GAME BLOG: Vegas Golden Knights V. Colorado Avalanche, Game 2

We are about to begin.

The start of the game was just as exciting as one would expect as both teams traded waves of momentum. Nathan MacKinnon took a hit against the boards and still found a way to get his hands on the puck and fed a pass to Artturi Lehkonen in the slot, but his shot was blocked.

Vegas also had their opportunities as Mitch Marner tried to deke his way around Scott Wedgewood, but the William M. Jennings Trophy winner stood tall and stuffed Marner’s shot between his pads.

And yes, the physicality also showed up, but it was the Golden Knights who delivered the first strike as Ivan Barbashev dished out a heavy hit on Logan O’Connor against the boards. Barbashev is built like a bear. He’s the same player that broke Sam Girard’s sternum during round two of the 2022 playoffs en route to the Stanley Cup when he played for the St. Louis Blues.

Brent Burns and Josh Manson you could say were the modern version of the Bath Brothers in the early stages as well as they dished solid hits on William Karlsson and Brett Howden, respectively, with the latter tapping Manson on the leg after taking a hit from behind.

With under six minutes to go in the opening period, Vegas got a massive chance that fell right into their laps when Marner took off on a breakaway as Manson got caught napping, but Scott Wedgewood turned away a slap shot and the immediate rebound to keep the game tied at 0.

Ross Colton gave the Avalanche a 1-0 lead with 3:01 remaining, ripping a scintillating wrist shot top shelf over the glove of Carter Hart off a rebound generated by a point blast from Brent Burns. Nazem Kadri also picked up an assist after feeding Burns a pass from just behind the net to ignite the sequence.

At the end of the first, Colorado lead 1-0 and shots on goal were even at 12 shots on net apiece.

The second period wasted absolutely no time descending into chaos.

Just seconds after the puck dropped, Martin Necas found himself in the middle of it all, taking a double minor after slashing Ivan Barbashev and then tripping him up moments later as tensions began boiling over. But before Vegas could fully settle into the extended man advantage, Jack Eichel was whistled for interference, briefly turning the game into a frantic stretch of open 4-on-4 hockey that only amplified the pace inside Ball Arena.

And when Colorado finally returned to even strength after surviving the remainder of Necas’ four-minute penalty kill, the building responded with the kind of roar that felt less like relief and more like renewed belief.

About seven minutes into the period, Nathan MacKinnon added another jolt to the night.

As Keegan Kolesar tried carrying the puck through the neutral zone, MacKinnon stepped into him at the blue line and absolutely flattened him with a thunderous hit that ignited the crowd and sent the Avalanche bench into a frenzy. It was the kind of collision that instantly changes the emotional temperature of a playoff game.

One of the biggest differences from Game 1, though, was the play of Sam Malinski.

After a difficult opener, the Minnesota native looked completely composed in Game 2, delivering arguably his sharpest stretch of hockey of the postseason. Vegas pressured him relentlessly on the forecheck, but Malinski repeatedly held the offensive zone with poised stick work and quick decisions along the blue line. Every loose puck seemed to find him, and more importantly, he looked confident handling it.

But his impact was not limited to puck movement.

Malinski threw himself into the hard areas of the ice all period long — battling along the boards, crashing toward the net front looking for redirects off passes from Gabriel Landeskog, and digging for possession in the grimy corners where playoff hockey tends to get decided. It was exactly the type of response Colorado needed from its depth defensemen.

Jack Drury quietly turned in another strong stretch as well, winning races, disrupting breakouts, and consistently forcing Vegas to work for every inch through the neutral zone.

Later in the period, Nic Roy was called for hooking Nic Dowd in a sequence that immediately drew outrage from the crowd. Replays appeared to show Roy executing what looked far more like a routine stick lift than an actual hook, and the reaction inside Ball Arena reflected it. Boos poured down from every section as fans voiced their displeasure with the call.

Vegas survived that penalty kill, but the whistles kept coming.

With just 1:18 remaining in the period, Shea Theodore caught Martin Necas on the hands with a slash, sending Colorado back to the power play late in the frame and giving the Avalanche one more opportunity to extend their lead before intermission.

After 40 tightly contested minutes, Colorado carried a 1-0 advantage into what could potentially be the final period of the night, while also holding a 20-16 edge in shots on goal. But more importantly, the Avalanche looked far more engaged, physical, and connected than they did in Game 1 — and Ball Arena could feel it.

However, another issue may have arisen. Late in the period, Josh Manson stumbled awkwardly while attempting to make a hit on Barbashev and went face-first into the boards and left the Avs’ bench. We’ll see what comes of it when the third period begins.

Prior to the start of the third period, Josh Manson returned to the ice in a collective sigh of relief for fans and the team.

After failing to convert on the power play from the Theodore penalty near the end of the second period, Theodore was dinged a second time for hooking MacKinnon. However, Colorado’s power play seemed dysfunctional for long stretches, although Malinski got in a solid one-timer late during the man advantage.

On the next sequence, Brent Burns and Tomas Hertl battled for a puck behind the Avalanche net and when Burns’ stick got a little too close to Hertl, he flailed to the ice in pain and drew a high-sticking call.

The Avalanche killed off that penalty, but with 10:45 to go, the Golden Knights tied it up when Jack Eichel sniped a clean wrister by Wedgewood to make it a 1-1 game.

Barbashev scored 2:07 later after the Avalanche coughed up the puck in their own zone. The puck fell onto Barbashev’s stick and he snapped a wrister by Wedgewood’s blocker side to make it a 2-1 lead.

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