Nicolas Roy scored twice in the second period, and Mark Stone set a franchise record for an eight-game road point streak as the Vegas Golden Knights held off the injury-plagued Colorado Avalanche 3-2 on Monday night.
Michael Amadio also found the net for the Pacific Division-leading Golden Knights. Stone assisted on Amadio’s first-period goal, surpassing the previous team road point record shared with Jack Eichel, Max Pacioretty, and Paul Stastny. Stone has three goals and six assists during his streak.
It was a memorable night for Roy as he scored twice in a regular-season game for only the second time in his career, marking his 200th NHL contest.
“Our first line has been doing a great job. They’ve been scoring a lot of goals. So it’s nice to help them,” said Roy, who hadn’t scored since Nov. 25.
Logan Thompson made 27 saves, recovering after allowing a goal to Nathan MacKinnon 25 seconds into the game. It was the fastest game-opening goal by an Avalanche player since MacKinnon’s 11-second goal on Oct. 13, 2018.
“They got off to a good start, obviously, and we didn’t let that get to us,” said Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy. “You’ve got to be careful that one doesn’t turn into two and three with a high-octane line like them.”
Down 3-1 midway through the third, Mikko Rantanen scored a goal after a brief review. However, the Avalanche couldn’t capitalize on a late power play, going 0 for 5, or tie it up after pulling goaltender Alexandar Georgiev with around two minutes left.
“They’re not coming easy for us,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said about scoring. “If we put in the work and focus on the process … when you’re doing the right things, we will get the result. We’ve just got to stay with it. Stay positive, stick together.”
Georgiev made 25 saves for the Avalanche, who have now lost four straight games (0-3-1). Shots from Rantanen and J.T. Compher hit the post during the game.
“It’s a good hockey team we played,” MacKinnon said. “The effort was there tonight. If we repeat that kind of performance, minus some turnovers, I think we can win some games.”
MacKinnon scored quickly in his second game back from an injury that sidelined him for nearly a month. Later in the first, he almost had an assist, but Rantanen’s shot hit the crossbar. The Golden Knights took advantage of the rebound, skated down the ice, and tied it on Amadio’s sixth goal of the season.
“That was unlucky,” MacKinnon said. “It would’ve been 2-0 early, and who knows from there.”
Colorado forward Darren Helm debuted his season after recovering from a lower-body injury. He became the 38th different player the Avalanche have used this season, one short of the team’s record.
“It felt great being back out there with the guys,” Helm said. “I definitely have got a lot more to give.”
AROUND THE ICE
- Avalanche C Evan Rodrigues was a late scratch with an upper-body injury.
- Bednar said captain Gabriel Landeskog was “nowhere close” to returning from arthroscopic knee surgery in October.
- D Josh Manson (lower body) is expected to start skating Tuesday.
- Avalanche D Andreas Englund and Knights F Keegan Kolesar received five-minute major penalties for fighting.
UP NEXT
- Golden Knights: Host Pittsburgh on Thursday night.
- Avalanche: At Vancouver on Thursday night.
