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Howden scores game-winner to help propel VGK to home win over Jets

Isaiah Torres

The Vegas Golden Knights got an exciting win over the Winnipeg Jets to kick off their three-game homestand.


The Golden Knights beat the Jets, 4-3, on Black Friday at the T-Mobile Arena.


“I liked our energy, I thought we played really well coming off the road,” head coach Bruce Cassidy said. “You know there’s going to be a hurdle there, but our guys obviously balanced taking care of business at home and taking care of business at the rink.”


The team improved its record to 15-6-3 and they are now 9-2-0 on the season when playing in front of their home crowd at The Fortress.


“We’ve been away from home for a long time,” Cassidy said. “So I think the guys were excited to be back playing.”


With the win, Vegas improved its Pacific Division lead to four points over the Los Angeles Kings for first place.


Friday night’s game was the first of three meetings between these two teams. Their next game against each other will be on Dec. 12 at the Canada Life Centre, and their last meeting will be back at home on April 3.


After being on the road for the past five games, the Knights finally got to return home for Friday’s game, which was the first of a three-game homestand.


“We brought back seven points,” Cassidy said. “You want to go on the road and bond, but you also want to take care of business. It’s always easier to laugh and have fun, enjoy the plane ride with some noise if you played well and won […] It was a good trip in that regard, and I think they brought back a sense of purpose.”


They will return right back to action tomorrow, Saturday, Nov. 30, against the Utah Hockey Club. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the T-Mobile Arena.


“It’s nice, it’s been a long road trip for us,” center Ivan Barbashev said. “Especially with the tough travel and time change. So it’s been nice to be back home and play in front of our fans.”


After falling behind early in the first period, the VGK got on the board towards the end of the period with a fast break goal by center Brett Howden.


“We came in prepared, we wanted to start the game with energy and have a jumpstart,” Howden said. “I thought we did a good job with that, and I thought we did a good job of sticking with it right to the end.”


Then right before they were about to head into the first intermission, the Golden Knights struck again with a Barbashev goal off assists from left-wing Pavel Dorofeyev and center Jack Eichel.


“Jack is having a heck of a season offensively, he’s bringing it every night,” Cassidy said. “Some of the other nights, as long as someone else or it’s not just one line, we’re going to be fine […] If our defense gets involved, which they were up on the ice tonight supporting the rush.”


Later in the third period, Barbashev, Eichel, and Dorofeyev all connected again to help Vegas take the lead.


“Overall, I think we stuck with it and we got a huge two points,” Barbashev said.


Then with the game tied at three with four minutes left on the clock, Howden scored the game-winning goal with help from center William Karlsson and Shea Theodore.


“I had some chances, and I couldn’t bury,” Karlsson said. “It’s a bit frustrating, but like Ted Lasso says, “Just be a goldfish.””


Howden’s two goals marked a new career-high for him and added to his season total of 10 goals.


“Something I’ve been trying to accomplish is being better each year and I’ve yet to do it, so it’s nice to accomplish that,” Howden said. “I’m looking to keep going and now thinking about tomorrow night.”


Karlsson’s assist on the game-winning goal capped off his 700th game for the Knights. He now has seven assists on the season.


After suffering a big loss in shootouts in their last game on Wednesday, goalie Adin Hill once again started at goalie for VGK.


Along with Hill, the Golden Knights’ defense was strong on the power play kill and held Winnipeg empty on three opportunities. 


“It was an area of focus this year, we wanted to be better on special teams,” Cassidy said. “I think it’s trending well. I think our guys are being aggressive at the right times and still staying within their structure.”


They proved to be the most clutch when having to be one-man down during the final two minutes of the game, and prevent Vegas from having to face overtime for the third straight game.


By the final buzzer, Hill finished with 22 saves on 25 shots on goal for a .880 save percentage and improved his record to 9-4-2 on the season.

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