Golden Knights Dominate Avalanche in Preseason Action

No one tell the Golden Knights that Tuesday night’s game against the Colorado Avalanche was just a preseason contest.

It may not have counted towards the standings, but that didn’t stop the Golden Knights from arriving in the Mile High City on a mission. After allowing a goal first goal less than four minutes in, Vegas blitzed the hosts, scoring six the game’s final six goals to emerge with a dominant victory.

With the win in their final road game of the preseason, Vegas improved to 3-1-0 in their exhibition slate. Colorado, meanwhile, fell to 0-4-0.

Aston-Reese’s Big Night

The unexpected hero of the night was forward Zach Aston-Reese, who scored two goals on the evening. After appearing in just three NHL games with the Detroit Red Wings last season, the Golden Knights signed the former Northeastern University star to a tw0-way contract this offseason. Performances like this one certainly will help Aston-Reese in his push to earn a spot on Vegas’s opening night roster.

“Coming in, I kinda thought already that they had their roster set,” Aston-Reese said. “The only thing you can really do is just make their decision hard.

“You just wanna work your tail off and be the guy that’s on the back of their minds when it comes time for a call-up.”

Other Young Guns Step Up

In addition to Aston-Reese’s impressive night, Tanner Lacynski added a goal and an assist, while Jakub Brabenac and Ben Hutton chipped in two assists each. Meanwhile, goaltender Akira Schmid stopped 27 of Colorado’s 28 shot attempts.

“They’re good players,” Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy said of Aston-Reese and Lacynski’s performances. “They’re not kids. They’ve been in the league. They’ve played games at this level.

“All they can do is control their game, their output, their effort, and they’ve done a really good job.”

Overall, Cassidy was pleased with his team’s performance.

“A lot of good things,” the head coach said. “Scored some goals all at the top of the crease, front of the net. So we were doing a good job in the o-zone working our way to the dirty areas.”

Up Next

The two teams will go back at it in the penultimate preseason contest Thursday night at T-Mobile Arena. The Golden Knights will then wrap up their preseason schedule Saturday night at home against the San Jose Sharks. Puck drop for both games is set for 7:00 PM PDT.