Jonathan Marchessault took full advantage of the Winnipeg Jets, scoring his second power-play goal late in the third period to break a tie and lead the Vegas Golden Knights to a 6-5 victory on Tuesday.
“I thought our power play looked good in the third, and sometimes you need the power play to win games, and tonight it did,” Marchessault said.
Vegas capitalized on two out of three power-play opportunities, while Winnipeg converted one out of two.
The game’s final minutes were action-packed, with William Karlsson adding an empty-net goal for Vegas with 1:24 remaining and Jets center Mark Scheifele completing a hat trick with just two seconds left.
Golden Knights’ captain Mark Stone scored twice, and Daniil Miromanov netted his first NHL goal while contributing two assists. Chandler Stephenson registered four assists.
Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy praised Stephenson’s performance in place of the injured Jack Eichel.
“He was very assertive tonight with his pace,” Cassidy said. “He’s got such deceptive speed. You can pre-scout it, say he can really go, but you don’t truly appreciate it until you see him fly by you with an effortless stride.”
Adin Hill stopped 29 shots for the Golden Knights (21-9-1).
Morgan Barron and Sam Gagner scored for the Jets (18-9-1), and Connor Hellebuyck made 27 saves.
“That was a hell of a hockey game, and give their goalie credit,” Winnipeg coach Rick Bowness said of Hill. “On our last power play in the third, he made four Grade-A saves. Give him credit for that.”
The game featured the Western Conference’s division leaders, Winnipeg atop the Central Division, and Vegas leading the Pacific.
The score was tied 3-3 entering the third period.
Scheifele gave Winnipeg the lead 41 seconds into the final frame, scoring his second goal of the night on a power play. He took a cross-ice pass from Kyle Connor, went down on one knee, and fired the puck in for his team-leading 17th goal of the season.
“When we would get a lead, they kept pouncing on us,” Scheifele said. “They kept their speed, and we just had to be a little more on our toes instead of letting the game come to us.”
Marchessault tied the game at 4-4 with his first power-play goal at 9:38 and scored the go-ahead goal at 17:44.
The win gave Vegas a sweep of the three-game season series, including one overtime victory.
MISSING PIECES
Jack Eichel, who has 29 points in 27 games, was placed on injured reserve Monday with a lower-body injury and is listed as day-to-day. Defenseman Shea Theodore (knee) is week-to-week, and Zach Whitecloud (leg) is month-to-month. Veteran blueliner Alex Pietrangelo is away indefinitely due to a family illness.
UP NEXT
- Jets: Host the Nashville Predators on Thursday.
- Golden Knights: Face the Blackhawks in Chicago on Thursday.
