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[UPDATE: Due to sun issues, the Avalanche vs. Golden Knights game was delayed after the first period. It will resume at midnight ET on NBCSN. You can watch the Avalanche-Golden Knights stream on the NBC Sports app by clicking here.]
This is the first of two games this weekend to be played outdoors at the Edgewood Tahoe Resort in Stateline, Nevada, on the south shore of Lake Tahoe. After Saturday’s game between the Golden Knights and the Avalanche, the Flyers and Bruins meet Sunday night (7 pm ET, NBCSN).
This will mark the very first outdoor game for the Golden Knights and the third for the Avalanche. Colorado hosted the Red Wings at Coors Field in Denver in February 2016, then hosted the Kings last February at Colorado’s Air Force Academy (Avs lost both games).
This is the third of four consecutive meetings between these teams in nine days. They shared their first two meetings on February 14 and 16 and will play again Monday night in Colorado.
Mark Stone leads Vegas with 16 points this season (4G-12A), while Max Pacioretty leads the team with eight goals. The two finished 1-2 over the Golden Knights in points last season (66 for Pacioretty, 63 for Stone). Nathan MacKinnon leads the Avalanche with 15 points this season, but has only scored three goals (12A). MacKinnon, who finished second MVP last season, has scored over 35 goals and over 90 points in each of the past three seasons.
Marc-André Fleury has been exceptional this season, winning seven of his first nine starts (7-2-0) while posting a GAA of 1.56 and SV% of .937 with two shutouts. Last season Fleury lost the starting job to Robin Lehner in the playoffs, Fleury starting just four of the Golden Knights’ 20 playoff games (Lehner started 16). Lehner then signed a five-year, $ 25 million contract with the Golden Knights in October, leading some to believe Fleury’s days in Vegas were numbered. However, Lehner is currently sidelined with an upper body injury, which allows Fleury to show he can still be a number one goalie at 36.
Cale Makar has missed Colorado’s last two games, both against Vegas, with an upper body injury. The 22-year-old skated in warm-ups ahead of his last game on Tuesday, but did not play. Makar, who won the Calder Trophy last season, has 12 points in 11 games this season (1G-11A) and was running a five-game streak before his injury.
[AVALANCHE-GOLDEN KNIGHT STREAM RESUMES AT MIDNIGHT ET – NBCSN]
WHAT: Colorado Avalanche vs. Vegas Golden Knights
OR: Edgewood Tahoe Resort Golf Course – Stateline, Nevada
WHEN: Saturday February 20. Coverage resumes at midnight ET
TV: NBCSN
ON CALL: Mike Tirico, Eddie Olczyk, Brian Boucher, Rutledge Wood
DIRECT: You can watch the Avalanche-Golden Knights stream on The NBC Sports live streaming page and the NBC Sports app.
PROJECTED LINES
AVALANCHE
Gabriel Landeskog – Nathan MacKinnon – Mikko Rantanen
Brandon Saad – Nazem Kadri – Andre Burakovsky
Valeri Nichushkin – JT Compher – Joonas Donskoi
Sheldon Dries – Pierre-Edouard Bellemare – Jayson Megna
Devon Toews – Cale Makar
Bowen Byram – Sam Girard
Conor Timmins – Ryan Graves
Starting goalkeeper: Philipp Grubauer
GOLDEN KNIGHTS
Max Pacioretty – Chandler Stephenson – Mark Stone
Jonathan Marchessault – William Karlsson – Reilly Smith
Alex Tuch – Cody Glass – Keegan Kolesar
Will Carrier – Nicolas Roy – Ryan Reaves
Alec Martinez – Alex Pietrangelo
Nick Holden – Shea Theodore
Nicolas Hague – Zach Whitecloud
Starting goalkeeper: Marc-André Fleury
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