Connect with us

Vegas Golden Knights

Golden Knights Win, Remain Undefeated in Young Season and Against Kraken

Published

2 years ago

on

Adin Hill, Vegas Golden Knights
Adin Hill, Vegas Golden Knights (Photo- Vegas Golden Knights via Twitter)

The Vegas Golden Knights (3-0-0, 6 points) spoiled the Seattle Kraken’s (1-1-1, 2 points) home opener Saturday night with a 5-2 win. They remain undefeated all-time against the Kraken (5-0) and undefeated in the young 2022-23 NHL season.

Goaltender Adin Hill made his first regular-season start for the VGK and stopped 31 of 33 shots.

Jonathan Marchessault scored two goals to take the reins as the team’s current leading goal scorer. The powerplay scored two goals as well. Marchessault and Mark Stone played after missing morning practice.

It took just 12 seconds for the Golden Knights to get on the board. Bruce Cassidy’s fourth line started the game and scored after Yanni Gourde fumbled the puck. William Carrier set up Keegan Kolesar in the slot for the second-fastest goal in Golden Knight’s team history.

William Karlsson’s goal ten seconds into an April 2021 game against the Colorado Avalanche still holds up as the record.

The Golden Knight’s offense continued to roll as they were given a powerplay which they then capitalized on. After some good puck movement, Nicolas Roy found Marchessault with a wide-open net.

Four minutes into the game, the Golden Knights were outshooting the Kraken 5-0 and up 2-0 in goals.

 

 

The Kraken managed to find their game midway through the first period and get a couple of chances. But a strong team defense and the goaltending provided by Hill prevented the Kraken from scoring.

Penalty trouble was an issue for the Kraken all night, and midway through the game, a penalty shot was awarded to Chandler Stephenson. He drew it by using his speed against Vince Dunn. Stephenson was stopped on his penalty shot attempt, but the VGK got another powerplay chance later in the frame.

 

After Jack Eichel drew a penalty, he scored the secondary assist on Reilly Smith’s first goal of the season. Mark Stone pushed the puck toward the net, and Smith found the loose change for the 3-0 goal.

The floodgates were then opened for the Golden Knights to round out the second period. Marchessault scored his second goal of the game, skating down the right side of the ice, and snuck one past Jones.

Shea Theodore then got in on the fun and scored his first goal of the season from long range. It was 5-0 after 40 minutes at Climate Pledge Arena.

For the ninth time in his career, Martin Jones was pulled against the Golden Knights as Philip Grubauer entered the game in the third period for the Kraken.

The third period went about how you would expect with a 5-0 game. The Kraken got on the board with Justin Schultz scoring his first goal as a Kraken and then later with a powerplay goal from Jaden Schwartz with Paul Cotter in the box.

But it was too little too late for the Kraken, who the Golden Knights defeated 5-2.

VHN’s Player of the Game: Adin Hill

With 31 stops in his first game as a Golden Knight, Hill deserves a ton of credit for the Golden Knight’s win. A lot of questions plague the team’s goaltending with Robin Lehner out for the season. But back-to-back strong performances from Logan Thompson and Adin Hill have given the VGK confidence.

Up Next: The Golden Knights will continue a two-game road trip on Tuesday at 6:00 pm against the Calgary Flames.

Related Topics: