On Thursday, the Vegas Golden Knights picked up two much-needed points with a 6-3 win over the Calgary Flames.
The Flames broke the ice at 7:41 in the first period. Morgan Frost intercepted Kaedan Korczak’s pass intended for Tomáš Hertl at center ice and raced into the offensive zone on a 2-on-1 with Matt Coronato. Frost had all the time in the world to shoot and beat Carter Hart glove-side.
Despite trailing 1-0 after 20 minutes, the Golden Knights were the better team– they simply ran into a hot goaltender.
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In the second period, they finally capitalized on the chances they were generating at will.
The Golden Knights answered back just 1:47 into the second period. Shea Theodore fired a shot through a screen from above the right circle, and Mitch Marner redirected it home.
The Flames pulled ahead at 4:38 in the second. Joel Farabee broke the puck out, and Mikael Backlund drove into the offensive zone on a 2-on-1 with Blake Coleman. Backlund got the pass across and Coleman fired a shot home.
The Golden Knights found the equalizer at 6:42 in the second. Jack Eichel threaded a cross-ice pass to Rasmus Andersson at the right dot. Andersson faked a shot and set up Mitch Marner in the slot for the equalizer.
The Flames took the lead again at 12:11 in the second. Blake Coleman jumped off the face-off, won a battle against Rasmus Andersson, and raced up ice on yet another 2-on-1 with Joel Farabee. Coleman bet on himself and ripped a shot past Carter Hart glove-side.
The Golden Knights tied it on the power play at 16:21 in the second. Mitch Marner held the line and set up Pavel Dorofeyev for his 35th goal of the season.
After a 27-minute delay for ice repairs, the dam broke for the Golden Knights in the third period. They generated seven scoring chances and capitalized on nearly half of them.
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The Golden Knights took their first lead of the night at 12:20 in the third period. Shea Theodore caught up to Ivan Barbashev’s bank pass, pulled up to avoid Olli Määttä, and threaded a pass to Brett Howden in the slot. Howden picked his spot and beat Dustin Wolf blocker-side.
The Golden Knights doubled their lead at 14:59 in the third. Dustin Wolf misplayed the puck after leaving the net, and Mitch Marner got to it first. Wolf recovered to make the save, but Ivan Barbashev banged in the rebound.
The Golden Knights added to their lead at 18:31 in the third. Mark Stone won a foot race and found Mitch Marner in the slot. Marner moved in, danced around Morgan Frost, fooled Dustin Wolf, and completed the hat trick on the wraparound.
1. For nearly half an hour following the conclusion of the second intermission, a nine-man band consisting of four members of the ice crew, three officials, two captains (and a partridge in a pear tree) hovered over a divot in the ice. Meanwhile, DJ Joe Green continued his rave-esque ‘Knight Life,’ bumping EDM while the projector displayed images of a roulette wheel onto the ice. The nine individuals were highlighted by a spotlight, which stood out as a harsh contrast against the colorful ice.
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It was all very dramatic.
New head coach John Tortorella did say that he wanted his team to be ‘more relaxed’ after Monday’s 4-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks. Maybe this moment was just what the doctor ordered. The Golden Knights only went on to outshoot the Flames 6-3 in the third period, but they capitalized on their scoring chances and controlled 87.27% of the expected goal share.
2. Mitch Marner capped off a five-point night by completing his first hat trick as a Golden Knight. He recorded six shots on goal and nine total attempts. He’s back to being a point-per-game player with 76 points in 75 games played.
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3. Carter Hart returned from injury tonight, playing his first game since January 8th. He made 19 saves on 22 shots and recorded his sixth win of the season. The delay put him in a less-than-ideal situation in the third period, but he battled through. When the team needed him most, Hart answered the bell and made several key saves.
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