The Vegas Golden Knights went down early to the Nashville Predators on Tuesday, but a pair of response goals set the tone for the remainder of the game which ended with a 5-1 win. It was Vegas’ first game out of the All-Star break, and an important opportunity to shake off what wasn’t working prior to the break. There was the aforementioned early goal against, scored by Matt Duchene at 5:04, but that was the only true blemish on the evening.
First goal was by Paul Amadio’s son pic.twitter.com/ApQ9hmkPBk
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) February 8, 2023
Michael Amadio responded 1 minute and 23 seconds later to tie thing up, and William Carrier found the back of the net 27 seconds after that to flip the script.
Second goal was by Andre Carrier’s son pic.twitter.com/pv2YPaDaQh
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) February 8, 2023
Phil Kessel added a 3rd goal of the period for Vegas at 11:58, and after 20 minutes of play the team held a 3-1 lead.
Third goal was scored by Phil Kessel, son of Phil Kessel pic.twitter.com/OCfPtNpvvp
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) February 8, 2023
Not only that, but the team limited the Predators to just 4 shots on goal, and that is something that continued in the next 20 minutes of play. In the 2nd period the Golden Knights out shot Nashville 10 to 2, and Chandler Stephenson had the lone goal.
we love getting a bounce to go our way ☺️ pic.twitter.com/bbmGanXXjs
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) February 8, 2023
After 40 minutes the score was 4-1, and the shot advantage was a staggering 22 to 6 in favor of Vegas.
Things picked up late in the 3rd, as expected given the desperation Nashville had to have in order to attempt a comeback, and the game ended with them recording 11 shots to Vegas’ 8 over the final 20 minutes of play. Alex Pietrangelo picked up his 6th goal of the season at 19:00, and Adin Hill picked up his 1st assist of the 2022-23 season on the empty netter.
When all was said and done the Golden Knights had a 5-1 victory, they out shot Nashville 30-17, and won the faceoff percentage battle 51 to 49. Hill made 16 saves on 17 shots, Stephenson, Kessel, and Carrier each had 2 points, and all was right for Vegas.
The Golden Knights power play did go 0 for 2, but the penalty kill went 2 for 2, so I guess those things offset. In any case, it was an important victory for the Golden Knights who improved to 30-18-4, and will be in action next on Thursday in Minnesota vs. the Wild.