The Vegas Golden Knights may have enjoyed their holiday break, but the schedule makers certainly put them on the naughty list with this matchup.

On Saturday, the Golden Knights start their season back up with a stern test, taking on the Colorado Avalanche.

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Venue: T-Mobile Arena, Paradise, NV

Date: Saturday, December 27

Time: 7:00 pm PST

How To Watch: ESPN+, SCRIPPS

Radio: 1340 AM, 94.7 FM

In a league that has seen an impressive amount of parity, the Avalanche have taken the NHL by storm. Currently riding a six-game winning streak, the Avalanche are the runaway favorite to claim the President’s Trophy this season. It will take a monumental effort from the Golden Knights to pull off a victory in front of the home crowd.

Difficult as it may be, there are ways that they can make a statement in their first game back.

Maximum power

Despite the injuries to key players, the Golden Knights have been able to ride one of the hottest power plays in the league.

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The Golden Knights have scored at least one goal on the man advantage over the last six games, lead by Pavel Dorofeyev’s six power play points in that span. However, the Avalanche will not make it easy, coming into the matchup with the league’s best penalty kill (85.4%). In order to win, the Golden Knights will need to make good on the chances they are given.

Impenetrable defense

One thing that both the Avalanche and Golden Knights have prided themselves on is their excellent play in the defensive zone.

The Avalanche lead the league by only surrendering 2.11 goals per game, being just as much a force on defense as they are on offense. Meanwhile, the Golden Knights have surrendered only 26 goals in the month of December, good for the second-lowest mark in the league. Both teams are going to have to put a concerted effort on offense to get goals on the board.

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Committee scoring

In the last game before the break against the San Jose Sharks, the Golden Knights found the depth scoring that they were missing.

Six different Golden Knights got pucks in the net (Mitch Marner was the only player with two), and all four lines scored goals for the first time this season. With Jack Eichel still remaining out of the lineup, it will be all hands on deck to try to keep up with the likes of Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar. The Avalanche will have the edge in terms of raw star power, so the Golden Knights will have to rely on superior depth to get the job done.