FSM Essential Recap: Golden Knights vs Kings - Game 2

FSM Essential Recap: Golden Knights vs Kings – Game 2

Franchise Sports Media

 

The Vegas Golden Knights traveled down I-15 to Los Angeles for their first road game of the season. It was a disappointing showing for Vegas in a 6-2 loss to the Kings.

 

The first period got out to a slow start, and both goaltenders were in control of the chances that were generated.

The Kings began to gain momentum, but Robin Lehner kept them off the board.

The Golden Knights opened the scoring via a Shea Theodore shot from the point snuck through Calvin Petersen. Brayden McNabb picked up the secondary assist against his former team.

Kolesar later got into the Knights’ first fight of the season with Brenden Lemieux, but Lemieux came out on top.

The Kings tied the game just over four minutes after Theodore’s goal when Dustin Brown buried his own rebound over Lehner’s shoulder.

The Kings got their first power-play opportunity of the game very late in the period and capitalized. Anze Kopitar fired a shot from the point through traffic and snuck it by Lehner. Drew Doughty was credited with his second assist of the game on the goal. He finished the game with four points.

 

The Kings picked up where they left off in a brutal second period for the Knights.

 

Offseason-acquisition Phillip Danault scored just 3:05 into the frame in his Kings debut. Doughty tallied his third assist of the game on the goal. Just under eight minutes into the period, Stone intercepted a pass, took a shot, and somehow got hurt. He needed help to get to the bench and looked very shaky on his way down the tunnel.

The game continued to go downhill.

The Kings forced a turnover from Jonathan Marchessault in the Vegas offensive zone and were able to add to their lead, as Kopitar tallied his second goal of the game. Adrian Kempe picked up the loose puck and sent a saucer feed over to Kopitar on a 2-on-1 to make it 4-1.

Late in the period, Evgenii Dadonov rang the far post. It was a strong night for Dadonov, and he and Nolan Patrick were the only Vegas forwards who finished with Corsi shares above 50 percent on the night.

 

The Golden Knights made a change in net at the beginning of the third period, as Laurent Brossoit made his Vegas debut. Lehner’s night ended with four goals allowed on 31 shots.

The Kings went to the power play just 1:22 into the period after Alec Martinez was whistled for a high stick. Doughty tallied his fourth point of the night with his first goal of the season. as he beat Brossoit glove-side on a shot from the point. It was the Kings’ second power-play goal of the game.

The Golden Knights got their first power play of the game less than two minutes later, but the man advantage expired without much to show for it. Vegas is 0-for-4 on the power play so far this season.

The Kings got on the board once again, and it was Kopitar for the third time in the game as he netted his fifth career hat trick. He finished the game with five points.

The Golden Knights cut the lead to 6-2 with Chandler Stephenson’s second goal of the season. Dadonov threw the puck at the net, and it deflected off Stephenson’s skate and past Petersen. It was the second straight game where Stephenson scored without taking a shot.

But it was far too little too late, as the Knights were outplayed in every facet of the game.

 

Golden Knights head coach Pete DeBoer did not have an update on Stone’s status after the game but did say that Stone had been dealing with a minor injury that wasn’t serious enough to keep him out of the lineup.

The Knights don’t play again until next Wednesday, which will give Stone time to rest in the event that this is a short-term issue. But the entire night was a rough one for Vegas.

 

The Golden Knights will not play again until Wednesday when they host the St. Louis Blues at T-Mobile Arena. The puck drops at 7:00.