Game one of the 2024-2025 NHL season kicked off for the Golden Knights last night. The Knights’ opener hosted the Colorado Avalanche in the fortress. After a long-awaited opening, ‘Knight’ the Golden Knights finally unveiled their club’s readiness for the NHL competition. The NHL is the apex of professional hockey, with intensity, thunderous environments, and high-stakes gameplay. This introduction match into the regular season did not disappoint.
Period One
Period one of the Knights’ opener started with each club passing off possession. The puck seemed to be a “hot potato” on the rink starting this matchup. Further into the period the Colorado Avalanche increased the pressure, breaking up offensive chances and clearing the puck from their zone. Ultimately, the Avalanche scored early in the first period. The Golden Knights took some time to respond to the unanswered goal but finally executed when Victor Olofsson sent the puck to the upper corner of the net in an unbelievably uncomfortable shot. Nearly parallel with the net, Olofsson put Vegas on the board.
The Golden Knights took some time getting comfortable in their skates, but when they settled in, the Colorado paid the price for stepping into the fortress. The Knights countered the quick skating from Colorado by cleaning their through-traffic passes, and getting behind the Avalanche players, outmaneuvering them. The new tactic paid off when Ivan Barbashev’s line broke out on the rush and scored. Quickly following the score from Barbashev, Captain Mark Stone scored on another rush ending the first period in a ferocious show of force. The score to conclude the first game in the Knights’ opener was 3-1.
Period Two
In period two of the Knights’ opener, the game of hot potato continued. Defenseman Brayden McNabb started the penalties for the opening game. Stone was aggressive and eager to keep the pressure from the first period going, chasing Avalanche players to their zone while recovering the puck on the power play. Following the power play, the Avs ( Colorado Avalanche) scored after forcing the Vegas line to extend their shift well past two minutes. After a clear and a line change, Zach Whitecloud found the puck and took it straight to the net for another number added to the scoreboard, after only six seconds on the ice.
As the Knights’ opener continued, the Colorado Avalanche showed better turnovers and clears from the offensive rush of Vegas. The next great hope for the Colorado club, Casey Mittelstadt, scored, bringing the game back to a one-goal lead in favor of Las Vegas (4-3). After a scuffle in the corner, the Avs drew a penalty, sending the Golden Knights to the power play. Showing their familiarity with one another, Victor Olofsson and Jack Eichel took the ice for the power play, both former Buffalo Sabres. The goal-scoring threats paired together out on top enabled Victor Olofsson to score once again, ending period two 5-3.
Period Three
The third period of the Knights’ opener was packed with action. Alex Pietrangelo buried the puck in the net only to have the goal denied due to a Pavel Dorofeyev penalty right before Pietrangelo’s shot. The Avalanche scored on the hopeful reaction to the denied goal, only to quickly catch a double minor for slashing. Five seconds into the power play, the eager Golden Knights’ captain scored (6-4). In the remaining time for the second minor penalty, Golden Knight Nicolas Roy drew a penalty, sending the Avs to a power play. The Colorado Avalanche were gassed from this point on.
They failed to produce a goal during their man advantage and continuously recovered pucks from Vegas’ clearings. The Knights’ opener only produced superior gameplay, as Ivan Barbashev scored on a solo rush. Desperate to get points on the board, the Avalanche pulled their goaltender with four minutes and some change left in the period. The Golden Knights held on during the four-minute assault from the goaltender-less Avalanche.
The Golden Knights refused to be pinned in their zone, forcing a turnover, Brett Howden skated straight to the empty net and threw the puck in. The Golden Knights made a serious declaration at their season opener, ending the Knights’ opener with a final score of 8-4.
And So It Begins
The Knights’ opener started sluggish, with incomplete passes, issues clearing pucks, and sustaining offensive plays. Quickly rising to the occasion, the VGK relentlessly put points on the board. The Colorado Avalanche challenged the Golden Knights throughout the game but could not match the explosive tendencies of the Vegas club in the Knights’ opener.
Ivan Barbashev and Jack Eichel leave the season’s first game with four points in hand, along with many of the other teammates finishing the game with multiple points also. The Golden Knights were resilient and opportunistic in the first game of the 2024-2025 NHL season, staying true to the “misfit mentality.”
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