3 takeaways from Knights’ preseason loss: Goalie stands tall
Jack Eichel scored a power-play goal, but that was the only offense the Golden Knights could muster in a 3-1 preseason loss to the Colorado Avalanche at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday.
It was the second straight meeting between the two teams. The Knights won 6-1 at Ball Arena on Tuesday in Denver.
This time they weren’t able put the puck in the net nearly as much. Goaltender Ilya Samsonov made 24 saves for the Knights, who dropped to 3-2 in the preseason.
“You want to win every time you go on the ice,” Eichel said. “There’s some things we want to clean up and continue to get better at. On the flip side, there’s some things to like.”
Colorado played most of its regulars for the second straight matchup. The Knights played close to a full lineup for the first time this preseason, and it looked like the group needed to knock off some rust. They didn’t reach 10 shots on goal until 9:14 into the second period.
“I didn’t think we were great early,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “We were trying to make plays that weren’t there against a good offensive team. We got better as the game went on, but got ourselves in a hole again where we couldn’t quite get there.”
The Avalanche, on the other hand, made the most of their early chances.
Left wing Jonathan Drouin scored off a pass from center Nathan MacKinnon, the reigning Hart Trophy winner, with 8:16 remaining in the first period to put Colorado up 1-0.
Defenseman Sam Malinski doubled the Avalanche’s lead 6:52 into the second period. He beat Samsonov from the high slot after receiving a pass from center Parker Kelly.
Eichel cut the Knights’ deficit to 2-1 with 1:35 remaining in the second on the power play. He sniped the puck past goaltender Justus Annunen just 18 seconds after defenseman Oliver Kylington was called for holding left wing Zach Aston-Reese.
Right wing Logan O’Connor tacked on an empty-net goal for Colorado with 50 seconds remaining.
The Knights close out their preseason schedule at home Saturday against the San Jose Sharks.
Here are three takeaways from Thursday’s loss:
1. Roster hopefuls look good
The Knights’ fourth line was comprised of players trying to make the opening-night roster, with Tanner Laczynski centering Aston-Reese and right wing Jonas Rondbjerg.
All three had strong nights.
The Knights did not concede a goal with the trio on the ice. Laczynski and Rondbjerg each forced a turnover in the second period and then created a dangerous chance. Aston-Reese, in addition to his drawn penalty, was strong on the backcheck.
“I didn’t have a problem with any of them,” Cassidy said.
2. Samsonov strong again
The Knights’ new backup goaltender can feel good about his outing.
Samsonov fell victim to good shots on the goals he gave up. He also made some impressive stops, especially in the first period.
“Liked our goaltender again,” Cassidy said. “I thought he gave us a chance to win.”
Samsonov made a kick save to deny Drouin from the left circle at one point. His best sequence came moments later, when he stopped a long-distance shot through traffic and then saved a shot from left wing Ivan Ivan off the rebound with the paddle of his stick.
Samsonov has looked calm and under control in both of his preseason starts so far. That’s a good sign as he looks to rebound from a disappointing year in Toronto.
3. Hertl provides good moments
Center Tomas Hertl had another strong game.
He didn’t record a shot on goal but did a good job winning puck battles and keeping plays alive in the offensive zone. He also had some sharp passes.
The Knights had an 18-3 edge in shot attempts when Hertl was on the ice at five-on-five. His line was making things happen in the offensive zone.
Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.
