Kuemper helps Avalanche shut out Golden Knights, spoil Eichel debut

Jack Eichel made his debut for the Vegas Golden Knights in a 2-0 loss to the Colorado Avalanche at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Wednesday.

The center was minus-1, had one shot on goal and four penalty minutes in 17:32 of ice time during his first game since March 7, 2021, with the Buffalo Sabres. Eichel was acquired in a trade from the Sabres on Nov. 4 and had artificial disk replacement surgery on his neck Nov. 12.
"I don't think you want to take two penalties and be on the ice for their goal," Eichel said. "But I think there was some stuff to build on. Obviously, they're a really good team. You get matched up against a pretty good line for part of the game. So first game in 11 months, it's good to just get back doing it."
Darcy Kuemper made 29 saves for a second straight shutout for the Avalanche (35-9-4), who had a 19-game point streak end with a 4-1 loss to the Dallas Stars on Tuesday. Kuemper made 23 saves in his previous start, a 4-0 win at the Stars on Sunday.
Kuemper set an Avalanche record with 17 consecutive decisions with at least one point (15-0-2).
"I felt good, but I think a lot of that was the guys in front of me were really committed to defensive hockey," Kuemper said. "It was a 0-0 game going into the third there. It looked like it might be a one-goal game. Guys did a great job of boxing out, letting me see it and staying on the D-side of pucks. When they allow me to see it, it makes my job a lot easier."

Laurent Brossoit made 23 saves for the Golden Knights (28-18-3), who have been shut out two straight games after winning their previous three. They lost 6-0 to the Calgary Flames on Feb. 9
"We knew it was going to be a tight game," Vegas coach Peter DeBoer said. "You've got two real good teams. We got shut out, so you're never happy. … We had some good looks. You have to give their goalie some credit."
Gabriel Landeskog gave Colorado a 1-0 lead 41 seconds into the third period on a one-timer glove side from the right face-off circle.
Mikko Rantanen made it 2-0 with a wrist shot over a diving Brossoit on a power play at 15:45. Defenseman Cale Makar had an assist on each goal.
"First and second period, we still had some chances," Rantanen said. "[Landeskog] hit the post and we had a couple of other ones where we had a really good chance. We were just sticking with it, and the big key for us is defense first, so I think that's what we did. We just stayed with it."

After Landeskog's goal, Evgenii Dadonov nearly tied it at 4:18 on a partial breakaway with Avalanche defenseman Samuel Girard chasing him. Kuemper slid to his left and stuck out his right pad for a save.
"I thought [Kuemper] was solid, start to finish," Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. "Made some big saves for us. Was fighting to make sure he could see the puck. ... You have to make the perfect shot to beat him right now."
Chandler Stephenson could have put Vegas ahead at 9:15 of the first period but shot wide on a shorthanded breakaway.
Landeskog thought he scored at 14:58 of the second period, raising his arms in celebration, but his one-timer went off the right post, off the back of Brossoit's right skate and out of the crease.
"[Brossoit] played really well," Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo said. "Made saves when we needed them. … I liked his battle effort, especially in the second period there."
NOTES: Eichel scored 355 points (139 goals, 216 assists) in 375 games with the Sabres. The 25-year-old was selected No. 2 overall by Buffalo in the 2015 NHL Draft. … Vegas forward Nolan Patrick left after taking a shoulder from Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon up high at 3:12 of the first. … Golden Knights goalie Robin Lehner was out with an upper-body injury. DeBoer said he is confident Lehner will be able to return "sooner rather than later." … Kuemper had been tied with Semyon Varlamov (11-0-5, from Dec. 12, 2013-Jan. 18, 2014) and Peter Budaj (13-0-3, from Feb. 24-April 5, 2007). … Kuemper has three shutouts this season and 23 in the NHL. … The Avalanche have won six in a row on the road and are 7-0-1 in the past eight. … Landeskog has scored four of his 23 goals in his past four games, and nine in his past 10. … Colorado has not lost consecutive games since early November. It lost 5-4 in overtime to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Nov. 3 before losing 4-2 at Columbus on Nov. 6.