These two teams quickly have become Western Conference rivals since Vegas joined the NHL as an expansion team for the 2017-18 season. They played one another for the first time almost four seasons ago, a signature 7-0 victory for the expansion Golden Knights on Oct. 27, 2017.
The Avalanche hold a 9-6-1 advantage in the regular-season series, but each team has had its moments. Vegas holds the edge in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, winning the best-of-7 Stanley Cup Second Round 4-2 in the 2021 postseason.
Now they play for the first time this season with neither team hitting on all cylinders.
The Avalanche are 2-3-0 after five games and have been outscored 20-14. Vegas (1-4-0) has lost four straight games and is minus-9 in goal differential (19-10).
But there always are reasons to tune in when these teams face off. Here four NHL.com writers share what has each of them excited about the game Tuesday.
Best on best
Toss out the standings. It's too early. These are the two best teams in the Western Conference. So what if between them they have three wins and six points in 10 games. That's more of a reason to tune in, to see which Stanley Cup contender gets their game untracked. Vegas forwards Mark Stone and Max Pacioretty each is out of the lineup with a lower-body injury. Their absence has impacted the Golden Knights, who have lost four in a row while being outscored 16-6. But they should be enticed by the opponent, especially after defeating the Avalanche in the Stanley Cup Second Round last season. For Colorado, this is about building on a 4-3 shootout win against the defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday and taking another piece out of the reeling Golden Knights. -- Dan Rosen, senior writer
MacK attack
There are few players in the NHL that I'm more excited to watch than Colorado center Nathan MacKinnon. His season clearly hasn't started the way he or the Avalanche wanted, with the forward sitting out the first two games of the season while in NHL COVID-19 protocol and a minus-5 rating in three games since. But MacKinnon took a major step forward against the Lightning, scoring three points (one goal, two assists). For a player as motivated as MacKinnon is to push the Avalanche forward this season, I can see him being equally good against the Golden Knights. Even MacKinnon admitted that he was pressing a little bit, having not scored in his first two games, but my bet is that now that he's broken through, it won't be long before he scores again. Like, say, against Vegas. -- Amalie Benjamin, staff writer
