Tomas Nosek’s parents make the journey from the Czech Republic to the U.S. once a year to watch him play, and this time, they arrive just in time to witness a special moment.
Nosek ended a 13-game scoring drought with a crucial goal, helping the Vegas Golden Knights to a 3-2 victory over the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night. His fifth goal of the season also marked his second game-winner of the year.
Nosek, taking a shot from the top of the faceoff circle, launched a knuckle puck over Alex Stalock’s glove, giving Vegas a 3-1 lead at 6:16 of the third period.
“Sometimes the puck just finds its way in, even when it’s not a perfect shot,” Nosek said, acknowledging his recent breakaway misses. “I’m happy it went in, and it helped us win.”
His parents, Miroslav and Daniela Nosek, were among the 18,220 fans at T-Mobile Arena who saw their son score during their annual visit.
“I’m glad they got to see it,” Nosek added. “They come once a year, and sharing moments like this with them is great.”
Chandler Stephenson and Shea Theodore also scored for the Golden Knights, who earned their first regulation win over Minnesota in seven tries since joining the NHL in 2017. The victory marked Vegas’ first three-game home win streak of the season.
Marc-Andre Fleury made 24 saves and secured career win No. 453, placing him just one shy of Curtis Joseph for sixth place on the NHL’s all-time wins list.
Despite a recent slump where the team lost 10 of 13 games, the Golden Knights have bounced back with an 8-2-1 streak and are heading into a road trip with renewed momentum.
“We had a tough stretch, but it feels good to string some wins together,” Fleury said. “The crowd’s been great, and we’re happy to give them something to cheer about.”
Mats Zuccarello and Zach Parise scored for the Wild, while Stalock made 26 saves. Stalock, who is 8-3-2 in his last 14 starts, remains one win short of his career high.
Zuccarello opened the scoring for the Wild on a two-man advantage late in the first period, finishing a pass from Eric Staal to make it 1-0.
Stephenson, acquired in a trade from Washington last month, tied the game midway through the second period with a shot off a 2-on-1 rush. He now has three goals and two assists in 10 games with Vegas.
Theodore gave the Golden Knights a 2-1 lead 10 seconds before the second intermission, skating in and beating Stalock with a wrist shot.
“I’d like to make that save with 10 seconds left,” Stalock said. “It changes the game. But it just didn’t go our way tonight.”
Parise made it interesting in the final minutes, cutting the deficit to one with Stalock pulled for an extra attacker. However, the Wild couldn’t find the equalizer and dropped to 4-3-2 in their last nine road games.
Game Notes:
- Wild LW Ryan Donato played his 100th career game.
- Minnesota LW Jason Zucker, a Las Vegas native, was scratched with a lower-body injury.
- Minnesota has played a league-high 22 road games in their first 35 games this season.
UP NEXT:
- Wild: Finish their three-game road trip at Arizona on Thursday.
- Golden Knights: Open a two-game road trip at Vancouver on Thursday.
