Golden Knights Home Record Is Now A Losing One

LAS VEGAS— The Vegas Golden Knight's (22-11-1, 45 points) home-ice record is now a losing one at 8-9-0 as they lost 3-2 to the Buffalo Sabres (16-14-2, 34 points) Monday night at T-Mobile Arena.

The highest-scoring team in the NHL scored three in the second period, and the Golden Knights made a push back in the third period, but the Sabres walked away with the victory.

The chances were there for the Golden Knights as they put up 43 shots. But Ukko-Pekka Luukonen stood tall, and the VGK could not contain the Sabres' top players Tage Thompson, Rasmus Dahlin, and Alex Tuch.

The Golden Knights have two home games remaining before Christmas.

GOLDEN KNIGHTS TAKEAWAYS

• The narrative remains the same; the Golden Knights are not playing good hockey at T-Mobile Arena.
• Phil Kessel was benched for several portions of the game as two of his shifts in the second period resulted in goals.
• Ilya Lyubushkin had an eventful first period as he was boarded by Keegan Kolesar, boarded Jake Leschyshyn himself, and then went after Will Carrier, who laid a bit hit on Peyton Krebs.
• Daniil Miromanov continues to impress offensively, especially on the second powerplay unit. As head coach Bruce Cassidy said this morning, he is playing to his strengths and is inching towards being a regular in the lineup.
• While they haven't produced much on the scoresheet, the third line of Jonas Rondbjerg, Jake Leschyshyn, and Michael Amadio has improved dramatically over the last few games.
• There are a lot of defensemen having Norris Trophy-caliber seasons, and Rasmus Dahlin is certainly one of them.

FIRST PERIOD

• The Golden Knights went with the same roster that they did against the New York Islanders on Saturday, with the only change being that goaltender Adin Hill started.
• The fourth line of William Carrier, Keegan Kolesar, and Nicolas Roy started again and got a nice chance after an Alex Pietrangelo point shot.
• It was a slow start for both teams, with several whistles for icing, offsides, and puck stoppages.
• Off a faceoff, Tage Thompson hit a post.
• BUF PP- On the forecheck, Keegan Kolesar absolutely leveled Ilya Lyubuskin with a hit that knocked him to the ground. Kolesar was called for boarding.
• Rasmus Dahlin turned the puck over, and William Karlsson got a prime scoring chance but was stopped by Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
• VGK PP- After being on the receiving end of a boarding penalty, Ilya Lyubushkin took one by boarding Jake Leschyshyn.
• The VGK had momentum after the powerplay. Jonathan Marchessault walked to the net and made a nice move but was stopped.
• Ilya Lyubushkin was once again involved in a scrum. It came after Will Carrier stapled Peyton Krebs with a big hit.
• VGK PP- Ilya Lyubushkin was called for interference on Will Carrier as he tried to defend Peyton Krebs.
• Daniil Miromanov almost singlehandedly set up a powerplay goal. He entered the zone with speed and found both Will Carrier and William Karlsson with nice passes, but Carrier was stopped, and Karlsson missed a wide-open net.
• Tyson Jost fooled Adin Hill with a shot, but he was able to recover mid-shot and make the save.

SECOND PERIOD

• It was another rough second period for the Golden Knights.
• 1-0 BUF GOAL- Alex Tuch collected a puck in the neutral zone, waited for help, and then found Jeff Skinner, who scored.
• The Golden Knights once again found themselves chasing the game on home ice.
• Chances were there for the Golden Knights with the Misfit line and the third line, but none of them went in.
• 2-0 BUF GOAL- Tage Thompson scored the second goal of the game after a Golden Knights turnover. Nicolas Hague went to the ice to try and stop him, but Thompson danced around him to score.
• 3-0 BUF GOAL- Right off the faceoff, the Sabres scored with Lawrence Pilut scoring from the blue line.
• Jonathan Marchessault found Reilly Smith for a stretch pass which sent him on a partial break, but he was stopped.
• Mark Stone also had a breakaway chance of his own, set up by Chandler Stephenson. It ended with a pad save by UPL.

THIRD PERIOD

• The Golden Knights came out with urgency in the third period and wanted to score badly.
• Chandler Stephenson and Mark Stone had a chance off the rush. Stone missed the net on his shot attempt.
• Reilly Smith was then set up right in the left face-off circle but also missed the net.
• The Sabres used their timeout just 2:47 into the third period to refresh their group.
• Alex Tuch then had a mini-breakaway on Adin Hill but was stopped.
• 3-1 VGK GOAL- Michael Amadio made a nice pass to hit Chandler Stephenson for a breakaway, who scored five-hole.

• The fourth line and third defensive pair for the VGK had a couple of good chances in the blue paint.
• VGK PP- The Golden Knights got a favorable delay of game call on Mattias Samuelsson.
• Chandler Stephenson hit Reilly Smith off the rush, but it was one too many passes as Smith was stopped at a sharp angle.
• Midway through the powerplay, Bruce Cassidy used his timeout to focus up his group with nine minutes left in the game.
• Jonathan Marchessault was set up with a nice chance but was tripped by Kyle Okposo, prompting a penalty shot.
• PENALTY SHOT- Jonathan Marchessault put himself in a bad position for a shot and did not score.
• Adin Hill was pulled with just under three minutes left in the game and then again after the VGK scored.
• 3-2 VGK GOAL- With the empty net, Reilly Smith scored to get the Golden Knights within one with roughly two minutes left.
• But time ran out for the Golden Knights who lost the game 3-2.

VHN's Player of the Game: Jonas Rondbjerg

Because 1) The stars were unable to score more than one goal 2) he had a strong game on the third line and 3) why not.

Up Next: The Golden Knights will play another home game Wednesday against the Arizona Coyotes at 7:00 p.m.