Golden Knights Look To Knock Out Avalanche At T-Mobile Arena Thursday After Rallying To Beat Colorado, 3-2, In Overtime In Game 5 In Denver Tuesday
Marx brothers discuss game 5 win in Denver.By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
Just the facts: Vegas 3 Colorado 2 in overtime in Game 5, Ball Arena, Denver
VGK scorers: Alex Tuch, Jonathan Marchessault, Mark Stone (game-winner, 50 seconds into OT)
Storyline: Knights’ counter push early in period three with two goals tied game, Stone wins Game 5 in OT
Series: VGK lead 3-2
Quote: Fleury on Marchessault: “Don’t tell him he’s a small guy. He has a big heart.”
Quote II: Alex Tuch on Mark Stone: “He’s the heart and soul of this team. He wears his character on his chest. He’s the captain that we’ve always wanted.”
Bottom line: Vegas seeks to clinch series 6PM Thursday at T-Mobile Arena before 18,000+ fans in Game 6 to play Montreal in NHL semifinals.
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The Colorado Avalanche came out with a jump in their skating, before the Vegas Golden Knights responded midway through period one in the pivotal Game 5 in Denver Tuesday.
But it was the way the Avs ended the first period that drew everyone’s attention.
The Avs’ Brandon Saad threw a puck at VGK netminder Marc-Andre Fleury with two second left in the opening period. It looked like a harmless shot off the stick of Saad from the left boards.
But Fleury tried to catch the puck in his glove by reaching across his body and he whiffed. The Flower mistake cost the Knights a goal and Colorado led 1-0 after the first 20 minutes. Fleury could have simply punched it away with his blocker.
The VGK have struggled in the first period in the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Knights have given up 12 goals in the first period in the postseason and are a minus seven in the playoffs in those first 20 minutes.
The Golden Knights had Mattias Janmark on the third line with Nic Roy and Alex Tuch and a fourth line of Patrick Brown flanked by Keegan Kolesar and Will Carrier. Ryan Reaves was out of the lineup. On defense, Nick Holden was back in the lineup, paired with Zach Whitecloud.
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Just when you thought Vegas was gaining control of the series, Colorado was a step quicker than the Golden Knights in period two.
The pressure eventually yielded a goal for the Avs as Joonas Donskoi notched the sole tally of the middle period with 3:32 left in the stanza.
Colorado outshot Vegas, 13-6, in the period.
After two periods: Colorado 2 Vegas 0
“We gotta get better on the forecheck,” VGK forward Alex Tuch said on the radio after period two. “We gotta get more shots on net. The chances will come.”
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Tuch acted on his words.
He scored only 1:03 into the third period.
Then it was that man Jonathan Marchessault, fresh off a hat trick two night ago. the feisty VGK forward scored about four minutes into the final period and just like that it was a brand new game: Vegas 2 Colorado 2. The Golden Knights scored on two of their first three shots in the third period.
It was Marchessault’s fifth goal of the COL/VGK series after he scored only once in the first round against Minnesota.
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It took only 50 seconds for Mark Stone to beat Philipp Grubauer in OT and the Knights came away with a 3-2 comeback win and now seek to wrap up the Best-of-7 series at home on Thursday in front of 18,000 plus insane, crazy, and very loud fans.
Stone: “I just took off. I was fortunate to end the game.”
VGK coach Pete DeBoer on Stone: “That was vintage Mark Stone because he blocked a shot in our end of the ice first, then got the breakaway and stuck it in the net with a perfect shot. If there’s one sequence of plays that defines him, that would be it.”
TicketIQ already has some research on game 6 tickets in Vegas on the secondary market:
Colorado with the stats:
Stats from the NHL:
And a message from the Golden Knights’ ticket chief:
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