LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – The Vegas Golden Knights returned to their winning ways Monday night, beating the Nashville Predators 4-1.
With injuries mounting, and the losses piling up at the start of the New Year, the Golden Knights needed a herculean effort from somebody, and the team’s captain proved to be the best player for the job. Mark Stone put the team on his proverbial back, and banked a big pair of points in the standings.
Let’s hit the ice, where Brendan Brisson finally turned a dream into reality, the Golden Knights 2020 first-round pick, getting the rookie hot lap ahead of his NHL debut.
It was a slow start for the guys in gold, just five shots on goal in the opening frame, but the number 61 made his count. Mark Stone cashes in from the slot — lucky number 13 on the season. It gave the guys in gold a 1-0 lead after one.
Jump to the second, where less than two minutes in, the captain strikes again, gripping and ripping this one past Juuse Saros. Great shot, but an even better pass from Chandler Stephenson as he falls to the ice. It’s 2-0 Vegas.
The Preds would claw back to make it a one-goal game on this deflection from Luke Evangelista. But hold onto your hats — here comes the captain again, Stone twisting and wristing home his third of the day. It was his first career regular-season hat trick — the 12th in VGK history — and the eighth inside the Fortress.
And then in the finale frame, Logan Thompson shut the door the rest of the way with 34 saves. Jonathan Marchessault — in his 600th NHL game — puts this one on ice with the empty netter, helping Vegas pocket another pair of points 4-1.
FOX5′s Vince Sapienze spoke with Stone after the game:
“I’m not going to be Jack Eichel, whoever is not going to be Shea Theodore, you just have to be the best version of himself. Play that team game, we’ve had different guys step up at different times for sure, just have to play your game, I was just fortunate to be in shooting spots tonight. I’d be a fool to pass up the ones I passed, those just come some days, and other days they don’t. We just need to find ways to keep playing those 60-minute games. That was a good team, we obviously want to clean up our starts a little bit, but I thought our defense, the way they transitioned the puck played hard and led the way for us.”
The Golden Knights’ homestand continues Thursday
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