I (Sort of) Watched This Game: Lake Tahoe Edition, Part One

 Even though the regularly scheduled outdoor games were scrapped this season, that doesn't mean there won't be any outdoor games. Two games are happening at Lake Tahoe, with Vegas and Colorado playing today, and Philadelphia and Boston playing tomorrow. That means another return of I Watched This Game. 

The first game sees the Colorado Avalanche take on the Vegas Golden Knights in a reverse retro game for both teams. Heavy favourites to win the Stanley Cup this year, it happens that they are also in the same reworked West Division and both had games postponed due to protocols. Colorado only resumed play last Sunday in a 1-0 defeat at the hands of the Golden Knights. That sets the stage for the first puck drop of the afternoon. 

Update: the second and third periods of the game play at 11 pm CST due to sun causing ice issues. I will post what I'm able to catch, so minimum, you're getting first period observations. 

First period:

• The starting goalies are Philipp Grubauer and Marc-Andre Fleury. Given the sun being in full effect, it was a good thing Vegas didn't go with the metallic gold helmets.
• Three minutes into the game, Colorado shows off some excellent passing, highlighted by Nathan MacKinnon spotting Sam Girard at the point, followed by a laser that finds its way past Fleury to make it 1-0 Avalanche. 
• Mark Stone raised his stick a little too high on Mikko Rantanen, and because it drew blood, that means he must sit for four minutes. 
• Vegas forgot that they only needed four men on the ice, and they get busted with too many men on the ice, to be served by Keegan Kolesar. That means 5-on-3 hockey for the rest of the period, with at least 37 seconds carrying over if Colorado doesn't score.

At the end of the first period, Colorado leads 1-0. They dominated most of the first half offensively, but Vegas would get their chances in the middle of the period. The Stone penalty was unfortunate, but the too many men penalty is an inexcusable lapse in judgement. 

At this point, the 18-minute clock for intermission had not started, and by the time the announcement was made to resume play at 11 pm, over an hour had lapsed.

From this point, everything is gathered from both the box score and video highlights.

Second period

• Colorado does not convert the power play to begin the period...eight hours later.
• William Carrier clears the puck over the board about three minutes into the period. He's in the box for that.
• At 7:37, Alex Pietrangelo fires the puck from the blue line, and after a scramble, Alec Martinez finds the loose puck and puts it past Grubauer to tie it at one. Jonathan Marchessault also touched the puck, so he gets an assist, as well.
• 4-on-4 action happens for two minutes, as Chandler Stephenson and Tyson Jost both sit, Stephenson for cross checking and Jost for interference. 
• MacKinnon makes a great defensive play on Stone, and going from end to end, he snipes one past Fleury stick side, giving the Avalanche the lead once again.
• A series of penalties occurs to end the period, with Joonas Donskoi interfering with Fleury at 16:15, Alex Tuch interfering with Grubauer at 17:44, and Andre Burakovsky high sticking Pietrangelo at 18:09.

This was a back and forth period that saw both teams show what they can do.

Third period

• More penalties begin the period, as Nazem Kadri tripped Keegan Kolesar at 1:59, and Cale Makar delays the game at 2:37 with a clear over the boards.
• Off a faceoff in the Vegas zone, MacKinnon drops a pass to a waiting Devon Toews, who proceeds to rip a shot from the blue line that gets past Fleury, thanks to traffic in front. Rantanen also touched the puck prior to the shot, so he also gets an assist. 3-1 Avalanche. 
• Zach Whitecloud keeps the puck in the Avalanche zone, finds Tuch along the boards. Tuch makes a beautiful spin move from the corner to the front of the net and backhands one past Grubauer to get the Golden Knights within one at 14:25.
• The Avalanche hang on for the rest of the game, and take this one 3-2.

Even with the prolonged break, this was still everything as advertised. MacKinnon showed why he is one of the best players in the league right now, contributing to all three Avalanche goals in the game. Both teams will get to do this again Monday in Colorado.