LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MAY 10: Nazem Kadri #91 of the Colorado Avalanche skates with the puck against Alex Pietrangelo #7 of the Vegas Golden Knights in the first period of their game at T-Mobile Arena on May 10, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Last night was an important game for the Vegas Golden Knights. If they had won, they would have won the Pacific Division, Solidified 1st Place in the NHL and won the Presidents Trophy. There was one thing that stood in the way of them possibly winning...they were down to only 10 Forwards, 5 Defenseman, & 2 goalies. 3 less players than a normal roster. This means constant line changes to give players a break.
The first period looked promising for the Golden Knights. They scored a goal and went into the second up 1 point. 2nd Period they held strong but fatigue looked apparent. The Avalanche would go on to score a goal to tie it. The 3rd period, the Knights held strong but looked more sluggish. It was around the 11 min mark where J.T. Compher scored a go-ahead goal. The Knights had many chances to score to tie it up, but came up short.
The Avalanche went on to win the game 2-1. What does this mean for the Vegas Golden Knights? They will need to win on Wednesday against San Jose and hope the Avalanche lose 1 of their 2 final games for the Knights to claim first place in the NHL and win the Presidents trophy. This will also put them against the St. Louis Blues in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, which start on Saturday.
If the Avalanche win both games against the Kings and the Knights win against San Jose, the Avalanche will take the top spot because of most regulation wins.
Just because the team was short players, didn't mean they played horrible. In fact Jason Pothier of SinBin.Vegas tweeted what the head coach of the Colorado Avalanche had this to say about the Knights after the game...
The Knights take on the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday Night in San Jose. GO KNIGHTS GO!
