The Colorado Avalanche came back from their Christmas break to battle the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday. It would be a sloppy 6–5 shootout victory that put the Avalanche to the test. Vegas sits atop the Pacific Division and came into the game missing three of their star players, like Jack Eichel. That did not make them back down; if anything, it made the Golden Knights fight even harder to prove they could handle the Avalanche.

Views from the Mountaintop

Sam Malinski played his best game of his career on Saturday night. He was involved in every shift that he was on the ice and controlled the puck at the blue line. He had his first career three-point game (in the NHL). All three points came from assists — two goals in the first period and the game-tying goal in the third period. The third assist was the same shot that we have seen him doing after every practice, and it paid off.

Turnovers killed the Avalanche in their first game back from Christmas break. Colorado was constantly turning over the puck, and this led to multiple Golden Knight chances throughout the game. The biggest turnover came at the hands of Nathan MacKinnon and Devon Toews. MacKinnon sent a backhand pass across the ice to Toews, but he could not handle it. It led to an odd-man rush and Ben Hutton scoring his fifth of the year. Just 29 seconds later, Brett Howden added to the lead for Vegas.

This may have been one of the first games for the Avalanche that they had to endure some adversity. Four lead changes throughout the game led to a three-goal third period by Colorado. Although the Avalanche were playing a sloppy game, they persevered through it and came together to rally to push to overtime and a shootout. This is something that we did not see last season, and it could be because of the leadership in the locker room this season.

The top line for the Avalanche was excellent on Saturday. Martin Necas had two goals, and Nathan MacKinnon added another. Both would convert in the shootout to help with the victory there as well. Samuel Girard is now on a two-game goal streak, something he has not done since the beginning of February 2024.

Up Next

Colorado will head back home to battle the Los Angeles Kings on Monday at 7 p.m. MT. Altitude Sports will broadcast the game.