The team at Adam Kutner Cares gave away two tickets and a Zamboni ride to the Vegas Golden Knights’ game against the New York Islanders last night. For more pics of our winner, head to our Facebook page.
It was the Golden Knights first game back in Las Vegas since their 4-2 victory against Dallas on December 9th. Vegas was welcomed back by a packed house of festive hockey fans.
It was a stalemate for most of the first period. Both teams had limited chances, as both teams fought for possession. Towards the end of the period, the Golden Knights put themselves in a quick two-goal hole.
“We fell asleep for a minute and a half late in the first period and it cost us two goals and you know we’re disappointed with that.” – Gerard Gallant
As the Golden Knights coach suggested, his team melted down with under two minutes remaining in the period, allowing two goals by New York. The Islanders took a 2-0 lead into the locker room after twenty minutes of action.
Down two to start the second period, the Golden Knights were determined to keep the game close. While NY continued to block and break up shots, Vegas got a break when the Islanders took a costly minor penalty. On the pursuing power-play, the Golden Knights newest call-up Brandon Pirri took advantage of his NHL ice time.
“The pace is a little quicker up here, there is a little adjustment so I try to keep it a little more simple and get the puck in those guys’ hands and get open. The play right after scoring, where Schmidt gave the puck to me, I think he passed it through three guys right on my tape and I have to be ready for that.” – Brandon Pirri
Pirri’s goal was a turning point in the game for the Golden Knights. After cutting the lead in half 2-1, Vegas was determined to win in the final twenty minutes.
The Golden Knights were playing catch-up all night but the third period was all Vegas. The home team scored twice in about a minute. William Karlsson tied the game on a beautiful wrist shot at 6:22, and Paul Stastny took the lead 3-2 on his first home goal at 7:25.
“Yeah, I think it’s nice to chip in a little bit and feel a part of the team. Early in the season before I got hurt, I think the whole team was off sync a little bit and then found their stride. You want to come in and kind of help out and it’s my first win here at home. Well, my second game at home. The game played was kind of the style that we played last year all the time. We kept going at them and they kept going at us.” – Paul Stastny
In the 3-2 victory over NY, Vegas’ goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury moved up to ninth place in NHL history with 424 victories.
“It is an honor to be around these guys. I have a lot of respect for them. I didn’t see as physical play. I am very fortunate to play with the teams in Pittsburgh and here in Vegas.” – Marc Andre Fleury
Vegas improves their record to (20-15-2) and is currently in the top Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. The Golden Knights play next on Saturday as they host the Montreal Canadiens at 1:00 pm.