Reilly Smith netted two goals as the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Montreal Canadiens 6-4 on Saturday night, marking their seventh consecutive victory.
Jonathan Marchessault and Keegan Kolesar each recorded a goal and an assist, while Nicolas Hague and Nicolas Roy also found the back of the net for the Golden Knights. Adin Hill made 27 saves, improving his record to 5-0-0.
“We are excited to go to the rink and spend days with each other, and I think that goes a long way, especially when you’re playing 82 games and traveling a lot,” Smith said. “So we’re having a lot of fun right now; winning definitely adds to that.”
Nick Suzuki scored twice, with Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky adding goals for the Canadiens. Kirby Dach contributed three assists, and Kaiden Guhle had two assists. Jake Allen made 36 saves for Montreal.
“I think we played a perfect first period,” Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said. “In the second, we had good intentions and options, but we couldn’t execute our plays. They had a lot of offense on the other end, which didn’t allow our defensemen to change.”
With the score tied 2-2 early in the third period and Vegas on a power play, Allen mishandled a shot from Phil Kessel, and Smith pounced on the puck for his second goal of the night and fifth of the season.
“We had a good push at the end of the second to start the third, but we weren’t able to kill the penalty that gave them the advantage,” St. Louis said. “I liked our fight, but we shot ourselves in the foot a few times tonight.”
The Golden Knights then pulled away with two goals in a 21-second span. Kolesar deflected a shot from the point for his second goal of the season and then assisted on Roy’s third goal, giving Vegas a 5-2 lead.
Suzuki scored his second goal of the night and eighth of the season with a shot from the left faceoff circle past Hill, pulling Montreal within two. However, Marchessault responded with a one-timer off a pass from Jack Eichel for his sixth goal, making it 6-3 with 6:44 remaining.
“We cannot take (winning) for granted,” Marchessault said. “I think winning in this league is pretty hard. We got a reality check last year, but I think we’ve got to have more of that mentality of just working hard and taking it one game at a time. If we keep that mentality, I think we’ll be fine this year.”
Slafkovsky added a goal late in the third period, closing the seven-goal frame.
Montreal matched Vegas’s intensity in the first period but gifted an easy scoring chance to the Golden Knights when defenseman Joel Edmundson’s clearing attempt went straight to Hague in the high slot. Hague quickly capitalized, beating Allen with 6:35 left.
The Canadiens tied it 51 seconds later when Caufield fired a one-timer off a cross-ice pass from Dach past Hill for his eighth goal.
Smith scored on a 2-on-1 with William Karlsson at 2:24 of the second period to give the Golden Knights a 2-1 lead. Suzuki tied it again 56 seconds into the third period with a give-and-go goal assisted by Dach.
MARCHESSAULT’S MILESTONE
Marchessault’s assist on Smith’s first goal marked his 300th point with the Golden Knights, making him the first player in franchise history to reach this milestone.
“It’s always nice,” Marchessault said. “Obviously, I have been here since the first game, and it’s a good achievement, but I mean, it’s nothing like the Ironman (streak) or anything.”
Marchessault referenced teammate Phil Kessel, who set the NHL’s Ironman streak with his 990th consecutive game on Oct. 25.
UP NEXT
- Golden Knights: At Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday.
- Canadiens: At Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday.