Mark Stone netted the decisive goal with just 24.9 seconds left, propelling the Vegas Golden Knights to a 4-3 win over the Los Angeles Kings in Bruce Cassidy’s debut as head coach on Tuesday night.
Arthur Kaliyev had tied the game for the Kings with 7:02 remaining, but the Golden Knights capitalized on a late turnover. Chandler Stephenson seized control at mid-ice and set up Stone, who fired a shot past Jonathan Quick to complete a three-goal third period for Vegas.
“We had our breakdowns, but that’s just learning curves,” Stone said. “If we can cut those in half, we’ll finish it. The power play got a little talking-to in between periods there. We stepped up for it in the third.”
William Karlsson contributed a goal and an assist as the Golden Knights peppered Quick with 51 shots, including 20 in the final period. Jonathan Marchessault and Jack Eichel also scored, and Alex Pietrangelo assisted on Vegas’ last two goals.
Cassidy, who spent the previous six seasons with the Bruins before being fired despite consistently making the playoffs, was hired by the Golden Knights eight days later to guide the franchise back to the postseason.
“I thought we showed a lot of resilience,” Cassidy said. “We kept pushing back whenever something didn’t go our way. … For a coach, you’re always worried that when you don’t know your team that well — it’s our first league game — what will happen when things don’t go well? It’s always a sign of good character in the room when a team is resilient, so that’s a big plus for me no matter how the score turned out.”
Logan Thompson made 27 saves in his debut as Vegas’ first-choice goalie in the absence of injured Robin Lehner and Laurent Brossoit.
Quick made 47 saves in his 14th opening-night start for the Kings over the last 15 seasons. Gabe Vilardi and Adrian Kempe also scored for Los Angeles, but coach Todd McLellan criticized his team’s game management and defensive effort, particularly the last-minute turnover.
“We’ve preached and preached about it,” McLellan said. “Sometimes you’ve got to get hit pretty hard with a two-by-four. Maybe this was it. … That is all game management. That’s getting engaged and being ready to go. Their team did a better job of it than we did tonight.”
Vegas’ impressive debut in the NHL in 2017 coincided with the Kings’ decline, but last season saw a shift in momentum. Los Angeles ended a three-year playoff drought, finishing the regular season five points ahead of the Golden Knights, who missed the postseason for the first time.
In their first meeting of the new season, the Knights demonstrated their offensive firepower against the defense-oriented Kings.
“We wasted an outstanding goaltending night by not at least getting a point,” McLellan said. “That’s disappointing.”
Eichel put Vegas ahead early in the third with a rebound goal, but Kempe tied it shortly after with a one-timer off a sharp pass from captain Anze Kopitar, who is starting his 17th season with the Kings.
After Eichel and Kempe traded goals, Karlsson redirected Pietrangelo’s pass from the point to give Vegas the lead with 12:43 remaining. The Kings answered right after a power play expired, with Kaliyev scoring on an open net following a scramble in front.
QUIET DEBUTS
Phil Kessel didn’t score in the 35-year-old forward’s Vegas debut, and Swiss forward Kevin Fiala was also scoreless in his first game with the Kings.
BARNSTORMING BETTMAN
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman attended the game and expressed satisfaction with the renovations at the Kings’ arena. Although the league has no expansion plan, Bettman noted numerous inquiries about new franchises. He also mentioned ongoing investigations into sexual assault allegations against Tampa Bay’s Ian Cole and the 2018 Canadian World Junior championships team.
UP NEXT
- Golden Knights: Host the Blackhawks on Thursday.
- Kings: Host the Kraken on Thursday.