseman Erik Johnson (upper body) or goaltender Pavel Francouz (lower body) will return this season, calling them “long-term” injuries. Matt Calvert missed Thursday’s game due to lingering injuries.
UP NEXT
- Golden Knights: Face Colorado again on Saturday at Ball Arena.
- Avalanche: Host Vegas for a second straight game on Saturday.