Vegas Golden Knights Cruise By Avalanche As October 1 Anniversary Looms Later This Week

September 28, 2022September 28, 2022 Alan Snel Chandler Stephenson, Gage Quinney, Kaedan Korczak, Keegan Kolesar, Logan Thompson, Michael Amadio, Paul Cotter, William Karlsson

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Story by Alan Snel Photos by J. Tyge O’Donnell

It’s October 1 in just a few days and that means that horrific, violent and deadly day in Las Vegas history will be a trigger for so many here in the Vegas market.

The 10:05 PM mass shooting on the Strip killed 58 people enjoying a country music festival on grounds owned by MGM Resorts International within easy sniping range of a killer who had come to Mandalay Bay armed with rifles and ammo.

Hundreds more were injured and there will be able psychological fallout from that day of death in Las Vegas.

The killings were about an hour after the Vegas Golden Knights completed a preseason game against the San Jose Sharks in VGK Year 1.

That game had an early start, so the exhibition match ended an hour earlier than usual, probably around 8:30 PM.

The Golden Knights and the mass shooting on the Strip became intertwined, with the VGK staging a highly emotional season-opening game on Oct. 10, 2017 — a mere nine days after America’s deadliest mass killing.

Whether it’s the second, forth or fifth anniversary of the Oct. 1 killings, the emotional hurt and sadness endure in the face of a country that goes through the same drill, mass shooting after mass shooting: the public outrage, the crosses at the site, the thoughts and prayers and eventually the business-as-usual approach that allows Americans to kill other innocent Americans because of easy access to weaponry used in wars.

Will a very neatly-coiffed William Karlsson regain a goal-scoring touch last sighted in 2017-18, when Karlsson scored a stunning 43 goals for the Miracle Knights in Year 1?

Karlsson re-directed the puck in a nifty fashion to give the VGK a 1-0 lead a mere 53 seconds into the first period. Gage Quinney then scored later in the first frame to give the Golden Knights a 2-0 cushion.

Logan Thompson was in goal tonight, with Jiri Patera serving as the backup.

It will be interesting to see if Paul “Welcome Back” Cotter can make the VGK big squad out of preseason. He has a nice touch around the net even if he’s not a speed skater.

The Avalanche sent the JV squad tonight and offered little defensive resistance for their goaltender, Alexander Georgiev.

In period two, the Knights extended their 2-0 lead to a 6-0 advantage thanks to goals by Mike Amadio, Cotter, Keegan Kolesar and Kaean Korczak.

The Knights and Avs traded goals in the third period and Vegas game away with the 7-1 win in the exhibition workout. Chandler Stephenson scored the Knights’ seventh goal.

Zach Whitecloud added four assists. Our interview after the game: