Shea Theodore and Reilly Smith scored 46 seconds apart early in the third period to lift the Vegas Golden Knights to a 4-2 victory over the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday night.
In their second season meeting, Vegas repeated its opening night success against Seattle, having previously won 4-3.
After a challenging 1-4 start plagued by injuries, the Golden Knights have rallied to a 6-2-0 run. Despite losing key players like Mark Stone, Max Pacioretty, William Karlsson, Zach Whitecloud, and Nolan Patrick to injuries and awaiting Jack Eichel’s neck surgery, Vegas is only four points behind first-place Edmonton in the Pacific Division.
“I’ve liked our response,” coach Peter DeBoer said. “We were at a little bit of a crossroads there, especially with the schedule at that point — we were heading to Colorado and Dallas. And the injured guys were gonna be out for a long time. So I thought our group recommitted to defending hard from that point on. And we’ve been getting great goaltending and timely goals and found a way to win some games.”
Theodore’s one-timer from Jonathan Marchessault 30 seconds into the third period broke a 2-all tie, followed by Smith’s deflected goal on a power play less than a minute later. Marchessault recorded his third multi-point game in six outings.
Alex Pietrangelo and Evgeni Dadanov also scored for Vegas (7-6-0). Robin Lehner made 25 saves, extending his winning streak to three games and boasting a 2.30 goals-against average and .931 save percentage over his last six starts.
“When we were 1-4 there, and people were asking us, most of us said we weren’t panicking,” Lehner said. “We have a lot of belief in our group, depth, and system. I think it’s slowly getting there. We’re fighting hard right now to stay in games, getting points, waiting for some key players to come back, but I think everyone is stepping up, and we’re working really hard to stay in the race.”
In his first start and second appearance of the season, Chris Driedger stopped 19 shots for Seattle (4-8-1), which has lost four of its last five games. Jordan Eberle and Yanni Gourde scored for the Kraken.
“We’re finding ways to lose instead of trying to find ways to win,” Eberle said. “I think we have to find a way to be a more mature hockey team in situations with momentum.”
Eberle gave Seattle an early lead with his seventh goal in seven games, but Pietrangelo tied it with a wrist shot over Driedger’s glove late in the first period.
The second period saw Gourde briefly put Seattle ahead before Dadanov quickly equalized, setting up the decisive third period for Vegas.
“It’s frustrating when you work that hard to maintain a lead and keep it, and then you blow it like that,” Eberle said.
Game notes:
- Paul Cotter made his NHL debut for Vegas, skating on the fourth line with Brett Howden and Jonas Rondbjerg.
- Marcus Johansson assisted Eberle’s goal in his first game back from a lower-body injury.
- The newest Golden Knight, Jack Eichel, attended the game and cranked the rally siren before the opening puck drop.
- Brandon Tanev’s assist was his 100th career point.
- Yanni Gourde blocked a shot in the second and returned to score but left after two shifts in the third.
- Despite having two of the league’s worst power plays, both teams scored with the man advantage. Seattle went 1 for 4, and Vegas finished 1 for 2.
UP NEXT:
- Seattle: Opens a six-game homestand vs. Anaheim on Thursday.
- Vegas: Plays the second of a six-game homestand vs. Minnesota on Thursday.
