The Vegas Golden Knights entered the season with one of the NHL’s best top-six forward groups, but in their latest win, they showed they can be a threat with all four lines contributing.
Mark Stone and William Carrier each recorded a goal and an assist, while Marc-Andre Fleury made 33 saves to help the Golden Knights defeat the Calgary Flames 6-2 on Saturday night.
Tomas Nosek, Paul Stastny, Ryan Reaves, and rookie Cody Glass also found the back of the net as Vegas remained undefeated at home against Calgary. All three players on the Golden Knights fourth line scored, with 12 different players registering at least one point in the victory.
“When you get your team going like we did tonight, with all four lines contributing, that’s a big deal,” said Vegas coach Gerard Gallant, who is now one win away from his 250th career coaching victory. “Not too often does our so-called fourth line score three goals in a game, but they went out there, kept it simple, worked really hard, and got rewarded.”
Since Vegas entered the NHL in 2017, Calgary has failed to win in five visits to T-Mobile Arena, where they’ve been outscored 21-6.
Fleury, who dominated the Flames last season with a 0.50 goals-against average and a .984 save percentage, improved to 13-4-1 in his career against Calgary.
With regular backup goalie Malcolm Subban sidelined with a lower-body injury, Fleury will likely see a heavier workload as Vegas faces six games over the next 10 days. The team called up goaltender Oscar Dansk from the AHL’s Chicago Wolves earlier on Saturday.
The Golden Knights face a back-to-back situation, traveling to Los Angeles for a Sunday night matchup. Gallant said he’ll consult with goalie coach Dave Prior before deciding whether Fleury will start again.
“Looking forward to it. It’ll be a tough game,” Gallant said. “L.A. had a really good game today, so they’ll be on a high tomorrow. We’ll go in, skip morning skate, and get ready for the game.”
In time, Vegas rediscovered its offensive groove, bouncing back after losses to Boston and Arizona.
“We were scrambling a bit the last couple of games, so we needed to get back to simple hockey,” Reaves said. “Today, we focused on positioning, reloading, and getting out of scrambles, and it paid off.”
Rasmus Andersson and Johnny Gaudreau scored for Calgary, while goalie David Rittich stopped 24 shots in his fifth straight start. Rittich fell to 2-4 with a 3.67 goals-against average in six starts against Vegas.
Calgary coach Bill Peters expressed frustration with his team’s performance. They struggled after taking a 2-1 lead early in the second period.
“We didn’t play hard enough,” Peters said. “Until we can play 60 minutes, we’ll either keep it close or get blown out.”
Meanwhile, the Golden Knights’ offense has been balanced, with their fourth line contributing eight points (six goals, two assists) in five games.
“We’re trying to be the best fourth line in the league,” Carrier said. “Whether it’s a big hit or a goal, we just want to contribute and be the best out there.”
Game Notes:
- Calgary backup goalie Cam Talbot is set to make his Flames debut on Sunday against San Jose.
- Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb played his 400th career game.
- This was the first game between the Stone brothers since Mark Stone was traded to Vegas from Ottawa last season.
- Oakland Raiders rookie running back Josh Jacobs cranked the opening-game siren.
- Mark Stone has recorded a point in four of Vegas’ first five games and is one assist shy of 200 for his career.
- Johnny Gaudreau is expected to play in his 400th career game on Sunday.
UP NEXT:
- Flames: At San Jose on Sunday.
- Golden Knights: At Los Angeles on Sunday.