Jonathan Marchessault netted three goals, and Adin Hill made 36 saves as the surging Vegas Golden Knights defeated the New York Rangers 5-2 on Friday night.
Keegan Kolesar and Sheldon Rempal also found the back of the net for Vegas, which has gone 5-0-1 in its last six games. Ivan Barbashev contributed three assists, while Nicolas Roy added two.
Marchessault completed his second hat trick of the season and seventh of his career, including two in the playoffs, with an empty-net goal 30 seconds before the final buzzer. This brought his season tally to 25 goals and extended his point streak to six games, with eight goals and three assists.
“Sometimes you’re luckier than other times. Sometimes it goes in, sometimes it doesn’t,” Marchessault said. “When you’re hot, you just want to keep it going.”
Blake Wheeler had a goal and an assist, and Kaapo Kakko scored for the Rangers. Igor Shesterkin made 15 saves as the Rangers came off a 1-2-1 West Coast trip and have lost nine of their last 13 games (4-7-2). Despite this, New York maintains a two-point lead over Carolina atop the Metropolitan Division.
“We have to play through this thing,” Rangers captain Jacob Trouba said. “We must get to the net more and retrieve pucks. … We must keep working.”
Hill, making his second consecutive start after missing over a month with an undisclosed injury, has stopped 76 of 80 shots in those two games.
“It’s just fun being back with the team,” Hill said. “I feel good, my body feels good, and I can do everything I need to do. It’s nice for the confidence and the mental side of it, so just keep building off of it.”
Marchessault extended the Golden Knights’ lead to 4-1 at 2:10 of the third period, scoring off a rebound from Barbashev’s shot.
New York pulled Shesterkin for an extra skater with just over four minutes left, and Kakko scored on a rebound with 1:06 remaining, narrowing the gap to two goals.
Kolesar blocked a pass attempt by Artemi Panarin, skated up the ice on a breakaway, and beat Shesterkin on the glove side at 3:18 of the second period, giving Vegas a 2-1 lead. It was his fourth goal of the season.
“I found some space, luckily it found the back of the net,” Kolesar said. “Everyone here knows what’s at stake. We look at how the trip started with one point (OT loss at New Jersey on Monday), now we have a chance for seven out of eight points tomorrow in Detroit.”
Just 46 seconds later, Marchessault deflected Barbashev’s fluttering shot from the left circle past Shesterkin, making it 3-1.
“We played a structured, perfect game,” Marchessault said. “We really hit our stride when (Kolesar) scored.”
The Golden Knights were 0 for 2 on the power play, failing to get a shot on goal during either advantage and have gone 3 for 25 over the last nine games.
New York outshot Vegas 15-6 in the first period, but Rempal gave the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead 5:02 into the game as Paul Cotter’s sharp-angle shot from the right circle appeared to deflect off his stick and Shesterkin’s blocker. The 28-year-old Rempal scored for the second straight game, three days after getting his first NHL goal in Vegas’ 3-2 win against the New York Islanders.
Wheeler tied it 1:31 later, beating Hill on the glove side from the left circle off a pass from Erik Gustafsson. It was his eighth goal of the season.
Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren left for the dressing room midway through the first period and did not return.
Rangers forward Filip Chytil suffered a setback in his injury recovery, being down on the ice for several minutes during Friday morning practice. He was helped off by teammates Zac Jones and Jake Leschyshyn and attended to by team trainers.
UP NEXT
- Golden Knights: At Detroit on Saturday night to finish a four-game trip before the All-Star break.
- Rangers: At Ottawa on Saturday night, heading into the break.
