FSM Essential Recap: Golden Knights vs Coyotes- Game 49

The opening period was fairly uneventful, with only one goal being scored, with the Coyotes being the team that scored it. With 10:43 remaining, the Coyotes entered the Knights zone and were able to sustain some pressure forcing Lehner to make saves on a slap shot and another chance in close. After fighting off the pair of chances John Hayden was able to pick up the loose rebound and send it past the VGK netminder to give his team a 1-0 lead that would hold up the rest of the period. The Knights led the shot total 11-9 by the end of the period but just could not capitalize on their chances, though they did kill off a penalty after Max Pacioretty was called for interference against Dryden Hunt.

The second period continued the trend of little offense as Arizona continued to keep momentum in their favor through forty minutes.

Almost five minutes into the period, the Yotes’ were given their second powerplay opportunity of the night as William Carrier was called for hooking against Phil Kessel. Vegas did not have to play shorthanded for very long, though, as Jakob Chychrun was sent to the box for holding Reilly Smith just twenty-six seconds into the Arizona powerplay. Both teams played four-on-four hockey for one minute and thirty-four seconds, with VGK getting a short powerplay, but no additional goals were scored the rest of the period. Arizona outpaced the Knights in terms of shot total leading 11-6 and 20-17 over through two periods.

The third period did not fare any better for the Knights as their offense continued to struggle as they had all night.

The hopes of continuing the ten-game win streak were struck a blow early on in the third period as William Bunting put the Coyotes up by two just one minute and thirty seconds into the final frame. Nick Schmaltz made a great play driving to the net and firing a puck at Lehner, who was unable to control the rebound, which allowed Bunting to capitalize on the opportunity. Vegas was given their first real powerplay just thirty-one seconds later after Derrick Brassard was called for hooking against Keegan Kolesar.

This would have been a great opportunity for the Knights special teams to come through when they needed it, but the goal post spoiled their efforts. Captain Mark Stone nearly cut Arizona’s lead in half but was unable to slide the puck inside the right post and over the goal line. With 6:42 remaining William Karlsson registered a great one-timer chance from in close, but Adin Hill stood strong and fought it off to keep his team’s two-goal lead intact.

VGK pulled Robin Lehner with 2:55 remaining to try and rally a comeback, but Christian Fisher put an end to that eighteen seconds later, scoring an empty-net goal. The Knights fell to the Arizona Coyotes for just the second time this season and had their win streak snapped at an impressive ten games.

Looking Forward: 

“You can’t win em’ all” is a phrase that every athlete and sports fan alike have heard at some point in their life, and it is the perfect phrase to describe tonight’s game. Even though the score was 3-0, VGK was certainly not dominated tonight in terms of play, and were it not for some unlucky bounces and a solid performance from Adin Hill, the Knights would have probably walked away from tonight’s game with at least a point. However, every team has games where things just don’t go their way. After winning ten games in a row and setting a new franchise record in that category, a loss was bound to happen eventually. The great news is that Vegas has a chance to get right back on track Saturday night with a matchup against the same team in Arizona.

The Vegas Golden Knights will resume play Saturday evening against The Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena. The puck drop is set for 7:00 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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