Kadri's late goal lifts Avalanche past Golden Knights

LAS VEGAS --Nazem Kadri scored with 41 seconds left in the third period to give the Colorado Avalanche a 3-2 win against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday.

Kadri scored on a rebound near the right post after Marc-Andre Fleury made a save on Joonas Donskoi.
"First and foremost, just try to win the face-off," Kadri said. "We just tried to keep it simple. [We] told the [defensemen] to get the puck and we just hopped on the rebound."
Nathan MacKinnon and Brandon Saad scored, and Philipp Grubauer made 27 saves for the Avalanche (8-4-1) in their first win since they had five games postponed due to the NHL COVID-19 protocol. Colorado lost to Vegas 1-0 in its return here Sunday.
"I thought they were way better and we were better too," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. "It was a competitive game. Under the circumstances for our team, finding a way to carve out a win in regulation was exceptional."
Max Pacioretty and Jonathan Marchessault scored, and William Karlsson had two assists for the Golden Knights (10-3-1). Fleury made 22 saves.
"I really liked our effort tonight. Three games in four nights," Vegas coach Peter DeBoer said. "I liked that the second and third periods were our best periods. I think the guys dug deep and pushed through."
MacKinnon scored on a one-timer off a pass from Mikko Rantanen at 7:08 of the first period to give Colorado a 1-0 lead. It was MacKinnon's third goal of the season and first since Jan. 21.
The Avalanche were 0-for-3 on the power play in the first period.

Pacioretty scored a power-play goal glove side on Grubauer at 16:36 of the second period to tie it 1-1. Saad scored 63 seconds later when he tucked in a shot five-hole to make it 2-1.
Saad started on the top line with MacKinnon and Rantanen before being replaced by Andre Burakovsky. Bednar said he was hoping the move would create a spark and was pleased with how the revamped second line played on both sides of the puck.
"Just a little bit of a different look, and then the Kadri line comes up big," Bednar said. "Good job throughout our lineup."
Marchessault tied it 2-2 at 6:52 of the third period on a rebound during a scramble in the crease. It was the Golden Knights' second goal at 5-on-5 in their past four games.
"Against a team like that you're not going to get a lot of opportunities," Pacioretty said. "I thought [the third period] was our best 5-on-5 in a while."

Bednar said he thought Vegas outplayed Colorado for most of the game.
"We found a way to get the job done," he said. "We'll take the two points and run."
NOTES:The teams next play each other in the NHL Outdoors in Lake Tahoe on Saturday. … Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar (upper body) took part in warmups but did not play. He is expected to return Saturday. … Colorado forwards Gabriel Landeskog and Tyson Jost are expected to come out of COVID-19 protocol and practice this week. … Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore had an assist and was minus-1 in 19:16 of ice time in his return after missing three games with an upper-body injury. … Colorado defenseman Dennis Gilbert (undisclosed) left the game in the first period. … It was Vegas' first loss this season when Marchessault scores a point (9-1-0).