Rapid Recap: Golden Knights 3, Avalanche 2 - OT (Game 5)

Mark Stone scored in the first minute of overtime for the Vegas Golden Knights and the Colorado Avalanche fell 3-2 in Game 5 on Tuesday night at Ball Arena. The Avs trail 3-2 in the best-of-seven series in the second round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Brandon Saad opened the scoring with 1.8 seconds remaining in the first period and Joonas Donskoi doubled the Avalanche's lead with 3:32 left in the middle frame.

The Golden Knights rallied with goals from Alex Tuch and Jonathan Marchessault in the first 4:07 of the third period to knot the contest at 2-2.
Avalanche goaltender Philipp Grubauer made 22 saves.
Colorado looks to avoid elimination and force a decisive contest on Thursday in Game 6 in Las Vegas.

THE GOALS

1st Period
19:58 COL (1-0) - With time running down in the period, Brandon Saad shot the puck from the left wing and it beat Marc-Andre Fleury over the right shoulder as the goalie attempted to make a glove save across his body.
2nd Period
16:28 COL (2-0) - After controlling possession in the Vegas zone for quite some time, Joonas Donskoi buried a snap shot off a pass from Alex Newhook at the top of the right circle.
3rd Period
1:03 VGK (2-1) - Nicolas Roy fed the puck into the slot and Alex Tuch knocked it out of midair and into the cage.
4:07 VGK (2-2) - Jonathan Marchessault took a pass in front and chipped the puck over the left pad of Philipp Grubauer.
Overtime
0:50 VGK (2-3) - Mark Stone scored on a rush up the ice to end the game.
Final: Golden Knights - 3 | Avalanche - 2 (Overtime)

3 STARS

Selected by Colorado Hockey Coach of the Game: Derek Robinson (Rocky Mountain Roughriders)

POWER PLAYS

Colorado: 0 for 1
Vegas: 0 for 1

GOALTENDING BATTLE

Colorado: Philipp Grubauer made 22 saves.
Vegas: Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 28-of-30 shots.

STAT OF THE NIGHT

Brandon Saad scored in back-to-back games and leads the Avs with seven goals in nine postseason contests. It is his second-most markers in a single postseason and one behind his career-best of eight that he produced during the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs with the Chicago Blackhawks.
Saad has scored a goal in each of his last four games at Ball Arena. Claude Lemieux (six games, 1997), Nathan MacKinnon (five games, 2020) and Joe Sakic (five games, 1996) are the only players in franchise history with a longer playoff goal streak in games where the Avalanche/Nordiques were the home team.

NOTEBOOK

Mikko Rantanen had an assist and now has points in eight of the nine games in these playoffs, totaling 12 overall (four goals, eight assists)… Brandon Saad appeared in his 90th career playoff game… With an assist on Joonas Donskoi's third goal of the postseason, Patrik Nemeth picked up his first point of the playoffs while Alex Newhook earned his second (one goal previously)… Colorado held Vegas to five shots on goal in the second period… The Avalanche finished with 41 hits, the team's third-most in the series and the playoffs… The Avs are now 25-15 all-time in Game 5s, including 21-11 since moving to Denver in 1995-96… The Avalanche is now 41-32 in playoff overtime in franchise history, 31-23 since relocating to Colorado and 1-1 in the 2021 postseason.

BIG HIGHLIGHT

Before the buzzer.

IMAGE OF THE GAME

Pouring like an Avalanche coming down the mountain.

ROSTER REPORT

Logan O'Connor played his first game of the postseason after missing the final 21 contests of the regular season and the first eight of the playoffs with a lower-body injury. He was on the third line with Tyson Jost and Andre Burakovsky. Alex Newhook returned to the lineup after being scratched for the past two games, skating on the fourth line with Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Joonas Donskoi. The Avalanche began the game with a different top combination, with Brandon Saad joining Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen. Gabriel Landeskog started the outing on a trio with J.T. Compher and Valeri Nichushkin. The defensive pairings remained the same. Carl Soderberg and Kiefer Sherwood were healthy scratches, while Nazem Kadri served his seventh contest of an eight-game suspension.

INJURY UPDATE

• Matt Calvert (upper body): Not expected to return this year after having surgery; last played on March 23 at Arizona.
• Pavel Francouz (lower body): Expected to return fully healthy next season after having surgery earlier this year; hurt during practice on Jan. 18.
• Erik Johnson (upper body): Took part in Tuesday's morning skate and could possibly return later in the playoffs depending on how he continues to progress; last played on Jan. 30 at Minnesota.
• Logan O'Connor (lower body): Returned to the lineup ahead of schedule after having surgery and has been a full participant at recent morning skates and practices; last played on March 31 vs. Arizona.

UP NEXT

Game 6 between the Avalanche and Golden Knights is Thursday at 7 p.m. MT in Las Vegas. If necessary, Game 7 will be back in Denver on Saturday.

LINE COMBINATIONS

Based on the start of the game
Forwards
20 Brandon Saad - 29 Nathan MacKinnon - 96 Mikko Rantanen
92 Gabriel Landeskog - 37 J.T. Compher - 13 Valeri Nichushkin
95 Andre Burakovsky - 17 Tyson Jost - 25 Logan O'Connor
18 Alex Newhook - 41 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - 72 Joonas Donskoi
Defensemen
7 Devon Toews - 8 Cale Makar
49 Samuel Girard - 27 Ryan Graves
24 Patrik Nemeth - 22 Conor Timmins
Goaltenders
31 Philipp Grubauer
40 Devan Dubnyk