Avalanche Falls 4-2 to Golden Knights in Game One of Western Conference Final

Defeat in Denver

The Avalanche lost 4-2 to the Vegas Golden Knights in Game One of the Western Conference Final at Ball Arena on Wednesday.

Valeri Nichushkin and Gabriel Landeskog scored for Colorado while Ross Colton, Nathan MacKinnon and Devon Toews each posted an assist.

"I think getting a clear look at that game, us playing them, we'll be able to give our guys some direction on how to be better," Avalanche Head Coach Jared Bednar said. "And when we've done that, our team's implemented it quickly, and we've bounced back. So, I got a lot of belief in the group. I'm not panicking about it. But next game's obviously a big game."

How It Happened

Vegas opened the scoring at 12:29 of the second period when Dylan Coghlan scored via a shot from the high slot.

Pavel Dorofeyev doubled the Golden Knights' lead with a power-play goal at 15:03 of the second period via a one-timer from the bottom of the right circle.

The Golden Knights took a 3-0 lead at 1:34 of the third period when Brett Howden scored via a shot from the right doorstep off the rush.

Nichushkin put the Avalanche on the board at 5:54 of the third period with his second goal of the playoffs via a between-the-legs shot from the doorstep off set up by Ross Colton's feed.

Colorado cut its deficit in half when Landeskog scored a six-on-four power-play goal at 17:40 of the third period with his fourth goal of the playoffs via a shot from the left doorstep set up by MacKinnon, who freed himself up to make the pass with an incredible pivot move above the right goal line.

Nic Dowd gave the Golden Knights a 4-2 lead with an empty-net goal at 19:15 of the third period.

Next Up

The Avalanche hosts the Golden Knights for Game Two of the Western Conference Final on Friday at 6 p.m. MT on ESPN, the ESPN App, Altitude Sports Radio 92.5 FM and the Altitude Sports Radio App.