The Colorado Avalanche face the Vegas Golden Knights in a matchup between two of the best teams in the Western Conference. The Avalanche have a 2-1-1 record while the Golden Knights have a 4-1 record to start the season. The Avalanche are looking to improve in the Central Division while the Golden Knights look to remain near the top of the Pacific Division and the Western Conference throughout the season.
The Avalanche are off to a strong start to the season with their offense stepping up and scoring 4.25 goals per game. Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, and Valeri Nichushkin have scored 10 goals and 15 assists to carry the top two lines but the rest of the offense has also looked great. Artturi Lehkonen, Andrew Cogliano, and J.T. Compher have scored three goals and four assists to add depth to the forward group while defensemen Cale Makar, Devon Toews, and Bowen Byram have added a goal and nine assists from the point to overwhelm opposing defenses.
The offense has looked great but the defense has struggled, allowing 3.50 goals per game. Cale Makar and Devon Toews lead arguably the best defensive pairing in the league but the rest of the defensive unit has been awful, allowing opponents to skate into the offensive zone with the puck and find open shots on the net. Moreover, goaltender Alexandar Georg iev has struggled to start the season with the new team as he has a .893 save percentage and a 3.00 goals-against average on 84 shots.