The Vegas Golden Knights secured a come-from-behind triumph on Wednesday night at T-Mobile Arena, edging the Colorado Avalanche 2–1 in preseason play.
With less than two minutes remaining in the opening period, the Avalanche opened the scoring when Gabriel Landeskog scored with a right-circle wrist shot.
The Golden Knights, however, persisted in outhustling, outshooting, and outmaneuvering the Avalanche. Yet Colorado goaltender Scott Wedgewood remained composed under pressure, turning aside chance after chance. Ultimately, Vegas pierced the resistance when Brent Howden redirected a blistering slap shot from Brayden McNabb, leveling the score 5:30 into the third period.
With 5:20 remaining in regulation, William Karlsson delivered the decisive blow. The sequence began when Avalanche defenseman Sam Malinski, pressured into the boards by Reilly Smith, surrendered possession deep in his own zone. Smith swiftly gathered the puck and fed Karlsson in the slot, where he buried the go-ahead goal for the Golden Knights.
Hard-Fought Win for the Vegas Golden Knights against the Colorado Avalanche
Both teams had most of their starters out for this game, so this was somewhat of a good indication of what they have going into the regular season. We noted in our pre-game analysis that the Avalanche are dealing with a number of injuries, including to starting goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood and defenseman Samuel Girard, but in all honesty, Wedgewood was arguably better than him in stretches last season.
So what we saw here in this game were two solid teams, but the Knights had the better depth. They were controlling the tempo for most of the game; they just had to work harder to get the puck in the back of the net. And once they were able to do that, they were able to do it again to get their team the win.
We saw Mitch Marner get a few looks in this game. He carried the puck through the neutral zone with authority and he showed no hesitation in shooting the puck and creating opportunities for his teammates. During one sequence, his shot was awkwardly deflected before getting covered up by Wedgewood, but the creativity and imagination were clearly on display. It is just the preseason, but it’s clear the Golden Knights have been taking what they’ve been working on in camp and applying it to game situations.
Akira Schmid was also impressive between the pipes, saving 21 of 2 shots for a .955 save percentage.
The Golden Knights close the preseason on Friday with a final matchup against the San Jose Sharks at 7 p.m. at T-Mobile Arena. Fans can catch the action on The Spot Vegas 34, stream it on KnightTime+, or listen live on FOX Sports Las Vegas 98.9/1340.