While the offense cooled from the blistering eight opening night goals, the Vegas Golden Knights still picked up a second consecutive home win.
Vegas edged St. Louis, 4-3, Friday, Oct. 11 from the T-Mobile Arena to hand the 2019 Stanley Cup champs their first loss of the new campaign. The VGK defeated fellow recent champ Colorado in the season opener for both clubs.
”We let them back in the game with their third goal,” head coach Bruce Cassidy said. “We let our foot off the glass, I thought they had a good push to start the third — we knew that would happen.”
Cassidy is now two wins away from reaching 100 as the lead man of the Golden Knights.
Vegas moves to 2-0-0 in the young season with four points amidst this three-game homestand to open the year. Anaheim will enter the Fortress to close out the home stretch.
That game is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 13 from the T-Mobile Arena with puck drop set for 7 p.m.
“You have to be happy [when] you win two games to start the year,” center Jack Eichel said. “I think it’s important to get off to a good start.”
Eichel scored his first goal of the season following a four-point night in the season opener on Wednesday. His first period goal tied the game for the home team 29 seconds after falling behind 1-0.
Teammates Ivan Barbashev and Mark Stone assisted on Eichel’s goal. Both Eichel and Barbashev each have six points on the season after two-point nights for both.
”He’s easy to read off,” Eichel said. “He wins a lot of battles, he’s good on the walls. I think he’s got some pretty underrated hands and scoring touch in tight.”
Barbashev would tally his sixth point of the season on his third goal of the year later in the first. That would give the team the lead for the first time and it would never lose it.
Stone recorded two points on the night, both assists for a total of five so far this season. Six of the first 14 goals this season have come from the top line of the VGK.
”Just reading off each other,” Eichel said. “Moving the puck well, trying to attack when we can and understand when you don’t really have the opportunity.”
At one point in this one, Vegas was able to rattle off 10 straight shots on goal.
An insurance goal was added in the third period from center Nic Roy in his 300th career game. Defensemen Alex Pietrangelo and Shea Theodore assisted on it.
That would serve as the second point of the night for Theodore who had already lit the lamp earlier in the game. Right-wing Cole Schwindt assisted on his goal for the first NHL point of his career in his team debut.
”It’s something that I’ve been dreaming about my whole life,” Schwindt said. “Just to play in the NHL in general and I think I owe Theo a nice dinner after that one.”
The insurance goal was needed because the Blues scored just over two minutes after it.
Goalie Adin Hill had crucial back-to-back saves earlier in the third period with the team up a goal. In the first period, he had to fend off an early shot from point-blank range as well as fighting away a rebound shot following his giveaway.
St. Louis’ Pavel Buchnevich scored the first two goals of the night for the visitors.
The Golden Knights defense killed a power play late in regulation to preserve the win. With that, the Blues would finish with a 50% power play success rate on two opportunities.
Vegas held Colorado to one power play goal in three tries.
”I thought we were really good on the kill,” Cassidy said. “Really aggressive, good changes on it, we didn’t lose anybody. Got the clears and then we didn’t allow the goalie to get out until [about] 50 seconds or so.”
On the other hand, the Knights went 0-for-2 on the power play Friday night. They are now 2-for-5 to start the season.
”I thought we generated some chances on the second one just weren’t able to finish,” Eichel said. “These are all things that we’ll continue to get better at as we practice.”
Editor’s Note: Forward William Karlsson missed his second straight game with an undisclosed injury.
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