FSM Essential Recap: Golden Knights vs Blues Game 30

The Vegas Golden Knights came into tonight’s game with a 3-0-0 record in the second of back to back games and looked to continue that trend.

The Knights first dangerous chance came a little over five minutes into the opening period from Reilly Smith, and even though he was stopped, it led to an extended shift in the Blues end. That momentum continued to build as Alex Tuch quickly registered two dangerous chances from point-blank, with his second one hitting the post and out.

With 11:19 remaining, the hard work paid off as Jonathan Marchessault scored off a set play following a faceoff catching Jordan Binnington off guard. Marchessault had a season-high eight shots on goal in Sunday’s game, so I am sure it felt good to finally get one through.

The VGK was 17-0-1when scoring first, so getting the ice breaker was huge in momentum and control. With 9:10 remaining Robin Lehner made a good save following a slap shot from Marco Scandella. With 1:16 remaining, the Knights went to the powerplay after a tripping penalty on Jacob De La Rose. It was a welcome opportunity following the Knights inability to convert with the extra man on Sunday.

Vegas started the second period with 44 seconds on the powerplay but failed to convert.

The Knights did not let the failure to convert get them down too much though Reilly Smith and Tomas Nosek had two great chances within a minute of each other and came very close to widening the lead. However, the Blues scored the only goal in the second period as Vladimir Tarasenko scored on a wraparound shot to tie the game up. After the St. Louis goal, the VGK did a great job of shutting the Blues down, holding them without a shot for six straight minutes at one point. With 5:12 remaining, Keegan Kolesar took a tripping penalty to give the Blues a powerplay opportunity, but they failed to score as well, and both teams went into the second intermission with a tied game.

It was looking like the game was going to be highly contested going into the third period but the Knights proceeded to blow the doors open in the final twenty minutes.

Just 1:20 into the final frame, Mark Stone gave his team the lead again after burying his own rebound to beat Binnington to make the score 2-1. Almost exactly ten minutes later, Keegan Kolesar widened his team’s lead scoring his first career NHL goal after burying his own rebound, giving the Knights a 3-1 lead. With 6:16 remaining, the VGK was sent to the power play again, and this time, they did convert as William Karlsson followed Stone and Kolesar’s example by burying his own rebound as well. With 3:31 remaining, the Knights were given one last powerplay opportunity and were able to convert again after Mark Stone scored his second goal of the night, tipping the puck past Binnington. The Knights advanced to 18-0-1 when scoring the first goal and further tightened their grip on the divisional lead.

Looking Forward:

Vegas will get two days’ rest for the last time this season before taking on the Colorado Avalanche Thursday night in Denver. The Golden Knights are 2-2 this season against the Avs and will look to take the series lead as we get a preview of a possible postseason matchup between two of the top teams in the Honda West Division. The VGK will have to repeat what they did in their two wins against Colorado in terms of shutting Nathan Mackinnon down and neutralizing Colorado’s forward group’s speed. Thursday’s game would be a perfect time for Max Pacioretty’s return as his goal-scoring ability would be a huge addition to the lineup. As of now, Pacioretty is still considered to be day to day with his injury, so we will probably find out as Thursday’s matchup draws closer. It was good to see the powerplay finally breakthrough tonight with two goals, as the ability to score on special teams is always helpful when playing against elite teams.

The Vegas Golden Knights will resume play Thursday evening against The Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena. The puck drop is set for 6:00 p.m. and will be on AT&T Sportsnet and FOX Sports Las Vegas 98.9/1340.

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-D.J. Wood– Franchise Sports Media

Follow D.J. on Twitter @DJwoody97

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