Vegas Golden Knights: Three Takeaways from Colorado hammering
It has been a successful start to the preseason for the Vegas Golden Knights who improved to 2-0 after breezing past the Colorado Avalanche 5-0 at the Pepsi Center on Tuesday night.
Garret Sparks was arguably the star of the night after posting a 24-save shutout, while Brandon Pirri also put on a show after recording a three point night (two goals, one assist). There were other encouraging performances and it would have no doubt given Vegas Golden Knights Head Coach Gerard Gallant plenty of food for thought.
Preseason is all about thrashing out line combinations, tweaking systems and working out who is best suited to fill any remaining spots on the roster. It is also an opportunity to get a closer look at the franchise’s glut of prospects and get a better idea of what talent you have within the farm system.
All in all, the first two exhibition games have been worthwhile exercises for the Golden Knights and, while the wins are nice for confidence and team spirit, the most important aspect of preseason is getting ready for the regular season and making sure you are raring to go once the meaningful games come round.
As was the case during the 6-2 win against the Arizona Coyotes in the preseason opener on Sunday, there were plenty of talking points from last night’s victory in Colorado and we have presented our three biggest takeaways from the success against the Avalanche…
1. Sparks stands on his head
Most people with a basic knowledge of the Vegas Golden Knights assumed that Garret Sparks would begin 2019-20 in the AHL with the Chicago Wolves when he was acquired in a trade from the Toronto Maple Leafs in the off-season.
That was confirmed last week when Golden Knights General Manager Kelly McCrimmon revealed that Malcolm Subban will once again be the Knights’ backup goalie going into this year, while Sparks will battle it out for a starting job in the minors with Oscar Dansk and Dylan Ferguson.
While nothing has changed since last night when it comes to Subban’s status as the backup goalie, the front office would have no doubt be encouraged by the performance put on by Sparks and it is always a huge positive when you have an abundance of riches on the depth chart when it comes to goaltenders.
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Sparks was sensational against Colorado, stopping all 24 shots fired at him to record a shutout and provide an outstanding first impression on his Golden Knights debut. He pulled off some impressive saves and didn’t look troubled at any point during the game.
He skated well, flashed the glove on two sublime saves, showed off his positioning sense and tracked the puck extremely well. He oozed confidence and, although it was only the preseason and the Avalanche didn’t really have any of their big guns out on the ice, you can’t take away from Sparks’ performance.
Sparks has been lights out in the AHL throughout his career but he’s struggled in the NHL, including enduring a woeful year with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2018-19 which culminated in being assigned for work in the latter stages of the year after going 2-7-0 down the stretch with a 3.30 Goals Against Average and a .899 Save Percentage.
However, the talent is clearly there and I suggested at the time when Sparks was traded to Sin City that a change of scenery might do him the world of good, and it has certainly started out well for the 26-year-old, who looks set to bring added competition to the Golden Knights’ goaltending department.