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Golden Knights back in first after OT win over Avalanche

Updated March 27, 2021 - 4:39 pm

DENVER — Had Max Pacioretty not jammed in his own rebound during overtime and the result turned out differently Saturday, the Golden Knights still would have walked out of Ball Arena proud of their effort.

After taking a beating in the series opener, the Knights showed they have an answer for the powerful Colorado Avalanche.

Backed by a strong defensive effort and a balanced offense, the Knights moved back into sole possession of first place in the West Division with a 3-2 victory.

“That’s how you beat a good team on the road,” coach Pete DeBoer said. “I thought for the believers out there, thanks for sticking with us. I know there were some doubters out there after the last game, but I knew our group would respond with a real good effort. We did that.”

The Knights (23-8-1, 47 points) won for the second time in Denver and followed a similar script to their previous victories over Colorado, holding the Avalanche’s top line in check and ratcheting up the physical play on the forecheck.

The result was an 18-8 advantage in hits and a 34-24 edge in shots on goal, as Colorado was held to fewer than 30 shots on goal for the first time since Feb. 26.

Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury was handed his second straight start and bounced back with a strong performance after allowing five goals in Thursday’s loss.

Fleury was beaten by Joonas Donskoi on the first shot he saw but finished with 22 stops to end a personal two-game losing skid. He made two key saves in the third period against Avalanche forward Brandon Saad and earned his 483rd career victory, one shy of tying Ed Belfour for fourth on the all-time list.

“He was real solid,” DeBoer said. “He’s carried us here the last month and a half. He deserved to start the two most important games of the year so far. It was a pretty easy decision.”

Pacioretty notched his team-leading 18th goal and 298th of his career at 1:56 of the overtime on a bit of a broken play.

Alex Tuch carried the puck through the neutral zone. Pacioretty tried to hit him with a return pass in front of the net, but it was deflected by Avalanche defenseman Devon Toews. The puck went off the post, and before Toews could react, Pacioretty was able to poke it in for his fourth overtime goal and fifth winner.

Since the 2010-11 season, Pacioretty is tied for second in the NHL with 16 overtime goals.

“We knew we had a lot to prove after getting spanked in the last game,” Pacioretty said. “But at the end of the day, I thought we really stepped on the gas as the game went on in the third period. Created a lot of opportunities and drew a lot of penalties. I think that momentum carried over.”

Defenseman Alec Martinez converted on a first-period power play for the Knights, and William Carrier deflected in a shot at 3:40 of the second period to tie the score at 2.

Toews also scored for Colorado (21-8-4, 46 points), which extended its points streak to 10 games.

The teams close out the season series April 26 and 28 at T-Mobile Arena.

“Obviously, we weren’t happy with our last game, especially against a team we’ve really battled with this year,” Martinez said. “I think it was really important for us to bounce back. I’m proud of the way the guys handled it. That’s not an easy thing to do.”

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.

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