The Vegas Golden Knights and Los Angeles Kings wrapped up their season series on Wednesday night. The Golden Knights picked up a 6-2 win to finish the series at 6-2-0 on the year. Vegas has now won four games in a row.
Mattias Janmark made his Golden Knights debut after being acquired from Chicago on Monday and made an immediate impact with an assist and constant pressure in the offensive zone.
Vegas scored three goals in the first period and held a 4-1 lead late in the second until the Kings pulled within two. However, the Knights shut things down in the third period, scoring the only two goals of the frame for the 6-2 finish.
Marc-Andre Fleury was once again stellar, and he passed Ed Belfour to be all alone in fourth place on the all-time wins list with 485. Fleury stopped 20 of 22 shots for a .909 save percentage.
Less than two minutes into the first period, the Golden Knights had an early opportunity to put one past Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick as they were awarded a penalty after Alex Tuch was hooked. The Kings were able to kill off the lively power play, however.
The Golden Knights were buzzing in the early stages, and it paid off quickly.
Tomas Nosek continued his incredible hot streak and buried one past Quick with a perfectly-placed shot just above Quick’s glove to break the scoreless tie.
Vegas continued to pour on the pressure.
Tuch used his great speed to break out into the offensive end and snapped it behind Quick to give the Knights a 2-0 lead 11:04 into the game.
Janmark was credited with an assist on the play, his first point as a member of the Golden Knights. He was on the ice for both goals, as the third line was excellent all night.
The Kings went to the power play shortly after the goal and capitalized on the opportunity. The shot took a weird bounce off Zach Whitecloud’s skate and off Fleury’s stick, and it snuck under the crossbar to cut the lead back to one goal.
But less than two minutes later, the Golden Knights regained the two-goal lead on one of the weirdest goals of the season.
Max Pacioretty flipped one in from the blue line, and the puck took a remarkable bounce and somehow got through Quick.
Max Pacioretty with a deep 3 on Lakers Night 😜 pic.twitter.com/MnmUYL9Evb
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) April 15, 2021
The goal ended Quick’s night; Cal Petersen took over for him with around four minutes left in the period.
During the second period, the Golden Knights were completely dominating the game, but Peterson was equally as impressive.
The Golden Knights were finally able to beat Petersen when Chandler Stephenson got in alone and went five-hole to extend the lead once again for Vegas.
shake it & bake it 🤙 pic.twitter.com/OoBzgk2xih
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) April 15, 2021
Late in the period, the Kings got one back as Trevor Moore scored his second of the game.
The goal came off a turnover by Alex Pietrangelo, who got caught out of position in the neutral zone after making a strong play in the defensive zone.
The Kings put up a fight in the third period, and the Knights started to sit back. However, Mark Stone crushed the Kings’ momentum to make it 5-2 at 5:28 of the third. Stone cashed in on a beautiful feed from Pacioretty, who had three points in the game. He is now six points from 600 in his career.
Not that expressive this time so you’ll have to be expressive for him 👇 pic.twitter.com/Xo0JTSxl18
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) April 15, 2021
The Golden Knights continued to pressure. Pietrangelo got one back as he scored to make it 6-2 with a shot that went off the stick of Brendan Lemieux and into the net.
It was one of several bounces that went Vegas’ way in the win, but it was an excellent effort from the entire lineup. The Golden Knights played one of their best games of the season, and the bottom six looked the best it has looked all year.
Janmark was very impressive in his debut, and he was part of a new-look third line with Tuch and Nosek that was completely dominant. The trio combined for six points (Nosek had three), and the chemistry was instant, which is encouraging for the Knights moving forward.
Janmark finished the game with an assist, a plus-two rating, one shot, one hit and one block in 15:21 of ice time. He also skated on the second power-play unit, but Vegas had only one man advantage in the contest.
The win helps the Knights stay on pace with the Colorado Avalanche, who apparently cannot lose a hockey game.
The Knights will take the short trip to Anaheim to take on the Ducks Friday night.