It was a shock for Avalanche fans at Ball Arena Wednesday night. The Colorado Avalanche fell short in Game 1 to the Vegas Golden Knights. This is the first time Colorado has trailed in a series this postseason.
“I didn’t like our puck play tonight,” Colorado head coach Jared Bednar said after the game. “We gave them a handful of odd-man rushes that came off of our turnovers and missed execution, even if we were doing the right thing.”
Colorado seemed a bit sluggish in the second period, allowing two quick goals by Dylan Coghlan and Pavel Dorofeyev. Entering the third period, Brett Howden would extend Vegas’ lead to 3-0.
“Thought we faded away for 20 minutes in there,” Bednar said.
Colorado would inch their way back with goals from Valeri Nichushkin and Gabriel Landeskog to get within one goal. But a late empty net goal put the final nail in the coffin for the Avalanche.
Scott Wedgewood had a rough night, letting in three goals on 27 shots for a save percentage of .889. This was Wedgewood’s worst save percentage since Game 1 of the Minnesota series that the Avalanche won 9-6.
The Avalanche were also without their star defenseman, Cale Makar, who was out with an upper body injury and is listed as day-to-day.
“He’s an important player,” Bednar said about the absence of Makar. “Some of the areas that we struggled with tonight, those are his strengths.”
Bednar noted the team struggled with the puck in all three zones and the defense had trouble finding outlets. These are things that he would like for the team to work on and improve upon going into Game 2.
Vegas leads the series 1-0. Game 2 is scheduled for Friday, May 22 at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado.