Avalanche deal Knights first defeat of preseason

Tuch makes bid to earn position on second line

The lineup used by the Golden Knights on Monday closely resembled the one they’ll put on the ice Oct. 4 on opening night.

Colorado arrived at T-mobile Arena with an inexperienced group that included a 28-year-old goaltender making his first appearance in the NHL.

But the Knights started slowly and suffered their first loss in the preseason, 5-3 to the Avalanche in front of an announced crowd of 17,880.

Here’s what we learned:

1. Alex Tuch states his case for a spot on the second line.

Coach Gerard Gallant will use most, if not all, of the preseason to find a combination he likes on the second line.

Erik Haula got the first look in training camp with mostly positive reviews, and Tuch auditioned Monday for the job as right wing alongside Paul Stastny and Max Pacioretty.

“I’m just out there to make room KNIGHTS

points in 61 games and was second on the Knights in average ice time (20:21). He also ran the No. 1 power play unit.

The Knights currently have a little more than $4 million in salary cap space after the Theodore signing.

“It’s about, for us, managing the cap properly,” Mcphee said. “You can look at the cap in certain ways. We’ve got a lot of space this year and probably will next year, so we’d like to use it to help us in the future. Use more of it now.

“It’s sort of like perishable inventory. If you don’t use it at the end of the year it’s of no value. We thought if we paid a little more now and had a contract that was pretty steady

throughout its term and we have cost certainty in the future it allows us to manage the cap better.”

With Theodore now in the fold, the Knights have nine defensemen competing for eight spots on the 23man roster. That leaves Jake Bischoff and Erik Brannstrom, who are both waiver-exempt, to compete for the final job.

“We had a plan of who the eight were with Nate out and Theodore out,” Mcphee said. “The two guys would have been Brannstrom and Bischoff. They’ve played very well, so they would have been here. Someone will have to go now, and we’ll address that in a few days.”

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

Benjamin Hager Las Vegas Review-journal @benjaminhphoto Golden Knights left wing William Carrier, left, takes a shot against Avalanche goaltender Pavel Francouz in the second period Monday at T-mobile Arena. Vegas suffered its first loss of the preseason, 5-3 to Colorado.

Golden Knights left wing Max Pacioretty, right, is greeted by, from left, Brayden Mcnabb, Deryk Engelland and Alex Tuch after scoring in the second period.