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Golden Knights Defeat Coyotes In Kessel’s 1,000th Consecutive Game

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Phil Kessel, Vegas Golden Knights (Photo- NHL via Twitter)
Phil Kessel, Vegas Golden Knights (Photo- NHL via Twitter)

The Vegas Golden Knights (14-4-0, 28 points) defeated the Arizona Coyotes (6-9-1, 13 points) by a score of 4-1 to round out a three-game homestand.

With his first shift of the game, Phil Kessel officially played in his 1,000th straight NHL game. Already the NHL’s leader in this category as Ironman, Kessel was honored before puck drop with a few gifts from Golden Knights director of hockey operations, George McPhee.

It was a special teams battle all night between the Golden Knights and Coyotes, as a total of eleven penalties were called. In the first period, both teams were unable to score. The Misfits had a couple of chances off the rush, and Nicolas Roy had a solid shorthanded chance

Both goaltenders were solid, with Vejmelka stopping 35 of 39 and Thompson 25 of 26.

To spice up the game, Keegan Kolesar and Liam O’Brien dropped the gloves for their third career fight against one another. It wasn’t a very spirited tilt, but it injected some energy into the building.

The Golden Knights continued to have solid chances and finally buried one on their 20th shot of the game. Alex Pietrangelo scored on the powerplay for the first home Golden Knights defenseman goal.

The penalty kill came up big late in the second period as both Paul Cotter and Zach Whitecloud went to the box, and the Coyotes had essentially back-to-back powerplays.

Killing off both penalties must have given the Golden Knights momentum heading into the third period, as they scored on their first shift. The fourth line of Kolesar, Nicolas Roy, and William Carrier cycled in the offensive zone and wore out the Coyotes’ defense.

Carrier then used his size and strength to make a slick drive to the net and score. Roy and Pietrangelo collected assists on the play.

After another Golden Knights powerplay, the VGK extended their lead to three, with Mark Stone scoring. He swatted in an airborne puck that came after Pietrangelo’s shot/pass hit a Coyote defenseman’s stick. Stone’s swing was below the crossbar and good for his fifth goal of the season.

In the third period, forward Nicolas Roy left the game and did not return. No blatant injury was seen that could have resulted in him leaving the game. Coach Cassidy stated postgame that Roy was having some lower-body aggravation, and that he expects him to be able to play next game.

A fluke goal ruined the shutout for Thompson as Clayton Keller scored off Alec Martinez. The Coyotes made things interesting by using their timeout and pulling Vejmelka. But the Golden Knights were able to hold on and close out the game 4-1 after Reilly Smith added an insurance goal.

VHN’s Player of the Game: Alex Pietrangelo

A goal and two assists, and overall strong performance at both ends of the ice for Petro tonight.

Up Next: A mini-two-game Canadian road trip now awaits the Golden Knights. They will travel to Edmonton to play the Oilers on Saturday at 7 and then have the Vancouver Canucks on Monday at 7:30.