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The Vegas Golden Knights endured their first back-to-back regular season losses in over a year.
The Colorado Avalanche (9-4-1), beat Vegas, 3-2, on an outdoor rink at Edgewood Resort in Lake Tahoe Saturday, Feb. 20.
The Knights (10-4-1) look to split the four-game series against the Avalanche, Monday, Feb 22 in Colorado.
The Avs lead the series, 2-1, but Vegas is still second in the West and two points ahead of Colorado.
Vegas has 21 points going into Monday’s game against Colorado. The Avs have 19 points and the St. Louis Blues lead the division with 22.
The Knights are 2-2-0 away and look to make it 3-2-0.
“We have a chance to split with a win on Monday. That’s the goal,” head coach Pete DeBoer said.
Colorado got off to a quick start, scoring the first goal three minutes into the first period.
After the first period, the game was delayed due to the condition of the ice because of the sunlight.
“The ice conditions got a little slushy and there were some safety hazards so it was the league’s discussion to postpone,” right-wing Alex Tuch said.
The game resumed at 9 p.m. PT with Colorado leading 1-0
“It was a strange day,” DeBoer said. “Obviously, the excitement of the game this morning, then the disappointment with our first period as a team. Then I thought we reset and came out and played two pretty hard periods tonight.
“Unfortunately, we were chasing the game, right from the [second] drop of the puck.”
Defensemen Alec Martinez tied the game in the second period, 1-1, with his first goal of the season.
Defensemen Alex Pietrangelo and center Jonathan Marchessault both had the assist on Martinez’s goal.
Martinez now has nine points on the season and Marchessault improved to 12 points on the year.
Right-wing Mark Stone and left-wing Max Pacioretty still lead the team in points with 16 and 13, respectively.
After just a few minutes at a tied 1-1 game, Nathan MacKinnon scored the go-ahead goal for the Avalanche, making it 2-1.
The penalties increased in the second period, each team had three apiece.
“Our first period was one of our worst this season so far. It wasn't the type of game we wanted to play, especially on the outdoor rink,” Tuch said. “We came back tonight on a mission. We didn't come out with the win but I thought we played two hard periods.”
Thirteen minutes into the third period, Colorado increased their lead to 3-1.
Tuch responded just a minute later to close the gap back to a goal. He was assisted by defesemen Zach Whitecloud.
Tuch has five goals on the season, six assists and 11 points.
“Anytime you have the opportunity to play in an outdoor game it’s pretty special,” Martinez said. “But as for the game, obviously it’s pretty disappointing, these are some big points and certainly two we wish we would have gotten.”