FSM Essential Recap: Golden Knights vs Kraken - Game 81 - 2023

FSM Essential Recap: Golden Knights vs Kraken – Game 81 – 2023

Franchise Sports Media

Vegas Golden Knights (50-22-9)  | Seattle Kraken  (46-27-8)

Michael Amadio scores twice, leading the Golden Knights past the Seattle Kraken 4-1. 

The Golden Knights vs Kraken start of the first period.

The Vegas Golden Knights maintained their lead in the Pacific Division with a victory over the Seattle Kraken 4-1 in Vegas’ last regular season home game at T-Mobile Arena.

The win for the Golden Knights puts them two points ahead of the Edmonton Oilers, who are currently in second place in the Pacific Division.

“(Playing a meaningful game Thursday) is good for us,” Reilly Smith said. “Sometimes, you take your foot off the gas and start the playoffs maybe a step behind. There’s no reason for that. A lot on the line. I’m looking forward to the game Thursday.”

Michael Amadio had two goals and an assist, and Reilly Smith had one goal and two assists. Vegas goaltender Laurent Brossoit finished the game with 20 saves and is now 4-0-3 in its past seven games.

“If you can really put your thumb down on teams in the third period, it bodes really well for the playoffs because there’s no quit in the playoffs,” Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. “They’re going to keep coming and coming. In the regular season, sometimes teams will take the foot off the gas because they’ve got another game coming up. So you have to get into those habits of playing a full 60 (minutes).”

For the Seattle Kraken, Yanni Gourde had one goal, and goaltender Joey Daccord finished the game with 33 saves; the Kraken had recently won five games in a row.

The Kraken would have moved into a tie for third place in the Pacific with the Los Angeles Kings with a victory.

“We’re not happy with the result; not a lot energy tonight,” Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. “We had a good burst for probably the first 15, 16 minutes. We just couldn’t find any energy in the second and third. They played well. They were on top of us. They didn’t give us a lot of time and space. When you’re a half-step slow and not a ton of energy, it was a tough night to generate anything with the puck.”

The Golden Knights vs Kraken ended the first period.

Michael Amadio helped boost the Golden Knights offense scoring in the first period for a 1-0 lead. 

The Golden Knights vs Kraken start of the second and third periods.

With the score 1-0, the Kraken made things interesting by tying the game 1-1 after a goal from Yanni Gourde, who scored after hitting a wrist shot.

Two minutes into the second period, the Golden Knights took over the entire game, starting with Michael Amadio scoring his second goal two minutes into the second period for a 2-1 lead.

After extending the score 3-1 off of a goal from Reilly Smith, the Golden Knights had outscored the Kraken 16-9 this season.

“You need that element of [crashing the net],” Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. “When Ammo’s done it, he’s been rewarded. It’s just a reminder to do it every day. Ammo comes up as a junior guy and minor pro, he’s the guy making the play to the guy to the net. Now the shoe’s on the other foot. So, he has to be that guy who goes there, and he’ s bought into it well. “Give him credit for changing what he has to do to complement a line.”

Three minutes into the third period, Jonathan Marchessault scored to extend the lead during a two-man advantage after firing a one-timer shot from an assist from Alex Pietrangelo for a 4-1 final.

“We’re trending in the right direction, right,” Smith said. “Obviously, important with playoffs right around the corner. It’s good for us, playing teams that are competitive right now.

The Golden Knights vs Kraken final score was 4-1, Vegas.

On Thursday, the Golden Knights will play against the Seattle Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena. The puck drops at 7:30 pm. The game can be seen on AT&T SportsNet (channel 313 on Cox Cable), ABC (channel 13 on Cox Cable), or heard on 98.9 FM, FOX Sports Las Vegas 1340 AM.