Vegas Misses Golden Chance To Bury Avalanche

The Vegas Golden Knights missed a major chance to wrap up the Honda West Division, losing to the Colorado Avalanche 2-1 on Monday night at T-Mobile Arena.

Alex Tuch in particular whiffed on a wide open net with the VGK in front 1-0 at the time. Tuch was wide open on a 2-on-1 and shot the puck back through the crease and past the far post into the corner.

Had Vegas made it a 2-0 lead there’s no telling how things might have gone from there, but instead the Avalanche rallied to tie and eventually win the game in regulation.

Alex Pietrangelo scored the only goal in the game for the Golden Knights. Robin Lehner stopped 19 shots in the loss.

The Takeaways:

• I just can’t shake the feeling there’s something going on with Robin Lehner’s game. He just seems off and struggles to track pucks. He was certainly better tonight than he was in his previous start, but my confidence in his play is very low right now.
• Alex Pietrangelo made a nice play to jump down the right wing and convert for the only goal of the game. It really seems like he’s getting more comfortable in the system finally and on top of that getting over the injuries that have plagued him this season. It couldn’t come at a better time.
• After tonight’s loss, the Golden Knights lead the HWD by two points with one game left to play. Colorado has two games left against the LA Kings and if they win both, will finish in first place regardless of Vegas’ result.
• This team could really use the jolt Ryan Reaves could give them with a return to the lineup. Only Brayden McNabb is showing a physical presence right now, and to put it bluntly they need to be more physical against this Avalanche team to beat them in a playoff series.