Golden Knights Blanked Against Defending Cup Champions

The Vegas Golden Knights (35-19-6, 76 points) struggled to find their offensive game and lost 3-0 to the Colorado Avalanche (34-19-5, 73 points).

Ivan Barbashev made his Golden Knights debut after being acquired on the NHL Trade Market Sunday. Goaltender Adin Hill started after it was announced earlier Monday that Laurent Brossoit is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.

FIRST PERIOD

• 1-0 VGK GOAL- Right off the bat, the Avalanche scored 14 seconds in as Mikko Rantanen took advantage of Adin Hill's gaff.
• In his first shift as a Golden Knight, Ivan Barbashev laid a big hit on Samuel Girard, which knocked him to the ground.
• Nathan Mackinnon made a spin move to get a pass across to Valeri Nichushkin for a shot.
• Goalie gaff aside, the Golden Knights then put together a solid collection of shots to make the shots 10-2 early.
• However, the Avalanche came back to make the shots 11-11 as the VGK failed to register a shot in over nine minutes.

SECOND PERIOD

• William Karlsson had a shift with a couple of good chances after he and his line forechecked hard.
• Nathan Mackinnon set up Valeri Nichushkin for a one-timer off the rush, but Adin Hill made the save.
• Mikko Rantanen made a slick pass to Evan Rodrigues, but Adin Hill was able to slide across and make a big save.
• 4 on 4- Brett Howden and Mikko Rantanen were the focal points of the first major scrum of the game.
• 4 on 3- Chandler Stephenson was called for cross-checking Sam Girard and joined Brett Howden in the box.
• After William Karlsson was kicked out of the faceoff dot, Alex Pietrangelo took a faceoff on the penalty kill, which the VGK managed.
• 2-0 COL GOAL- JT Compher slid a cross-ice pass to Mikko Rantanen for him to score his second goal of the game and 40th of the season.
• 4 on 4- More coincidental minors as Phil Kessel and Alex Newhook went to the box.

THIRD PERIOD

• Nicolas Hague made a good defensive play to tie up Denis Malgin, who was rushing to the net.
• Will Carrier made a drop pass to William Karlsson, who ripped a shot wide of Alexander Georgiev.
• The Golden Knights did not register a shot on goal in the third period until the 12:28 minute mark.
• Nathan Mackinnon threw a puck to the net, and Andrew Cogliano redirected it toward Adin Hill.
• VGK PP- The Golden Knights got their first powerplay of the game as Denis Malgin tripped Keegan Kolesar.
• Evan Rodrigues got a burst of speed past Alex Pietrangelo, but his shot went high of the goal.
• The Golden Knights pulled Adin Hill with roughly three-and-a-half minutes to go in the game.
• 3-0 COL GOAL- Nathan Mackinnon made no mistake shooting for the empty net from his own end.

GOLDEN KNIGHTS NOTES

• In his Golden Knight debut, Ivan Barbashev looked solid. He had a couple of nice hits but also got tangled up with his linemates sometimes.
• Reilly Smith, who was recently passed as the VGK's leading goal scorer, has just one goal in his last 21 games. 
• The Golden Knight's nine-game streak of collecting points in the standings has ended.
• Defenseman Alex Pietrangelo took a faceoff while killing a 4 on 3 penalty. Shea Theodore, Dylan Coghlan, Nate Schmidt, Brad Hunt, and Colin Miller are the only other VGK defenseman take a faceoff.
• The Edmonton Oilers lost their game against the Boston Bruins, and the LA Kings did not play. The Golden Knights are still first in the Pacific.

VHN's Player of the Game: William Karlsson

Up Next: The Golden Knights will play the Carolina Hurricanes on March 1st at 7:00 p.m. at T-Mobile Arena.