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The Vegas Golden Knights scored three goals in the first period and never looked back on their way to another dominant win, their third in a row.
The Golden Knights defeated the Seattle Kraken, 6-2, on Saturday, Dec. 21, at the T-Mobile Arena.
“I thought tonight, our second period was one of the best periods we’ve played in a long time,” head coach Bruce Cassidy said. “It was 0-0 on the period, but still, that type of hockey is what we’re looking for.”
With the win, Vegas improved their record to 22-8-3 for 47 points, and are now 13-3-0 when playing at The Fortress this season. The Knights also increased their lead to four points ahead of the second-place Los Angeles Kings for first place in the Pacific Division.
Saturday night’s game was the second of three meetings between VGK and the Kraken this season. Seattle won the first matchup last month and their next game against each other will be at home on April 10.
Saturday’s game was also the second of a three-game homestand for the Golden Knights. They will next play against the Anaheim Ducks on Monday, Dec. 23. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the T-Mobile Arena.
“Well we’re certainly comfortable being down 1-0,” Cassidy said. “I’m less comfortable with [it] because I didn’t love our start again tonight. It’s something we’re trying to address […] Yet I love our middle parts of the game. We’re finishing games well.”
Vegas found itself trailing early again but it quickly recovered by scoring three unanswered goals in the first period.
Right-wing Keegan Kolesar got the Knights on the board with his goal off assists from fellow right-winger Victor Olofsson and defenseman Brayden McNabb.
“I mean, we’re a good team, right?,” Kolesar said. “We’re all playing how we have to. We can be pretty dangerous.”
The assist from Olofsson increased his season total to three. McNabb also increased his season total to three assists.
Then just over a minute later, center Brett Howden found the back of the net with help from fellow center Jack Eichel.
With over two minutes left to play before the first intermission, defenseman Nicolas Hague lit the lamp off assists from captain Mark Stone and Eichel. With the goal, Hague increased his season total to two.
“I thought we responded very well,” Hague said. “We were able to come in here with the lead after the first period. I thought there was a lot of good.”
It was another multi-point night for Eichel, who finished with two assists and increased his season total to 35. He also increased his team-high lead in points this season with 44.
Later in the third period, VGK really blew the game wide open with three more goals.
Center William Karlsson joined in on the fun when he scored his goal with help from Kolesar. With the goal, he now has seven goals on the season.
Kolesar also had himself a multi-point night with a goal and an assist, to push his season point total to 13.
Defenseman Noah Hanifin got in on the offense by finding the back of the net off assists from Stone and left-wing Tanner Pearson.
Hanifin increased his season total to four goals with the score while Pearson now has seven assists on the year.
In the final minutes of regulation, the Kraken pulled their goalie and Vegas took advantage of the empty net with one last goal by Stone with help from Howden.
Stone was arguably the best player on the ice after finishing with three points on the night with his one goal and two assists. After his multi-point performance, the captain increased his season point total to 28.
Howden also joined Eichel, Kolesar and Stone with a multi-point performance of his own. His goal and assist in the game gives him 16 total points on the season.
Goalie Ilya Samsonov got the start at goalie for the Knights to give regular starter Adin Hill some additional rest before their next game on Monday.
After giving up the initial goal, Samsonov and the Knights defense woke up and played lockdown defense for most of the rest of the game.
By the final buzzer, Samsonov finished with 21 saves on 23 shots on goal for a .913 save percentage. With the win, he increased his record to 8-3-1 on the season.
Saturday night’s game also marked the return of former Golden Knight forward Chandler Stephenson, now as a member of the Kraken.
Stephenson spent the last five seasons with VGK and was part of their Stanley Cup Championship team in 2023. The 17,862 people in attendance at The Fortress gave him a standing ovation after his “Welcome Back” video played on the megatron.
Just like his former Golden Knight teammates, Stephenson also had a multi-point performance himself for Seattle with two assists.
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