FSM Essential Recap: Golden Knights vs Coyotes- Game 50

Arizona was given an early powerplay after Reilly Smith tripped up Nick Schmaltz, but VGK penalty kill unit looked as good as they have all year, preventing any goals from being let in. Vegas was awarded a chance with the man advantage with 11:54 remaining, and while they did not score, they looked dangerous as Jonathan Marchessault hit the post, nearly giving his team an early lead. The Knights eventually broke through just after the ten-minute mark with a goal from William Karlsson.

Wild Bill was able to tip in the goal after Marchessault threw the puck on net, and it bounced off of his skate. After nearly having a few goals last night, I am sure it felt good to finally get one in. Chandler Stephenson and William Carrier both had some grade-A chances in the final minute, but Darcy Kuemper was able to prevent them from extending VGK’s lead. The Knights finished the period up 1-0 and leading the shot total 16-3, holding the Coyotes to the lowest shot amount by any team in the first period this season.

The second period saw the VGK add to their lead while getting multiple chances that could have turned the game into a blowout.

After Vegas killed off a penalty early on in the middle frame, Tomas Jurko nearly scored his first goal with the Knights after taking the puck to the front of the net and ringing it off the goalpost. A little over a minute later, with 14:46 remaining, Mark Stone scored his twentieth goal of the season, the seventh time he has done so in his career. The captain and Max Pacioretty walked into the offensive zone on a 2 on 1 before Stone received a great pass and shot a laser past Darcy Kuemper to put his team up by 2.

The rest of the period played out without any more goals scored even though Vegas received a powerplay with 11:02 remaining. With 25.2 seconds remaining, Mark Stone and Clayton Keller took offsetting penalties leading to two minutes of 4 on 4 play that would carry over into the third period.

The final frame saw VGK give up their two-goal lead with the Arizona Coyotes forcing overtime in a desperate bid to stay in the playoff race.

The Knights were given an early powerplay chance after Clayton Keller was called for tripping but could not get the third goal early on. With 10:56 remaining, Christian Fisher cut the Knights lead in half after recovering a loose puck that bounced off of Brayden McNabb’s skate and put the puck past Marc Andre Fleury. Nick Schmaltz nearly scored the tying goal 34 seconds later, but Fleury made his biggest save of the net, swallowing up the dangerous shot on goal.

The Coyotes received a powerplay with 6:24 remaining and were able to take advantage of it as Christian Dvorak received a pass from Clayton Keller in the middle of the slot and wristed the puck into the net to tie the game. The goal ended a penalty kill streak of 21 straight for VGK. Jonathan Marchessault took a slashing penalty with 2:24 remaining to give the Yotes a chance to win it in regulation, but this time VGK penalty kill unit held strong before the game went to overtime.

After some back and forth play on both ends, Arizona was called for too many men on the ice with 2:25 remaining in extra time, and this time the Knights powerplay unit came through with a big-time goal. 29 seconds into the penalty Jonathan Marchessault scored the game-winning goal nailing a one-timer to beat Darcy Kuemper, improving Vegas’ record to 6-2 against the Arizona Coyotes in the final game of the season series.

Looking Forward: 

VGK took a four-point lead on the Colorado Avalanche for first place in the Honda West Division with the win and have a great shot at finishing on top of the league. Marc Andre Fleury recorded his 489th win, tying Roberto Luongo for most wins in NHL history. The Knights will travel to Minnesota on Monday night to take on the Wild in the first of a two-game series against the team currently ranked third in the Honda West Division.

The Vegas Golden Knights will resume play Monday evening against The Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center. The puck drop is set for 5:00 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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