Avalanche Dominate Golden Knights, 6-1, On Nevada Day Before 18,420; VGK Coach Says Team Was A No-Show
By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
LVSportsBiz.com photos by Steve Rosenthal
It was Nevada Day in Las Vegas and across the state Friday, but there was little to celebrate for the white jersey-clad Vegas Golden Knights in their 3 p.m. home game against a hot Colorado Avalanche team before an announced crowd of 18,420.
Colorado’s dominating performance was no fluke here. The Avs are real, using their skating speed and counter-attacks to dominate the Golden Knights at the Big Ice House by the Strip to defeat the Knights, 6-1, outshooting the VGK, 41-26.
Colorado improved to a sizzling 8-1-1 on the young season, while the Golden Knights dropped to 7-5.
After the Knights players met the media in a somber locker room, VGK coach Gerard Gallant said the Knights were a no-show in the embarrassing home performance.
Gallant yanked Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury mid-way through period two to save the VGK star and inserted 26-year-old back-up goalie Garret Sparks into Colorado’s line of puck-shooting fire with the Avs leading, 4-1. Sparks surrendered a fifth goal and the Avs led the Knights, 5-1, after two periods.
The Avs’ Pierre-Edouard Bellemare made an eventful return to T-Mobile Arena, where the scrappy fourth-line center and former VGKer was a Golden Knights fan favorite for his two years in Las Vegas.
He scored a goal against his former VGK teammate, Fleury, a mere 28 seconds into the match. The Knights tied the score with a goal by forward William (“Wild Bill”) Karlsson off a gorgeous pass from Reilly Smith late in period one.
But the Avs responded with a goal right after Karlsson’s mark to take a 2-1 lead after the first stanza and then poured in three more goals to lead 5-1 after two periods.
The Avs’ Matt Calvert scored a short-handed goal late in period three to finalize the scoring in a brutal loss for the Golden Knights. Bellemare assisted on that goal and finished with a goal and two assists.
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