Golden Knights 5, Avalanche 3 | 3 takeaways from Colorado’s monumental collapse in Game 3
LAS VEGAS — Just when you thought the Avalanche had figured things out, they pulled off the biggest collapse of the season and arguably the biggest in franchise history.
Here are three takeaways from a disastrous 5-3 Game 3 loss for the Avalanche at T-Mobile Arena:
Dynamite start
You could not have drawn up a better start for the Avalanche. Gabriel Landeskog had a great scoring chance on the opening shift of the game that was blocked, but he redeemed himself, scoring a few minutes later. Then a perfect breakout ended up on the stick of Nazem Kadri, who buried a shot past Carter Hart’s blocker. A controversial disallowed goal for the Golden Knights was followed almost immediately by a Jack Drury shorthanded goal.
The Avalanche led 3-0. They had won 49 straight games before Sunday when leading 3-0 before.
With their back against the wall, the Avalanche came out firing. Unfortunately, the tables turned in the second period.
Nightmare second
Vegas’ only momentum in the first period came when they were on the power play. Nineteen seconds into the second period, they finally cashed in on the man advantage, bringing some life back into the building. A brutal Sam Malinski turnover off a face-off win led to Vegas getting a second, and just 4:05 into the second period, Colorado’s lead had dwindled to just one.
The Golden Knights tied it on a play that looked like it was created by some neutral-zone interference, as Josh Manson was tripped on a zone entry by Keegan Kolesar. Nothing was called, and Kolesar scored just moments later. Everything the Avalanche had done well vanished in the second period, with a period that was unacceptable given their season was essentially on the line.
The period was made even worse by the fact that Nathan MacKinnon blocked a shot with his leg and was hobbled the rest of the evening.
Collapse complete
With MacKinnon hobbled, the Avalanche completed the collapse in the third period. Tomas Hertl danced around Malinski and beat Wedgewood with a backhand shot, giving the Golden Knights the lead and the Avalanche were just never able to recover.
An epic collapse that will sting for years to come — if the Avalanche don’t pull off a comeback for the ages.