New Haircut Propels Golden Knight’s Keegan Kolesar To Monster Game

He was just a goal shy of completing the Gordie Howe hat trick.

Regardless, Vegas Golden Knights forward Keegan Kolesar had one of his strongest games of the season, if not his young career Thursday night in a 4-2 VGK win against the Florida Panthers. The 25-year-old forward has two assists, a fight, six hits, and even won a faceoff.

"Unbelievable. He did it all tonight. I thought he had that goal at the end there (William Carrier's goal) for the Gordie Howe too. But he made so many good plays out there, and obviously, that fight after their first goal was huge. He's a big part of the group," said forward Nicolas Roy.

Confidence can come in many different fashions, and for Kolesar, perhaps it came with his new haircut. 

"It's great. He got a fresh haircut, and it looks good. So he probably had a lot of confidence tonight. Koley (Keegan Kolesar) brings it every night for us. Sometimes maybe he doesn't get credited offensively, but he does a lot of little things right. Tonight he makes two great backhand plays and obviously has a big fight for us. It's nice to see him get to get rewarded for all of his efforts," said Jack Eichel.

Teammate Nicolas Roy said that he told Kolesar before the game to adjust his helmet strap so that the crowd could see his new hairdo.

As they did at the beginning of the season, the Golden Knight's fourth line of Kolesar, Roy, and Will Carrier proved instrumental in their victory. 

"It's a line to rely on. They start games. It's a big part of the special teams. Physicality for Will (Carrier) and Koley (Keegan Kolesar) as probably our two biggest forwards… there's a lot of good that they bring to the table that puts the other team on their heels. So adding offensive is always great," said head coach Bruce Cassidy.

The fourth lines' impact was felt even further as captain Mark Stone left the game in the first period with an upper-body injury, limiting the Golden Knights to just eleven forwards.

"It's tough to see your captain go down. I think everyone here knows what he means to our group, both on and off the ice. But other guys stepped up. Koley (Keegan Kolesar) had a huge fight in the first and ends up setting up two goals. So great job by that line tonight," said Eichel.

The Golden Knights will play the Edmonton Oilers next on Saturday at home at 7:00 p.m.