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The six-goal average for the Vegas Golden Knights through the first two games couldn’t continue forever.
Vegas wrapped up a three-game homestand to open the year with a, 3-1, win over Anaheim Sunday, Oct. 13 from the T-Mobile Arena. That allowed the team to close the homestand with a perfect 3-0-0 record with all six points claimed.
“We didn’t execute as well offensively as we have,” head coach Bruce Cassidy said. “But we executed well enough to win the hockey game.”
Cassidy now sits at 99 wins as the VGK head coach. He could record his 100th victory on the road as the team embarks on a three-game road trip.
The trip will end with a 2023 Stanley Cup Finals rematch as part of the East Coast trip. It will begin Tuesday, Oct. 15 with a date against the Washington Capitals with puck drop slated for 4 p.m.
“Having three at home right away, you want to take advantage of that,” center Brett Howden said. “You see a lot of teams starting on the road and playing in back-to-backs. We really wanted to take advantage of that.”
Center Tomas Hertl picked the perfect time for his first goal of the season about midway through the third period. While on the team’s third power play opportunity, the 30-year old lit the lamp for the first time this season from near the front of the pipes.
”It feels really nice,” he said. “I know my line and myself, we can still be better and help the team a little more. We did nothing wrong but nothing offensively, we kind of cruised around.”
Fellow forwards Jack Eichel and Mark Stone assisted on the Hertl goal. In the first three games played this season, the VGK top line has racked up 20 assists and 27 total points.
“Our first line won the first two games for us,” Hertl said. “Today, it was other lines. All year around we want to be a four-line team.”
The power play was an issue prior to Hertl’s goal for the Knights. On the first two attempts, they were a listless 0-for-2.
Both earlier Anaheim penalties came in the second period with only four shots on goal coming from it. After the two failed tries, Vegas were zero for its last four power play tries before Hertl’s goal.
Though early, this year’s Knights are now 3-for-9 in power play situations.
“It was a timely goal,” Cassidy said. “I thought we had some good looks on the first couple of power plays, we had a goal called back. I thought every game we’ve been much more dangerous than we have in the past.”
For the first time this season, Vegas scored the opening goal of the game. It came off the stick of Howden less than six and a half minutes into the game. Entering play, all four of his shots came in the season opener against Colorado.
Following that goal, the VGK offense was limited to just two shots on goal for the remainder of the first period.
Goalie Ilya Samsonov made his Vegas debut, getting the win in the process. He saved the first six shots he faced on the way to 22 saves on the night including kick, grab and stick saves.
Ducks forward Troy Terry got the lone goal for the visitors to go on a one-on-one breakaway opportunity.
“Not [an] easy game because I haven’t played in a couple weeks,” Samsonov said. “I feel great, we won the game.”
In order to preserve the lead and ultimately the win, Vegas had to kill a third period power play from Anaheim. That would be the first power play chance for the visitors following a Brayden McNabb hooking penalty.
Not only was the power play killed but Samsonov saw just two shots during the two-minute stretch.
“I thought we were doing well with [clears] tonight,” Cassidy said. “We were putting more pressure on them and I thought we did a pretty good job.”
Needing an insurance goal, left-winger Pavel Dorofeyev gave it to the home crowd of more than 18,000 with less than six minutes left in regulation
Teammate Keegan Kolesar earned his second assist of the night on that goal after earlier assisting on Howden’s first period score. The two assists ties a career-high for Kolesar and marks the 10th time he’s met the mark.
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