Video Credit: NHL

FSM Essential Recap: Golden Knights vs. Kings- Game 42

Franchise Sports Media

 

As the division race tightens up down the stretch the Vegas Golden Knights went int Wednesday’s matchup six points behind the Colorado Avalanche with two games in hand.

 

Golden Knights vs Kings
Photo Credit: CBS L.A.

Vegas was given a powerplay in the opening two minutes after Carl Grundstrom was called for hooking against Alex Tuch but did not score with the extra man. Tomas Nosek ended up scoring the first goal of the game just over seven minutes in as he skated in on a 2 on 1 and beat Johnathan Quick to the short side. With 8:56 remaining, Alex Tuch scored for the second game in a row, beating Quick short side again as he skated in from the top of the right circle.

The Los Angeles Kings answered back after Brayden McNabb took a hooking penalty against Dustin Brown.

Trevor Moore scored on the ensuing powerplay, nailing a one-timer that bounced off of Zach Whitecloud and past Marc Andre Fleury. Less than two minutes later, VGK took a two-goal lead for the second time as Max Pacioretty chipped the puck in from the blue line, and it took an awkward bounce right over Quick’s right leg. L.A. head coach Todd McLellan had seen enough at that point and pulled his goalie in favor of Cal Peterson, who finished the period without allowing another goal.

 

The second period saw the Knights control vast swaths of play in the Kings zone and end the period with a two-goal lead.

 

Golden Knights vs Kings
Photo Credit: AP/Ashley Landis

In the opening two minutes, Jonathan Marchessault nearly put VGK up by three early as he received a cross-crease pass from William Karlsson, but Cal Peterson was able to slide over and make the save. Vegas continued to enforce their will for the first half of the period and at one point had the puck in the L.A. zone for what seemed like forever, sending multiple dangerous shots at the Kings netminder.

With just over four minutes remaining Chandler Stephenson was sprung on a breakaway by Max Pacioretty and beat Peterson glove side to give his team a three-goal lead. After missing three breakaways during Monday’s game, the explosive forward was not going to let another golden opportunity slip away from him. Los Angeles was able to cut the lead to two with 1:38 remaining after Alex Pietrangelo was caught out of position, and Trevor Moore took advantage of the vacant ice as he skated in and beat Fleury for his second goal of the game.

 

Vegas continued their dominance of the L.A. Kings this season in the third period widening their lead and preventing them from getting any sustained pressure.

 

Golden Knights vs Kings
Photo Credit: L.A. Times

Five and a half minutes into the final frame Mark Stone crushed any hope that the Kings may have had of a third-period comeback. Max Pacioretty found him waiting between the circles and was able to get the pass off to the captain who beat Cal Peterson high on the stick side to put the Knights up by three for the second time in the game.

Alex Pietrangelo scored a sixth and final goal five minutes later thanks to a puck that redirected off of Kings forward Brendan Lemieux and past Cal Peterson. L.A. was unable to generate any dangerous looks in the final twenty minutes as VGK outshot their opponent 12-3 and did not give them any more opportunities on the powerplay.

The Knights went on to win 6-2 in overwhelming fashion and pulled within four points of the Avalanche for the division lead with a game in hand.

 

Looking Forward: 

 

As the postseason closes in, this was precisely the type of game you would want to see from the Knights as they confidently rolled four lines with no noticeable drop-offs between shifts. When it is this late in the season, you expect a contender to handle an opponent as low in the standings as the Kings are, and VGK did just that. The Knights will have two more opportunities to gain traction in the standings this weekend as they head to Anaheim to take on the Ducks for a two-game series starting on Friday. While the Ducks are a team in transition, they are one of the few teams to accomplish the feat of shutting out the Knights this year, so they should not be looked at as a team that will just roll over for Vegas. Winning the next two games would help keep VGK in the hunt for first place in the division as they battle to catch Colorado.

 

The Vegas Golden Knights will resume play Friday evening against The Anaheim Ducks at The Honda Center. 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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