FSM Essential Recap: Golden Knights vs Blue Jackets - Game 70 - 2023

FSM Essential Recap: Golden Knights vs Blue Jackets – Game 70 – 2023

Franchise Sports Media

Vegas Golden Knights (43-21-6)  | Columbus Blue Jackets  (21-41-7)

 

Jack Eichel gets a Hat trick and leads the Golden Knights to a 7-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. 

The Golden Knights vs Blue Jackets start of the first period.

The Vegas Golden Knights had a significant setback in their last game against the Calgary Flames. But moving forward was the mindset for Vegas, and it worked out well for them as they rebounded for a 7-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets at T-Mobile Arena.

It was a complete team effort from the Golden Knights; Jack Eichel recorded his fourth career hat trick, his second of the season.

“Puck just going in,” said Eichel, who has 26 goals in 57 games. “I’m just trying to shoot it a little bit. Nice to see it go in.”

Vegas goaltender Jiri Patera had his first start at home since being acquired by the Golden Knights. Patera finished with 35 saves.

“[Patera] was excellent,” Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. “We gave up too much again tonight in terms of good chances. … Our third period was good for the most part. We didn’t get too far away from it. We wanted to check well and still play the right way and try to extend the lead, if possible.”

Alex Pietrangelo had four assists, and Phil Kessel and Pavel Dorofeyev each had a goal and an assist. The win for the Golden Knights puts them two points ahead of the Los Angeles Kings for first place in the Pacific Division.

“I think one good thing is the contributions throughout the lineup,” Eichel said. “We’ve had five goalies now play for us, and I think all of them have done a great job. So I think different guys are stepping up and playing well, and that’s what you need.”

Kirill Marchenko and Liam Foudy each scored, and Patrik Laine had two assists for Columbus. But despite the efforts from the Blue Jackets, it was not enough to get the win, as Columbus lost their third game in a row. The Blue Jackets currently have 49 points, the fewest in the NHL, and are 1-6-1 in their past eight games.

“You can’t lose to a team that’s in the bottom of the standings,” said Knights forward Reilly Smith, who extended his career-high points streak to eight games with a first-period assist. “I think we did a good job, especially the tail end of the second period getting pucks in the net. I think we’re pretty fortunate with some of the bounces, but they go a long way when you’re able to push a team down and kind of take away their confidence like that.”

The Golden Knights vs Blue Jackets end of the first period.

After trading goals through two periods, the game was tied 1-1 until Jack Eichel put on a show for the remainder of the game. 

The Golden Knights vs Blue Jackets start of the second and third periods.

Jack Eichel broke the tie in the second period after shooting a wrist shot from the left side to take the lead 2-1.

“I was coming off the wall there, trying to use the [defense] as a screen a little bit,” Eichel said. “I saw my two linemates (Ivan Barbashev and Jonathan Marchessault) going to the net. I knew the [defense] needed to get off. We needed a puck deep, so I put one on the net. Fortunate to see it go in.”

Pavel Dorofeyev scored, extending the lead 3-1, after spinning around and scoring short side on the power play. Dorofeyev has five points (three goals, two assists) in four games since being recalled from Henderson Silver Knights on March 12.

“[Dorofeyev] is doing a lot right,” Cassidy said. “… There’s a lot to like. Again, small sample size, but he’s playing to keep his job. It shows out there. He wants the job, and he’s not going to let someone take it from him. That’s what you want.”

Zach Whitecloud and Paul Cotter each scored in the third period, and Jack Eichel scored his third and final goal scoring an empty net goal to put the game away 7-2.

The Golden Knights now have 12 games remaining, all against the West, with ten games against teams in the Stanley Cup Playoff picture.

“It’ll be a tough stretch. We’re playing a lot of teams twice,” Golden Knights forward Reilly Smith said. “Those can be pretty tricky because you split those games a lot. We got to make sure we’re picking up as many points as we can. A lot of those teams are chasing us. We have to make sure we come out with a good concerted effort to make teams beat us.”

The Golden Knights vs Blue Jackets final score was 7-2, Vegas.

The Golden Knights will go on the road when they play against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena on Tuesday. The puck drops at 7:00 pm. The game can be seen on AT&T SportsNet (channel 313 on Cox Cable) or heard on 98.9 FM, FOX Sports Las Vegas 1340 AM.