Adin Hill made an impressive 40 saves in his return from injury, helping the Vegas Golden Knights secure a 3-2 victory over the New York Islanders on Tuesday night.
Ivan Barbashev and Nicolas Roy each contributed a goal and an assist for Vegas, while Sheldon Rempal added his first NHL goal. The defending Stanley Cup champions bounced back from a 6-5 overtime loss to New Jersey on Monday. Alex Pietrangelo chipped in with two assists.
Hill, making his first start since Dec. 17 after missing 22 of the previous 23 games due to a lower-body injury, expressed his joy at being back on the ice. “It was fun to get back into game action tonight and battle with my teammates,” Hill said. “I thought our guys played a good game. That’s a tough team over there.”
Brock Nelson and Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored for the Islanders, while Ilya Sorokin made 24 saves. The Islanders fell to 1-1 under new coach Patrick Roy, who took over after Lane Lambert was fired on Saturday.
Vegas took a 3-1 lead in the second period with two quick goals within 1:49. Rempal scored his first career goal with a sharp-angle shot that hit the post before finding the back of the net at 7:18. “I’m going to remember every detail. Just an awesome moment,” Rempal said.
Shortly after, Islanders defenseman Noah Dobson committed a turnover that allowed Roy to score from a loose puck in front. Jonathan Marchessault and Barbashev assisted in the play.
Pageau pulled the Islanders within one with a short-handed goal at 9:26 of the third period. Despite three power-play opportunities in the final period, the Islanders couldn’t find the equalizer.
“We certainly weren’t perfect,” Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. “I thought we competed harder to keep the puck out of our net, and that was basically the ask after yesterday.”
Barbashev opened the scoring at 11:52 of the first period by redirecting Pietrangelo’s shot past Sorokin, following a failed clearing attempt by Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech.
Nelson scored his 500th career point, all with the Islanders, with a wrist shot from the faceoff circle that beat Hill’s glove at 3:35 of the second period.
“Everything we needed to win a hockey game was there,” Islanders captain Anders Lee said. “We just couldn’t get the tying goal.”
UP NEXT
- Golden Knights: Visit the New York Rangers on Friday night.
- Islanders: At the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.