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Sһortһаnded Golden Knіgһtѕ fаll 3-2 to Avаlаncһe іn ѕһootout but clіncһ һome-іce іn round one

   

The Vegas Golden Knights wrapped up their three-game road trip with a 3-2 shootout loss to the Colorado Avalanche Tuesday night at Ball Arena.

The Golden Knights took a 2-0 lead early in the second period but were unable to hold on despite a stellar performance by Akira Schmid, who stopped 34 of 36 shots in his second start with the Golden Knights.

Vegas was without Jack Eichel — who is day-to-day with an upper-body injury — as well as Alex Pietrangelo and Nicolas Hague, who missed the game due to illness. Brett Howden moved up to Eichel’s spot as the first-line center, and Cole Schwindt, Kaedan Korczak and Ben Hutton filled in for the scratches.

Thanks in large part to Schmid’s play, the Golden Knights were able to come away with a critical point to lock up home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. They finished the road trip 2-0-1 and are now 47-22-9 on the season.

The Golden Knights jumped out to a 1-0 lead 11:10 into the first period on a shorthanded goal by William Karlsson, who was excellent all night. It was a vintage power-kill special, with the primary assist going to Reilly Smith.

Schmid stopped all eight shots he faced in the opening 20 minutes to preserve the narrow lead going into the second period.

That lead was extended in the first minute of the middle frame thanks to Brayden McNabb’s fifth of the season. Karlsson set the screen on the play after a solid effort by that line on the forecheck.

But that was the final time the Golden Knights got the puck past Scott Wedgewood, and much of the rest of the second period was all Avalanche. Colorado outshot Vegas 19-4 and reset the score with two goals in the span of 7:22.

It was on Vegas’ third penalty kill of the game that the Avalanche finally broke through. The Vegas penalty kill had been on an impressive streak, and it appeared as though Schmid made an incredible stop, but a review determined that the puck had crossed the goal line. Valeri Nichushkin’s 20th of the year made it a 2-1 game at 9:46.

Jimmy Vesey scored with 2:52 remaining in the period to even things up at 2-2. Despite the fact that there were four Golden Knights skaters in front of the net, Vesey jumped on the loose puck and converted for his first goal since coming over in a trade from the New York Rangers.

The Golden Knights were fortunate to escape the period at 2-2.

The Avalanche continued to push in the third, and Korczak took a delay-of-game penalty to set up Colorado’s fourth power play. The Smith-Karlsson duo nearly struck again, but Wedgewood came up with the save.

The third period was more evenly-matched, with both teams recording six shots and the two goalies combining for 12 saves. Vegas held a slight edge in expected goals and led 4-1 in high-danger chances, but the game required extra time.

Schmid was sensational in overtime, shutting down three grade-A chances by the Avalanche. Cale Makar, Nathan MacKinnon and Artturi Lehkonen all had golden opportunities to call game, but Schmid calmly denied all three to help Vegas reach the shootout.

Schmid stopped the Avalanche’s first two attempts (with some help from the crossbar on MacKinnon’s bid) but was unable to shut down Charlie Coyle, whose game-winner in the third round was the difference in the end. Pavel Dorofeyev, Victor Olofsson and Shea Theodore were unsuccessful against Wedgewood, giving the Avalanche the 1-0 win in the shootout for the 3-2 final.

Schmid was the MVP of the game and arguably the road trip. He stopped a combined 55 of 59 shots for a .932 save percentage in two starts while also allowing Adin Hill to rest, and his .944 save percentage in Colorado put the Golden Knights six points ahead of the Kings, who are 44-24-9 with a game in hand.

The Karlsson line had another excellent showing, and it was one of Smith’s strongest performances since the deadline. That line was the only one that scored at even strength, and Karlsson and Smith teamed up on the shorthanded tally as well. The two Original Misfits have rekindled their former chemistry and have made Vegas’ offense much more dynamic; it’s also no coincidence that the Vegas penalty kill has improved in recent games.

None of Vegas’ lines came out on top in the analytics department, with all four units finishing with expected goal shares below 40 percent. However, Bruce Cassidy did roll four lines, with every line getting at least 8:09. The Karlsson line led the way with 11:22, trailing 10-8 in Corsi, 7-4 in shots and 4-1 in scoring chances but leading 1-0 in goals.

Considering the Golden Knights were without three starters, including Eichel (in addition to Tomas Hertl and Hill), this was not a bad result for the Golden Knights against a high-powered Avs team that excels on home ice. Colorado was absolutely buzzing in the second half of the second period, but the Golden Knights remained tied throughout the third and never trailed in the game.

The power play went 0-for-4 and continues to struggle, though that’s not surprising considering both Hertl and Eichel were out of commission.

In the end, Vegas finished the road trip with a 2-0-1 mark, with Schmid earning three of four points. With four games to go, the Golden Knights’ next task is winning the division. The four remaining games are all winnable, starting with Thursday’s game against Seattle. The Golden Knights’ final home game of the regular season will be against Jonathan Marchessault and the Nashville Predators on Saturday, and Vegas will conclude the regular season with another back-to-back against Calgary and Vancouver next Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.

Statistics courtesy of Natural Stat Trick

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