Colorado Avalanche coach Jared Bednar didn’t mince words when explaining how his team pulled off a 2-1 comeback win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday night.
“Simple. Goaltending — that was it,” Bednar said. “That was the only part of our game I liked.”
J.T. Compher scored the goal in the third period, and Philipp Grubauer made 36 saves, keeping Colorado’s hopes alive for finishing first in the West Division.
Despite playing with a short roster for the ninth time this season, Vegas outplayed Colorado in many aspects of the game, leading in scoring chances 40-22 and outshooting them 37-21. But Grubauer’s stellar performance proved to be the difference.
“Without (Grubauer) we don’t have a chance,” Bednar admitted. “Vegas was more competitive. They won more puck battles, played faster, and executed better. We didn’t play our game at all. Vegas was the more physical and engaged team tonight.”
Bednar did praise Colorado’s penalty kill, which went 3-for-3 on the night.
Both teams came into the matchup missing key players, but it didn’t stop the intensity. Vegas controlled the first two periods, while Grubauer and the Avalanche held strong in the third.
The Golden Knights, dealing with salary cap constraints, were limited to 15 skaters, using 10 forwards and five defensemen. Forward Peyton Krebs fractured his jaw in Saturday’s game against St. Louis and is out indefinitely. Defenseman Alec Martinez, who blocked nine shots in that game, also missed Monday’s contest. Forwards Max Pacioretty, Ryan Reaves, and Tomas Nosek remained sidelined due to injuries.
“Everyone had to step up, no choice,” said Vegas coach Peter DeBoer. “We talked about staying out of the penalty box and keeping our energy up, and I thought the guys executed well. It’s tough they didn’t get rewarded for it.”
Colorado got a boost with Nathan MacKinnon returning after missing two games, but the Avalanche were also missing several key players, including Brandon Saad and Samuel Girard.
The Avalanche took their first lead when Vegas made a slow line change, and Compher capitalized. He grabbed the puck, set up the play, and finished it off by tapping it past Vegas goalie Robin Lehner for his second game-winning goal of the season.
Andre Burakovsky also scored for Colorado and trails Vegas by two points in the division standings. Vegas has one game remaining, while Colorado has two.
“We didn’t play our best, but it’s always good to get the win,” Grubauer said. “We stepped it up in the third period. It was a tough game to close out the road trip, but we managed.”
Alex Pietrangelo scored for the Golden Knights, and Robin Lehner, making his first start against the Avalanche this season, stopped 19 shots.
Vegas scored in the first period when Pietrangelo fired a one-timer over Grubauer’s left shoulder. Alex Tuch had a golden opportunity to double the lead on an odd-man rush but missed an open net.
Boasting the NHL’s best second-period goal differential, Colorado tied the game seven minutes into the second when Burakovsky fired a wrist shot past Lehner.
“We haven’t had to lean on our goalies much this season,” Bednar said. “Tonight we relied too much on Grubauer, and that’s not a good long-term strategy. There’s a lesson to be learned from this game.”
UP NEXT
- Colorado: Hosts Los Angeles for a two-game series starting Wednesday.
- Vegas: Finishes the regular season at San Jose on Wednesday.