Golden Knights Finally Break Free At Home With Five-Goal Win

LAS VEGAS— The Gold Helmets worked. The Vegas Golden Knights (23-11-1, 47 points) have finally broken free at home for the first time since late November. They defeated the Arizona Coyotes (10-16-5, 25 points) 5-2 with a four-goal third period.

FIRST PERIOD

• As expected, the Golden Knights wore their chrome gold helmets, perhaps as a way to break the curse at home ice.
• No lineup changes were made by the Golden Knights, and Logan Thompson got the start in goal.
• Shayne Gostisbehere turned the puck over in his own zone right to Mark Stone, who had a nice shot in the slot.
• In a rare play, Brayden McNabb was knocked to the ice as Christian Fischer reverse-hit him.
• Jake Leschyshyn caught Zack Kassian at center ice with a nice hit.
• The Golden Knights put a lot of chances toward the crease but could not find the back of the net.
• The offensive zone time was there, but the Golden Knights only had four shots halfway through the first period.
• The VGK gave Clayton Keller some space in the offensive zone and allowed him to get a sharp-angle shot on goal.
• After a turnover, Mark Stone got a chance right in front of Karel Vejmelka, but he couldn't convert.
• VGK PP- Nick Ritchie lay a high hit on Ben Hutton, taking him to the penalty box.
• Reilly Smith whiffed on a puck right in front of the net on the powerplay.
• Mark Stone fell on the ice but made 3-4 good whacks to keep the play alive.
• The Golden Knights finished the period with 13 shots and 15 shot attempts in the first, but couldn't score.

SECOND PERIOD

• VGK PP- The Coyotes took a too-many-men penalty three minutes into the third period.
• Mark Stone once again had another Grade-A chance but missed it on the powerplay.
• 1-0 VGK GOAL- Daniil Miromanov scored from the point for his first-career NHL powerplay goal
• 1-1 ARZ GOAL- Logan Thompson left just the smallest room for a shot by Juuso Valimaki at the goal line to slip by him
• The Misfits had a chance in transition, but had one too many passes and fumbled the puck.
• The game opened up a tad in the mid-second with run and gun chances on both sides of the puck.
• Michael Amadio had a shot that bounced off the top of the goal. Puck luck continued to struggle for the VGK.
• Fans got bored and did the wave in the late second period.
• A bouncing puck went right to Michael Amadio, who had a yawning cage, but he whiffed on it.

THIRD PERIOD

• Mark Stone was found in the slot yet again, but he missed the net with his shot.
• ARZ PP- Jonas Rondbjerg made a power move past Clayton Keller, but elbowed him in the process.
• On the penalty kill, Mark Stone had a breakaway but was stopped by the right pad of Karel Vejmelka.
• Also on the same PK, Mark Stone and Chandler Stephenson had a rush chance, but they also missed.
• The Golden Knights then had trouble getting out of their own zone with come Coyotes' chances.
• VGK PP- Clayton Keller went to the box for interference on Nicolas Roy, but the VGK failed to score.
• VGK PP- Clayton Keller went back to the box for a cross-check. The Golden Knights were able to convert on this one.
• 2-1 VGK GOAL- Mark Stone finally scored, tipping in a point shot giving the VGK their second powerplay goal of the night.
• 3-1 VGK GOAL- The Golden Knights then figured out a way to score five-on-five as Will Carrier scored.
• 3-2 ARZ GOAL- Christian Fischer scored as the Coyotes answered. He banged home a rebound after Travis Boyd's shot.
• ARZ PP- Keegan Kolesar was called for cross-checking Jakob Chychrun.
• 4-2 VGK GOAL- Mark Stone added another shorthanded after a two-on-one with Chandler Stephenson.
• 5-2 VGK GOAL- Nicolas Hague's shot was tipped in by Michael Amadio to give the VGK a four-goal third period.

VHN's Player of the Game: Mark Stone with a two-goal night after a myriad of chances early on.

Up Next: The Golden Knights will play the St. Louis Blues at home on December 23rd at 7:00 p.m.