Vegas Golden Knights vs. Colorado AvalancheMay 20, 2026

FinalPlayoffsWednesday, May 20, 2026· Ball Arena

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Goals	1	2	3	T		Shots	1	2	3	T
VGK	0	2	2	4		VGK	10	10	8	28
COL	0	0	2	2		COL	10	15	13	38

: VGK 52COL 80
: VGK 3.88COL 3.17
PP goals: VGK 1COL 0
Hits: VGK 34COL 31
Blocks: VGK 23COL 11
PIM: VGK 6COL 4
: VGK 57%COL 43%

Fantasy takeaways

Generated from the play-by-play, shifts and season context. No opinions, just what changed.

Vegas Golden Knights beat Colorado Avalanche 4–2

Vegas Golden Knights beat Colorado Avalanche 4–2 at COL. Brett Howden (VGK) led the scoring with 1G 0A. VGK's first power-play unit (Hertl, Theodore, Eichel, Marner and Dorofeyev) scored 1 power-play goal on 1 attempt in 2:04 together.

PP1
VGK's first power-play unit (Hertl, Theodore, Eichel, Marner and Dorofeyev) scored 1 power-play goal on 1 attempt in 2:04 together.Hertl Theodore Eichel Marner Dorofeyev
New line
New look for COL: Nelson–Lehkonen–Roy skated 7:40 together at 5v5 as the L2 trio (69.2% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.Nelson Lehkonen Roy
Goalie
Carter Hart (VGK) faced 38 shots and stopped 36 (.947), +9 against a season average of 29.0; the win.Hart
Usage
Dylan Coghlan (VGK) played 8:13, −6:31 down on his 14:44 season average over 12 games.Coghlan
New line
New look for COL: Kadri–Nichushkin–Colton skated 6:48 together at 5v5 as the L3 trio (66.7% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.Kadri Nichushkin Colton
Usage
Ben Hutton (VGK) played 10:01, −3:47 down on his 13:48 season average over 6 games.Hutton
Usage
Jack Eichel (VGK) played 19:32, −3:03 down on his 22:35 season average over 21 games.Eichel
Usage
Brayden McNabb (VGK) played 25:42, +5:08 up on his 20:34 season average over 20 games.McNabb

Shot map

Both teams on one rink, filtered by strength and period.

Shot map

Every attempt, sized by expected goals. Goals are rings, shots on goal dots, misses hollow, blocks crosses.

Strength

Period

Team

← VGK attacks left (bottom on phones)COL attacks right (top on phones) →

COL
VGK
Goal
Shot on goal
Missed
Blocked

Showing 132 of 132 attempts · COL 80 · VGK 52

Game flow

Cumulative expected goals and shot attempts, with power plays shaded and goals marked.

Cumulative shot attempts

COL
VGK
Goal
Power play (shaded)

Pressure Index

COL pressure
VGK pressure
Goal
Control (|PI| > 0.25)

: descriptive only, the team with more pressure scored the next goal about half the time. In control: VGK 30% of the game, COL 41%.

Shift chart

Every shift, grouped by line and pair; bars are coloured by strength state. Click a player to highlight.

Shifts

COL

VGK

goals / penalties

Even strength
Power play
Penalty kill
Goal
Penalty

Head-to-head matchups

COL skaters (rows) against VGK skaters (columns) at 5v5. Square size is time together; colour is xGF% from the COL side.

Matchup matrix

COL xGF% 4060square size = TOI together · blank = under 1:00

Sequence card

5-on-5 possession-chain numbers from the sequence engine (Draw Equity and control cover all situations).

Sequence card
Stat	VGK	COL
	55	80
	2.67	3.07
	2.45	2.92
	8	19
	6	12
	17	29
	+0.030	−0.030
	30%	41%

Definitions: sequence xG, transition attempts, Draw Equity, control and the Pressure Index.

Lines used

Detected from who actually shared the ice, with time together. Percentages are the unit's share of shot attempts.

Vegas Golden Knights

L1Karlsson – Marner – Howden
12:3731% CF
L2Barbashev – Eichel – Dorofeyev
9:1052% CF
L3Dowd – Kolesar – Smith
7:4454% CF
L4Saad – Hertl – Sissons
7:0367% CF
D1McNabb – Theodore
19:2141% CF
D2Hanifin – Andersson
18:1243% CF
D3Hutton – Coghlan
7:5748% CF

PP1Hertl – Theodore – Eichel – Marner – Dorofeyev
2:04100% CF
PP2Karlsson – Barbashev – Hanifin – Andersson – Howden
0:39
PK1FKarlsson – Eichel
3:00
PK2FMarner – Howden
0:30
PK1DMcNabb – Theodore
2:16
PK2DHanifin – Andersson
0:30

Current VGK line combinations →

Colorado Avalanche

L1Landeskog – MacKinnon – Necas
11:1850% CF
L2Nelson – Lehkonen – Roy
7:4069% CF
L3Kadri – Nichushkin – Colton
6:4867% CF
L4Kelly – Drury – O'Connor
6:4758% CF
D1Toews – Malinski
12:3361% CF
D2Burns – Kulak
8:2068% CF
D3Manson – Ahcan
5:2827% CF

PP1Kadri – Landeskog – MacKinnon – Toews – Necas
3:30100% CF
PP2Burns – Nelson – Roy – Necas – Malinski
0:18
PK1FNelson – Nichushkin
1:41
PK2FLehkonen – O'Connor
0:42
PK1DManson – Toews
1:59
PK2DKulak – Malinski
0:30

Current COL line combinations →

Scoring summary

Every goal with the skaters on the ice for it.

2nd period

12:29
VGKDylan Coghlan (Brandon Saad, Colton Sissons)wrist0.09 xG
VGK: Saad, Hertl, Sissons, Theodore, CoghlanCOL: Nelson, Manson, Lehkonen, Roy, Ahcan
VGK 1 – 0 COL
15:02
VGKPavel DorofeyevPP (Mitch Marner, Tomas Hertl)wrist0.13 xG
VGK: Hertl, Theodore, Eichel, Marner, DorofeyevCOL: Burns, Lehkonen, Toews, O'Connor
VGK 2 – 0 COL

3rd period

1:34
VGKBrett Howden (Ben Hutton)backhand0.33 xG
VGK: Hutton, Hanifin, Marner, Howden, CoghlanCOL: Burns, Nelson, Roy, Necas, Malinski
VGK 3 – 0 COL
5:53
COLValeri Nichushkin (Ross Colton)other0.17 xG
VGK: Hutton, Barbashev, Eichel, Coghlan, DorofeyevCOL: Burns, Kadri, Kulak, Nichushkin, Colton
VGK 3 – 1 COL
17:39
COLGabriel Landeskog (Nathan MacKinnon, Devon Toews)snap0.21 xG
VGK: McNabb, Andersson, Marner, HowdenCOL: Kadri, Nelson, Landeskog, MacKinnon, Toews, Necas
VGK 3 – 2 COL
19:15
VGKNic DowdEN (Jack Eichel, Rasmus Andersson)wrist0.70 xG
VGK: McNabb, Dowd, Andersson, Eichel, MarnerCOL: Kadri, Nelson, Landeskog, MacKinnon, Toews, Necas
VGK 4 – 2 COL

Box score

Skaters grouped by the line they played on; CF% is the 5v5 share of shot attempts while on the ice.

Vegas Golden Knights

VGK skaters
Skater	Line	G	A	P	+/-			Hits	Blk	PIM		PP	SH
Mitch Marner R	L1	0	1	1	+2	2	0.11	1	0	0	21:35	—	—	30	46
William Karlsson C	L1	0	0	0	0	1	0.10	1	4	0	21:11	—	—	31	36
Brett Howden C	L1	1	0	1	+1	4	0.49	1	1	0	18:11	—	—	32	51
Jack Eichel C	L2	0	1	1	0	3	0.54	1	1	0	19:32	—	—	37	42
Ivan Barbashev L	L2	0	0	0	-1	2	0.12	2	0	2	16:25	—	—	42	45
Pavel Dorofeyev R	L2	1	0	1	-1	3	0.39	0	0	0	14:21	—	—	44	51
Nic Dowd C	L3	1	0	1	+1	1	0.70	4	2	0	13:18	—	—	44	27
Cole Smith R	L3	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	8	0	0	11:56	—	—	32	21
Keegan Kolesar R	L3	0	0	0	0	1	0.16	4	0	0	10:02	—	—	53	39
Colton Sissons C	L4	0	1	1	+1	1	0.01	5	2	0	11:28	—	—	48	44
Tomas Hertl C	L4	0	1	1	+1	1	0.33	0	0	0	10:45	—	—	65	67
Brandon Saad L	L4	0	1	1	+1	0	0.00	0	0	0	8:10	—	—	71	68
Shea Theodore D	D1	0	0	0	+1	5	0.07	0	7	2	27:22	—	—	39	42
Brayden McNabb D	D1	0	0	0	+1	1	0.01	5	3	0	25:42	—	—	40	41
Rasmus Andersson D	D2	0	1	1	+1	0	0.61	0	2	0	23:32	—	—	41	51
Noah Hanifin D	D2	0	0	0	+1	1	0.01	1	1	0	23:29	—	—	39	54
Ben Hutton D	D3	0	1	1	0	1	0.08	1	0	2	10:01	—	—	41	40
Dylan Coghlan D	D3	1	0	1	+1	1	0.16	0	0	0	8:13	—	—	50	51

VGK goalies
Goalie	Dec	SA	SV	GA			TOI
Carter Hart(start)	W	38	36	2	.947	3.17	60:00

Colorado Avalanche

COL skaters
Skater	Line	G	A	P	+/-			Hits	Blk	PIM		PP	SH
Martin Necas C	L1	0	0	0	-2	3	0.22	2	0	0	23:41	—	—	58	38
Nathan MacKinnon C	L1	0	1	1	-1	3	0.32	0	0	0	21:32	—	—	56	46
Gabriel Landeskog L	L1	1	0	1	-1	3	0.26	1	0	0	21:21	—	—	55	40
Brock Nelson C	L2	0	0	0	-3	4	0.31	1	1	0	18:15	—	—	71	48
Artturi Lehkonen L	L2	0	0	0	-1	1	0.34	5	0	0	15:42	—	—	61	77
Nicolas Roy C	L2	0	0	0	-2	1	0.03	2	0	0	12:40	—	—	67	52
Nazem Kadri C	L3	0	0	0	0	5	0.27	2	0	0	19:26	—	—	70	66
Valeri Nichushkin R	L3	1	0	1	+1	3	0.26	3	0	0	13:39	—	—	60	55
Ross Colton C	L3	0	1	1	+1	3	0.39	6	1	2	9:55	—	—	67	65
Logan O'Connor R	L4	0	0	0	0	2	0.30	0	0	0	10:16	—	—	48	58
Jack Drury C	L4	0	0	0	0	1	0.06	0	0	0	9:55	—	—	40	54
Parker Kelly C	L4	0	0	0	0	1	0.15	1	0	0	8:57	—	—	50	54
Devon Toews D	D1	0	1	1	-1	2	0.13	0	1	0	27:32	—	—	61	53
Sam Malinski D	D1	0	0	0	-1	1	0.04	0	1	0	20:31	—	—	52	35
Brett Kulak D	D2	0	0	0	+1	1	0.02	0	0	0	23:06	—	—	70	74
Brent Burns D	D2	0	0	0	0	2	0.03	2	3	2	16:55	—	—	58	44
Josh Manson D	D3	0	0	0	-1	2	0.05	5	2	0	19:02	—	—	61	69
Jack Ahcan D	D3	0	0	0	-1	0	0.00	1	2	0	7:34	—	—	31	21

COL goalies
Goalie	Dec	SA	SV	GA			TOI
Scott Wedgewood(start)	L	27	24	3	.889	2.35	57:15

Goal anatomy

Animated replays from NHL EDGE tracking, with the entry, passes and shot speed for each goal.

Gabriel Landeskog (COL) 3rd 17:39 · assists Nathan MacKinnon, Devon Toews · Rebound · carried in · 6-on-4 at the blue line · 16.3 mph shot · 5.9 s from entry to goal.

Gabriel Landeskog · 3rd 17:39 · COL

Play: rebound
Entry: carry
Odd man: 6-on-4
Passes: 2 (royal road)
Shot: 16.3 mph
Distance: 5 ft
Entry to goal: 5.9 s
Type: rebound

Watch on NHL.com → · Tracking-derived via NHL EDGE

Dylan Coghlan · 2nd 12:29 · VGK

Play: rush
Entry: carry
Odd man: No
Passes: 2
Shot: 64.4 mph
Distance: 36 ft
Entry to goal: 2.8 s

Watch on NHL.com → · Tracking-derived via NHL EDGE

Pavel Dorofeyev · 2nd 15:02 · VGK PP

Play: rush
Entry: carry
Odd man: No
Passes: 1
Shot: 48.7 mph
Distance: 20 ft
Entry to goal: 3.8 s
Type: one-timer

Watch on NHL.com → · Tracking-derived via NHL EDGE

Brett Howden · 3rd 1:34 · VGK

Play: rebound
Entry: carry
Odd man: No
Passes: 0
Shot: 14.6 mph
Distance: 14 ft
Entry to goal: 3.5 s
Type: rebound

Watch on NHL.com → · Tracking-derived via NHL EDGE

Valeri Nichushkin · 3rd 5:53 · COL

Play: odd-man-rush
Entry: carry
Odd man: 3-on-2
Passes: 2 (royal road)
Shot: 22.3 mph
Distance: 8 ft
Entry to goal: 2.7 s

Watch on NHL.com → · Tracking-derived via NHL EDGE

Nic Dowd · 3rd 19:15 · VGK EN

Play: dump-and-chase
Entry: dump
Odd man: No
Passes: 1
Shot: 65.8 mph
Distance: 17 ft
Entry to goal: 4.3 s

Watch on NHL.com → · Tracking-derived via NHL EDGE

Methodology

Shot locations come from the NHL play-by-play, normalised so each shooter attacks the same way, then flipped so the home team attacks right. On-ice stats and lines come from the shift charts: a unit is the exact set of skaters sharing the ice, and CF% is the share of all shot attempts while they were out. Head-to-head cells are 5v5 time against each opponent. Expected goals and the Pressure Index appear as their models are released.