Rapid Recap: Avalanche 2, Golden Knights 1
Colorado finished the year with a 4-3-1 record against Vegas
by Callie Parmele @CallieParmele / ColoradoAvalanche.com
Philipp Grubauer stopped 36 shots to help the Colorado Avalanche earn a 2-1 victory against the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday at T-Mobile Arena.
With the regulation win, the Avs (78) moved within two points of the Knights (80) in the West Division standings.
Andre Burakovsky scored to tie the game at 1-1 in the second period after Vegas' Alex Pietrangelo tallied the only goal of the opening frame. J.T. Compher found the back of the net midway through the third stanza to record his second game-winner of the year. Alex Newhook had two assists to record his first multi-point game in the NHL. Conor Timmins and Nazem Kadri also had helpers for Colorado.
The Avalanche finished the eight-game season series against the Golden Knights with a 4-3-1 record.
It was Colorado's final road game of the regular season, and the club finished with a 17-9-2 mark as the visiting squad.
THE GOALS
1st Period
8:11 VGK (0-1) - Alex Pietrangelo scored glove-side after the rebound from Nicolas Hague's shot bounced right to him.
2nd Period
7:04 COL (1-1) - Andre Burakovsky skated the puck into the offensive zone and scored from the top of the circles.
3rd Period
11:33 COL (2-1) - J.T. Compher was at the top of the crease and tipped Alex Newhook's shot into the Vegas net through Robin Lehner's five-hole.
Final: Avalanche - 2 | Golden Knights - 1
3 STARS
- J.T. Compher (COL): Scored the game-winner
- Alex Pietrangelo (VGK): Scored
- Philipp Grubauer (COL): Made 36 saves
Selected by: AT&T Sports Net
POWER PLAYS
Colorado: 0 for 2
Vegas: 0 for 3
GOALTENDING BATTLE
Colorado: Philipp Grubauer made 36 saves on 37 shots.
Vegas: Robin Lehner allowed two goals on 21 shots.
STAT OF THE NIGHT
Andre Burakovsky scored his 100th career goal in the second period, the seventh player from the 2013 draft class to hit the mark. In 437 NHL games, the Swedish forward has 231 points (100 goals, 131 assists).
It was his 18th tally of the season, the second most he has had in a single campaign during his NHL tenure. The goal extended his point streak to six games, which is his longest of the year and ties his longest run as a member of the Avalanche (Jan. 16-Feb. 6, 2020). During his current point streak, the winger has four goals and five assists.
NOTEBOOK
Alex Newhook collected two assists for his first career multi-point game in the NHL. The forward now has three assists in four games in the league… Nazem Kadri recorded his 20th helper of the year. He has hit the 20-assist mark in eight seasons… Conor Timmins had a helper and has four assists in his last six outings... The Avalanche had 49 hits in the contest, its most of the year and its third most since the league started tracking the stat in 2005... The Avs improved to 17-3-4 in one-goal matchups... The contest was Colorado's final road game of the regular season and the club finished with a 17-9-2 mark away from Ball Arena… The outing also ended a five-game road trip for the Avs (4-1-0), which was the squad's longest continuous trip of 2020-21.
BIG HIGHLIGHT
Video: COL@VGK: Burakovsky rings home a wrister in the slot
IMAGE OF THE GAME
ROSTER REPORT
Nathan MacKinnon returned to the lineup and was back in his previous spot on a line with Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen. Carl Soderberg also played after not suiting up in the last outing on Saturday. Soderberg was on a trio with Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and J.T. Compher, while Kiefer Sherwood and Jayson Megna were the forward scratches. The defensemen stayed the same while Philipp Grubauer made his 38th start of the season.
INJURY UPDATE
Defenseman Samuel Girard (lower body) and forward Brandon Saad (lower body) have both resumed skating in Denver, and Girard is looking like he will be the first to return. They have sometimes been joined on the ice by rookie D-man Bowen Byram, who has been out since suffering an upper-body injury on March 25. Forwards Matt Calvert (upper body) and Logan O'Connor (lower body) are both out long term, with O'Connor recently having surgery. Goaltender Devan Dubnyk has been in COVID-19 protocol since May 3. Erik Johnson (upper body) could possibly return later in the playoffs, while goaltender Pavel Francouz (lower body) is out for the remainder of the campaign.
UP NEXT
Colorado returns home to finish the regular season with a back-to-back against the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday and Thursday.
LINE COMBINATIONS
Based on start of the game
Forwards
92 Gabriel Landeskog - 29 Nathan MacKinnon - 96 Mikko Rantanen
91 Nazem Kadri - 18 Alex Newhook - 95 Andre Burakovsky
13 Valeri Nichushkin - 17 Tyson Jost - 72 Joonas Donskoio
34 Carl Soderberg - 41 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - 37 J.T. Compher
Defensemen
7 Devon Toews - 8 Cale Makar
27 Ryan Graves - 22 Conor Timmins
26 Jacob MacDonald - 24 Patrik Nemeth
Goaltenders
31 Philipp Grubauer
35 Jonas Johansson