In their final road game in the month of February, the Vegas Golden Knights dropped a 3-0 decision to the Colorado Avalanche on Monday night at Pepsi Center.

HOW IT WENT DOWN
Vegas fell behind in the first period as Tyson Jost tucked a shot through Malcolm Subban's legs to put Colorado ahead, 1-0. The Avalanche doubled their lead early in the second period when Andrew Agozzino scored his first NHL goal. The Golden Knights outshot the Avalanche in the second period, 14-13, but Colorado entered the third period with a two-goal lead. The home team added to the lead 6:53 into the third as Matt Calvert batted the puck out of the air and into the cage. Vegas was unable to solve Semyon Varlamov and the Avalanche took the 3-0 win.

TAKEAWAYS
Despite the loss, Golden Knights outshot the Avalanche, 40-38.

Vegas went 3-for-3 on the penalty kill in the game.

LOOKING AHEAD
Vegas returns home for another four-game homestand as they'll host the Boston Bruins, Winnipeg Jets, Dallas Stars and Florida Panthers.

Sandwiched between two four-game homestands, the Vegas Golden Knights hit the road to face the Colorado Avalanche on Monday night at Pepsi Center. Get up to speed for the trip with the Road Trip Report presented by Allegiant.

VEGAS ON THE ROAD
The Golden Knights have kept their heads above water on the road this season with a 15-15-1 record. On the last road trip, Vegas dropped two games against the Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers before rattling off consecutive wins against the league-leading Tampa Bay Lightning and the Detroit Red Wings. Monday's matchup is the final road game of February for Vegas as it looks to go 3-2-0 away from home this month.

ABOUT THE AVALANCHE
After a strong start to the season, Colorado has slipped out of playoff position with 57 points in 58 games. The Avalanche have an overall record of 23-24-11 and own a 10-12-5 mark at Pepsi Center. Mikko Rantanen (76 points) and Nathan MacKinnon (75 points) remain among the elite scorers in the NHL this season while Gabriel Landeskog (30 goals) has been the club's go-to goal scorer.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR
Vegas and Colorado have only met once this season when the Golden Knights claimed a 2-1 win at T-Mobile Arena on Dec. 27. Both teams scored a goal in the first period and remained tied until the midway mark of the third period when Brandon Pirri scored the eventual game-winner for Vegas. Fans can expect anything tight-checking, low-scoring game Monday night.

The Vegas Golden Knights find themselves in playoff position as the regular season approaches its end. As the goings-on in the standings become increasingly important, let's take a look at the current status of the NHL's leaderboard as of Monday afternoon.

CURRENT PACIFIC DIVISION STANDINGS

1. Calgary Flames: 35-16-7, 77 points
2. San Jose Sharks: 35-17-7, 77 points
3. Vegas Golden Knights: 32-24-4, 68 points
4. Vancouver Canucks: 26-27-7, 59 points
5. Arizona Coyotes: 26-27-5, 57 points
6. Anaheim Ducks: 23-27-9, 55 points
7. Edmonton Oilers: 24-29-5, 53 points
8. Los Angeles Kings: 23-29-6, 52 points

Fresh off a 5-1 win against the Nashville Predators on Saturday, the Vegas Golden Knights visit the Colorado Avalanche at 6 p.m. Monday at Pepsi Center. The game will run on AT&T SportsNet and FOX Sports Radio 98.9/1340.

NOTES
Monday marks the final road game in February for the Golden Knights.

Vegas won the only previous game against Colorado this season. Monday's game is the second of three games between the Golden Knights and Avalanche this season.

LAST TIME OUT
In their final regular season matchup against the Nashville Predators, Vegas emerged with a commanding 5-1-win Saturday at T-Mobile Arena. Max Pacioretty opened and closed the scoring as he put up his fourth two-goal game of the year. Oscar Lindberg potted two points (1G, 1A) while Brandon Pirri netted the game-winning goal during the second period. Malcolm Subban stopped 29 of 30 shots in goal.

Winning is great. Winning the right way is even better.

Golden Knights TV analyst Shane Hnidy called Saturday night's 5-1 win against the Nashville Predators the template for Vegas.

One noted member of the analytics community texted late Saturday to say last night's win was the best game he'd seen the Golden Knights play in two years. Seeing as they've only been playing hockey for a year and half - that's impressive work from the VGK.

Another comment which resonated came from Golden Knights forward Pierre-Edouard Bellmare as he walked across the tarmac to the team plane on Sunday morning.

"I'm happy because of the way we won. We did it the right way," said Bellemare. "I wouldn't be happy if we played like crap and still won. We showed ourselves what we can be and what we have to be if we want to have success in the playoffs."

In the final game of a four-game home stint, Max Pacioretty scored twice en route to a 5-1 victory against the Nashville Predators on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena.

HOW IT WENT DOWN
Just before the end of the first period, Vegas opened the scoring when Max Pacioretty put away a loose puck behind Juuse Saros to make it 1-0. After a slow start to the second period, the Golden Knights added to the lead on the power play when Brandon Pirri collected his own rebound and fired it home to make it 2-0. Early in the final period, Paul Stastny forced a turnover in the Nashville end and passed to a streaking Shea Theodore who backhanded it past Saros to give Vegas a three-goal edge. Less than two minutes later, Nashville's Kevin Fiala slotted the puck away to get the Predators on the board. With 6:12 left in the third, Oscar Lindberg found a pass from Alex Tuch to give the Golden Knights the 4-1 lead and, moments later, Pacioretty buried his second goal of the contest on a sharp wrist shot that beat Saros between the legs for the victory.

TURNING POINT
Minutes after Nashville got on the board in the third period, the Golden Knights found themselves on a crucial penalty kill. A strong defensive effort and successive stops from Subban helped Vegas to a successful kill.

The Vegas Golden Knights aim to close a four-game homestand with a victory as they take on the Nashville Predators at 7 p.m. Saturday at T-Mobile Arena. The game will play on AT&T SportsNet, FOX Sports Radio 98.9/1340 and ESPN Deportes 1460.

NOTES
Thursday's game is the final meeting of the regular season between the Golden Knights and the Predators. Nashville is 2-0-0 against Vegas this season.

LAST TIME OUT
The Golden Knights skated with the Toronto Maple Leafs for the majority of their contest Thursday night at T-Mobile Arena, but a late push from the visitors allowed Toronto to escape with a 6-3 win. Paul Stastny, Oscar Lindberg and William Karlsson scored for the Golden Knights, but the Maple Leafs were led by a three-point game from Auston Matthews en route to the victory.

The Vegas Golden Knights were defeated by the Toronto Maple Leafs, 6-3, on Thursday night at T-Mobile Arena.

HOW IT WENT DOWN
The Golden Knights committed three penalties during the first period and Toronto made them pay once as Andres Johnsson redirected a Jake Gardiner shot past Marc-Andre Fleury to take a 1-0 lead. The pace picked up in the second period as Paul Stastny pocketed a shorthanded goal 2:46 into the period. Oscar Lindberg gave Vegas a brief lead before goals from Patrick Marleau and Auston Matthews put Toronto ahead, 3-2, heading into the third period. William Karlsson tied the game early in the third period but consecutive goals from Morgan Rielly, Matthews and Mitchell Marner gave Toronto the 6-3 win.

TURNING POINT
The momentum was on Vegas' side after Karlsson's game-tying goal. But when Rielly and Matthews scored goals just 55 seconds apart, the Maple Leafs took the wind out of the Golden Knights' sails.

The Vegas Golden Knights look for their third win in five games as they host the Toronto Maple Leafs at 7 p.m. Thursday at T-Mobile Arena. Fans can catch the game on AT&T SportsNet, FOX Sports 98.9/1340 and ESPN Deportes 1460.

NOTES
Thursday's game is the third of four straight home games for the Golden Knights.

Vegas and Toronto will conclude their season series Thursday night. The Maple Leafs earned a 3-1 win in their only other meeting this season.

Deryk Engelland will play his 600th NHL game Thursday against Toronto.

LAST TIME OUT
The Golden Knights suffered a 5-2 loss to the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday night at T-Mobile Arena. Vegas gave up two goals in the second period to fall behind, 2-0, but dug deep to tie the game before the middle frame came to an end. The Coyotes came out flying in the third period and scored three times to come away with the victory.

Consider them signposts along the road of the Golden Knights season to date. A fork in the trail and a choice to make.

First it was a 1-4 start. Then a 7-2 loss to the Calgary Flames. Later it was an overtime loss in New Jersey which saw Vegas blow a pair of three-goal leads. Each time the team has responded. Bounced back and strung together wins to keep themselves well above the playoff line.

They have once again come to another switch on the path. Having lost eight of 12 and four straight at home, the Golden Knights are gulping from the cup of adversity. They've proven they can handle what is put before them. Now they must do it again.

"Last season went so perfect," goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury said Wednesday morning. "This is normal. This is what you usually go through... You can't get down on yourself. You have to stay positive and work through it."

Vegas sits third in the Pacific Division today, eight points back of the second place Calgary Flames. The Golden Knights are nine points above the playoff line. In today's era of three-point games, significant movement is difficult. Could Vegas battle for the Pacific banner? Sure. Could they fall out of the postseason? Yup. But the most likely scenario is this team stays right where it is - and finishes up as the third seed in the Pacific Division.