The team at Adam Kutner Cares gave away two tickets to a lucky fan from our Facebook giveaway. The AKC team was also able to give a Zamboni ride to Benjamin during the Vegas Golden Knights’ game against the Nashville Predators last night. For more pics, head to our Facebook page.
With one game remaining before the All-Star game, the Golden Knights aimed to end on a positive note before the break. The high-powered Nashville Predators were looking to do the same before their time off.
Vegas came out skating hard putting early pressure on Nashville’s defense. The Golden Knights second line used their force and skill to set up a beautiful two-pass goal. Vegas Center Paul Stastny slipped a pass to Alex Tuch who shuffled it to an open Max Pacioretty. Pacioretty’s 15th goal of the season broke the scoreless tie, giving Vegas the 1-0 lead.
“Yeah, we really liked the way we played tonight. I thought we played pretty hard. Lines one through four through the six defensemen and our goaltender. I thought we played pretty well. We obviously… it doesn’t always guarantee a win and you know that’s the tough part about it. But there is a lot to be encouraged about heading into the break.” – Mike Kelly, VGK Assistant coach
The second frame was not as favorable for the home team. Predators center Ryan Johansen quickly scored 52 seconds into the period. The game was tied 1-1 for three minutes before Nashville struck again.
“It’s frustrating. We definitely thought we deserved better. Weird game going back and forth in the calls, but we still had a chance to bury a couple of goals there and at least tie it up. It’s frustrating when it doesn’t go in, but their goalie played great and made some big saves that were able to give them the win.” – Max Pacioretty, VGK forward
Nashville’s Nick Bonino broke the tie on his 14th goal of the season putting the Preds up by one. After a hectic last few minutes in the period, Vegas trailed 2-1 after 40 minutes played.
“It was a one-shot difference, that’s how close the game was. It was a heck of a game. It sucks to lose though, you want to win those types of games, but both teams played well I thought. Both teams forged together to do things they didn’t want to do, and you saw throughout the game how many chances both teams were getting. I thought it limited them, especially their top lines second half of the game pretty well. It’s just one of those things. It’s tough. Tough before the break to lose like that.” – Nate Schmidt, VGK defenseman
Vegas started the third period on a Power Play but couldn’t convert. The Golden Knights had multiple high-danger chances down the stretch but Predators goaltender Juuse Saros fought off the Golden Knights attack.
In the end, Vegas lost 2-1, and dropped their second straight game. Their record falls to (29-19-4) which cements them in third place in the Pacific Division. Their lone All-Star representative Marc-Andre Fleury will be in San Jose this weekend for the festivities. The Golden Knights take a well-earned break and will return to action on February 1st in Carolina.