Avalanche 4, Golden Knights 2: 3 Takeaways

The Golden Knights put on some pressure late, but couldn't erase multiple two-goal deficits and lost to the Colorado Avalanche 4-2 on Thursday.
Through six preseason games, the Golden Knights have now won three and lost three, although Tuesday's defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Kings came in overtime.
Here are three immediate impressions from Thursday's loss to the Avalanche, played in front of 15,337 fans at T-Mobile Arena.

1. It's a cliché, but it's true
Hockey teams often echo the mantra that they have to play a full 60 minutes.
All hockey teams say this.
Us media types groan sometimes when this is said, because it's said so often. But there is a whole lot of truth to it, as simple as the concept might seem.

And the Golden Knights didn't play a full 60 minutes in this one.
Vegas was especially strong in the second period, responding to a 2-0 deficit by carrying play. The Golden Knights outshot the Avalanche 15-8 in the second period and a goal from Colin Miller brought Vegas back into the game.
But as a whole, there were too many starts and stops of momentum for the Golden Knights. This was punctuated by an 0-for-7 mark on the power play.
The Avalanche had the better of play in both the first and third period, which is why they won. This all goes back to the "full 60 minutes" cliché, that the Golden Knights didn't live up to.
2. Vadim Shipachyov got on the board
Throughout his first two games with Vegas - Tuesday vs. LA and last Tuesday in Colorado -Shipachyov's performance has been a mixed bag.
At times, he's looked poised and confident with the puck, and like the player that led the KHL in assists last season.
Other times, Shipachyov has looked a step off, and as if he's still adjusting to the smaller dimensions of North American rinks. For a pass-first player like Shipachyov, this equates to having much less time and space to operate, and even he'd probably admit that it's been an adjustment.
And again, adjusting is what the preseason is for, anyway.
Shipachyov, however, had his best game so far on Thursday. He played 17:17, the fourth most among Vegas' forwards, while assisting on Miller's second-period tally.

This was Shipachyov's first point in a Golden Knights uniform.
3. One more to finish it off
Through six games, there have been some highlights and lowlights for the Golden Knights during their exhibition schedule.
Early on, last week in Vancouver and Colorado, the team's younger players looked dominate in routing the competition - 9-4 and 4-1 - in back-to-back games. Vegas was also impressive in its win in Anaheim on Sunday, when Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 26 of 28 Ducks shots.

In other games - including the last two games at home, an OT loss and regulation loss - the Golden Knights got into penalty trouble and showed that work still has to be done to offensively get this team on the same page before the regular-season opener October 6 in Dallas.
Vegas will have one more preseason game to do this, this Sunday against the San Jose Sharks at 5:00 PM at T-Mobile Arena.