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.
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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.
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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 kicked off with penalties. Martin Necas earned a double minor after slashing and subsequently tripping Barbashev. However, early into the extended power play, Jack Eichel was called for interference. Following some 4-on-4 action, Colorado killed off the remainder of Necas’ four-minute penalty to return to 5-on-5.
About seven minutes into the period, Nathan MacKinnon brought his muscle into the mix as he dropped a charging Kolesar at the blue line.
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