St. Louis forward David Perron may not have scored against his former team, but he still enjoyed a successful return to Vegas as the Blues defeated the Golden Knights 4-1 on Friday night. Ryan O’Reilly led the way for St. Louis with two goals, while Brayden Schenn and Oskar Sundqvist also found the back of the net.
Perron, who had a career-high 66 points for Vegas last season, was emotional about his return to T-Mobile Arena, where fans warmly welcomed him. “It’s always a special experience playing here,” Perron said. “The energy in this building is incredible, and I still feel the love from the city.”
After setting a record for most assists (50) by a player on an expansion team during his time with the Golden Knights, Perron signed with St. Louis in the offseason. Though he hoped to stay with Vegas, the two sides couldn’t negotiate.
While the Blues improved to 2-0-0 against the Golden Knights this season and 4-1-0 against Pacific Division opponents, Vegas continues to struggle to recreate the magic of last season’s run to the Stanley Cup Final. Despite scoring four or more goals in three of their previous four games, Vegas was stifled by Blues goalie Jake Allen, who made 32 saves.
“We knew they’d be a tough team,” Allen said. “They’re dangerous offensively and always get chances, but we did a good job shutting them down tonight.”
William Carrier scored the only goal for the Golden Knights, while Marc-Andre Fleury made 31 saves. Fleury, who set a career-best 2.24 goals against average last season, currently has a 2.52 GAA, his second-highest since the 2009-10 season.
Oskar Sundqvist continued his success against Fleury, scoring his third goal against the veteran goaltender this season. Sundqvist, who has six goals in his 79-game NHL career, had also scored twice against Fleury in a 5-3 win on November 1st.
“I don’t know what it is, but it’s working for me against Vegas,” Sundqvist said. “My linemates and defensemen have really helped set up these goals, and I’ve just capitalized on the chances.”
After Carrier opened the scoring for Vegas with a breakaway goal, O’Reilly quickly responded for St. Louis, tying the game with a shot that slipped just under Fleury’s arm. O’Reilly then gave the Blues a 2-1 lead in the second period, deflecting a shot from Jaden Schwartz. Schenn extended the lead to 3-1 after a faceoff, and Sundqvist added another goal just 59 seconds later.
The Golden Knights, who have struggled in the second period all season, were once again outscored in the middle frame, bringing their season total to 28-17.
“It’s been a recurring issue,” said Vegas center Pierre-Edouard Bellemare. “We seem to have one bad bounce, and suddenly, we’re down by two or three. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what’s going wrong, but it’s definitely happening too often in the second period.”
Game Notes:
- This was the Golden Knights’ final game without suspended defenseman Nate Schmidt, who served a 20-game suspension for violating the NHL’s Performance Enhancing Substances Program.
- Blues defenseman Carl Gunnarsson left the game with an upper-body injury and did not return.
- Vladimir Tarasenko recorded two assists and has a point in seven of his last nine games.
- St. Louis has been 3-0-2 against Vegas since the start of last season.
- O’Reilly leads the Blues with 10 goals and 23 points.
Up Next:
- Blues: Travel to face San Jose on Saturday.
- Golden Knights: Visit Edmonton on Sunday.