The Vegas Golden Knights were handed their only loss in regulation in the month of February on Monday when they were shut out 3-0 by the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena.
While Vegas could not find the net, the team actually played a decent defensive game, despite what the final score suggests.
Aside from a turnover at the start of the game and an empty-net goal in the waning minutes, the Golden Knights' defense was really only bested by one goal.
Ultimately, it was the lack of execution on offense that held the visitors back, a problem the club hadn't had since before the All-Star break.
"They checked us really well," Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy told the media after the game. "I thought the difference in the game, for us, in the O-zone, we got pushed off pucks pretty much all night. We generated a few slot looks, but we didn't get the second chance from that, right? So they were recovering well after that, but even going down to the goalie-out situation, we win a faceoff and all of a sudden, it's in our net.
" ... That happens so often in the O-zone. We just, we weren't hard enough on pucks in the O-zone. So I give them [Colorado] a lot of credit for that. I thought, for us, we obviously spot them a goal, that never helps. It was our best 10 minutes right after that. We actually played pretty well and generated some looks and looked like we could get ourselves back in the game, but didn't happen."
The loss was just Vegas' second shut out of the season as it dropped the season series against the defending Stanley Cup champs 1-2.
The team will return to T-Mobile Arena for a three-game homestand that will start with an opponent it has not yet seen this season, the Carolina Hurricanes.
Follow along with VGK Today for live updates throughout the contest.
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