FSM Essential Recap: Golden Knights vs Blues - Game 36 - 2022

FSM Essential Recap: Golden Knights vs Blues – Game 36 – 2022

Franchise Sports Media

Vegas Golden Knights (24-11-1)  | St. Louis Blues (16-16-2)

 

Christmas comes early in Vegas, as the Golden Knights come back in the 3rd period and win in an Overtime shootout defeating the St. Louis Blues 5-4.

 

Knights fans were definitely in for a surprise and greeted with an early Christmas present when the Vegas Golden Knights hosted the St. Louis Blues at T-Mobile Arena.

The Knights wanted to stay consistent in the win column at home at The Fortress, and getting a win before a short Christmas break would boost momentum for the Misfits from Vegas.

Logan Thompson was back in net as he went head-to-head with St. Louis’ Jordan Binnington. Five minutes into the first period, the Knights started in a fast way, as they usually do. Alex Pietrangelo was the first to put Vegas on the board after receiving a Chandler Stephenson drop pass and backhanding it in to make it 1-0.

The goal by Pietraneglo was the only highlight of the first period, and he also had a point in every game he’s played since he’s been back from his three-week absence. While both played evenly with shots on goal, the Knights went to the locker room with a commanding 1-goal lead after the first period.

This was the first time the Knights were scoreless this season in the first period for two straight games. But the scoreless game would not last long going into the second period.

 

Even though the Knights had the lead, the second-period woes would haunt them again.

 

Just 40 seconds into the second, Pavel Buchnevich ties the game after burying a shot past Thompson to put the Blues on the board 1-1.

The 1-1 tie would not faze the Knights for the moment. A few minutes later, Mark Stone scored from a rebound to give the Knights back the lead, 2-1.

It didn’t seem like the Knights were experiencing their usual second-period collapse until Phil Kessel was called for hooking that would put the Blues in a power play position.

The power play for the St. Louis Blues would pay off after Vladimir Tarasenko scored from outside of the left circle to once again tie the game 2-2.

If things did not get worse, they did in the case of the Knights; just a couple minutes after tying the game, Justin Faulk gave the Blues the lead after shooting from the right face-off circle. Even though the Knights were down by a goal, the second-period woes would not get in the head of any of them. Michael Amadio scored after receiving a cross-ice pass from Mark Stone to tie the game 3-3 during the last two minutes of the second period. 

 

The goal by Amadio would be his third consecutive game with a point and his second with a goal since moving up to the first line with Stephenson and Stone.

 

The first 10 minutes of the third would remain tied 3-3 until the Blues again struck by taking the lead after Noel Acciari tipped in the puck from a shot from Brandon Saad to give the Blues the lead 4-3 at the 10:45 mark of the third period.

The Knights were getting good chances with shots on goal. Still, time was running out, and they needed to get a goal until Brandon Saad drew a holding penalty against Willam Karlsson that would set up a power play opportunity for the Misfits with over 2 minutes left. 

With just 1:36 left in the third period, Chandler Stephenson scored on a shot from below the right circle off a rebound to tie the game 4-4. The game went into overtime and came out with no score. Vegas surprisingly had two shots on goal, but now the game would go into a shootout.

Into the shootout, the Blues scored on the second opportunity, but Chandler Stephenson evened the shootout score. Then Mark Stone finally put the final exclamation point by scoring and giving the Golden Knights the comeback victory 5-4. “It’s a shootout, it can go anyone’s way, but the difference between winning and losing, the mood in the room is significantly different,” says Mark Stone. “So rehab and enjoy this one with the guys heading into the break. I think we’ve played almost as many games as anyone, so it’s good to get the break.”

The Golden Knights now head into the Christmas break with back-to-back home victories after losing six of their previous seven at T-Mobile Arena.

 

Key Takeaway

 

 Logan Thompson had 29 saves and a .862% save percentage. Chandler Stephenson finished the game with a goal and three assists, extending his points streak to seven games (three goals, 11 assists), the longest of his career. He leads the Knights with 27 assists and 35 points.

 

 

On Tuesday, the Golden Knights will head up to Hollywood as they take on their Pacific Division rival Los Angeles Kings at Crypto.com Arena. They are scheduled to drop the puck at 7:30 pm. The game can be seen on  AT&T SportsNet (channel 313 on Cox Cable) or heard on 98.9 FM, FOX Sports Las Vegas 1340 AM.