The Vegas Golden Knights suffered their third consecutive loss with Saturday night’s 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Minnesota Wild, who were able to take both games in Vegas.
The Knights held a one-goal lead in the third period but gave up two quick goals and were unable to recover.
Tonight, the Golden Knights were able to dress 18 skaters, which was not the case on Thursday. Cody Glass made his return after a short stint in Henderson with the Silver Knights, and Patrick Brown came into the lineup.
The Golden Knights were unable to defend the crease around Marc-Andre Fleury tonight, and combining that with not being able to capitalize on power-play opportunities and it’s no wonder they fell short.
Both teams got out to quick starts and looked to gain control of the play, but the Golden Knights were able to strike first. Tomas Nosek beat the Cam Talbot with a slick backhanded shot after a deceptive pass from Nic Roy, who, along with Alex Tuch, was credited with an assist on the opening goal.
Assists to Roy and Tuch on Nosek’s fifth. Roy should get a second assist for channeling his inner soccer player.#VegasBorn pic.twitter.com/XakkSEPMFV
— Danny Webster (@DannyWebster21) April 4, 2021
The Wild were able to bounce back a bit, but Fleury was excellent in the early stages and was able to keep Minnesota from tying the game.
In the later stages of the first, Talbot made an excellent save on a whiffed shot from Shea Theodore after he was all alone in front of the net after a perfectly-placed Jonathan Marchessault cross-ice pass.
After not allowing a shot in the last five minutes of the period, the Golden Knights headed to the locker room with a one-goal lead.
The second period picked up right where the first ended for the Golden Knights, as Vegas was able to keep the pressure on early.
Vegas headed to its first power play of the game after Glass was interfered with by Carson Soucy. Reilly Smith hit the crossbar after a deflection from a Theodore shot, but the Knights were unable to cash in.
In the latter half of the period, Smith was sent to the box for slashing, but the man advantage only lasted five seconds as Kirill Kaprizov interfered with Nosek. The game remained 1-0 after two periods.
Early on in the third, Glass was whistled for tripping, which sent the Wild to their second power play of the game, although the first one lasted four seconds. Minnesota was able to capitalize and tie the game at 6:13. It was Kaprizov who continued his terrific rookie campaign with yet another goal.
97 in white all alone = not good for the gold folks. pic.twitter.com/v9q574mRS0
— Danny Webster (@DannyWebster21) April 4, 2021
Just 55 seconds later, Minnesota stunned Vegas with its second goal in under a minute. Joel Eriksson Ek immediately took the lead for the Wild after picking up his own rebound and burying it past Fleury.
The Golden Knights went to their third power play after Jordan Greenway slashed Jonathan Marchessault, but Vegas was unable to score on the man advantage.
Late in the third, Nosek was whistled for a high stick, which was extremely untimely. The Golden Knights were able to kill off the penalty and called their timeout with just under two minutes left. Fleury was pulled for the extra skater. While the Knights were able to generate some chances, they ran out of time, falling by a final score of 2-1.
It was the first time Vegas lost after entering the third period with a lead since last February against the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Knights have now lost four straight to Minnesota and continue to struggle on the power play.
This was the Knights’ third straight loss, and it’s a significant one considering the Colorado Avalanche now sit four points ahead of Vegas for first place in the West Division standings.
The Golden Knights have an opportunity to right the ship as they head to St. Louis to take on the Blues.