Avalanche Shut Out Golden Knights 3-0 to Secure Sixth-Straight Win

Keep it rolling.
The Colorado Avalanche out-dueled the Vegas Golden Knights with a 3-0 shutout win on Monday night. Colorado extended its win streak to six games and its point streak to eight games (7-0-1) and is now 34-19-5 on the season and second in the Central Division standings.

For the Avalanche, Mikko Rantanen scored twice - to reach the 40-goal mark for the first time in his career - while Nathan MacKinnon scored on an empty net. In net, Alexandar Georgiev turned aside 31 to record his third shutout of the season. Jack Johnson, who the Avalanche acquired via a trade with Chicago on Sunday afternoon made his return to the Burgundy and Blue. The Avalanche utilized a lineup of 12 forwards and six defensemen.
For the Golden Knights, Adin Hill made 31 saves on 33 shots.

GAME SUMMARY:
Colorado continued its hot stretch as they outdueled the Golden Knights in a fast-paced, tight-checking contest. The Avalanche capitalized on their chances in a game that was separated by margins and maintained their composure against a physical Vegas squad,who threw 21 hits. Avalanche Head Coach Jared Bednar called the clinical performance a "clean" game by his team.
The Avalanche picked up where they left off as they scored the game's icebreaker just 14 seconds after the puck dropped. On the first shift of the game, the puck was rimmed around the boards. As Hill, Vegas' netminder went to play the puck, Rantanen aptly read the play and intercepted Hill's attempted pass. At the near post, Finnish winger tapped the puck into the open net with Hill out of position to bury his 38th goal of the season and extend his goal streak to five games.

The remainder of the first period featured end-to-end disciplined action as both teams produced 11 shots on net.
The game maintained its quick pace in the second period and even featured some heated exchanges between the two teams who have history.
At 13:18, Rantanen and Brett Howden immediately tussled after the whistle blew a play dead and both were sent to the box for roughing. Almost instantly into the 4v4 hockey, the Avalanche received a power play as Chandler Stephenson took a cross-checking penalty at 13:34.
While then Avalanche didn't convert on the 4v3 - but were close as a Devon Toews point shot rang off the crossbar - Rantanen doubled Colorado's lead shortly after he and Howden exited the box.
From the left faceoff circle, J.T. Compher threaded a pass to the backdoor where Rantanen wired a one timer into the net before Hill could slide across his crease at 16:20. The goal marked Rantanen's 40th of the season - a feat he hasn't previously reached in his career.

In the third period, the Avalanche were able to hold off Vegas's offense and even killed a penalty at 10:32. The Golden Knights pulled Hill in exchange for an extra skater with over three minutes left in regulation. With the net vacant, MacKinnon fired a shot over 100-feet away at 16:33 to pad Colorado's lead 3-0.
NOTEWORTHY:
NEXT GAME:
The Avalanche conclude their three-game homestand at Ball Arena as they host New Jersey on Wednesday night. The puck drops between the Avs and Devils at 7:00 p.m. MT.