Shea Theodore tallied a goal and three assists, leading the Vegas Golden Knights to a thrilling 6-5 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night, handing the Canadiens their third consecutive loss.
Jack Eichel and Mark Stone each contributed a goal and two assists, while Brett Howden, Brayden McNabb, and Jonathan Marchessault also found the back of the net for Vegas (13-3-1). On Tuesday, the Golden Knights rebounded from a 3-0 defeat to the Washington Capitals. Adin Hill, who came into the game with a .939 save percentage, made 23 saves.
“You’re going to have to win games in completely different ways every night in this league,” Stone said. “You’re going to have to win some of these run-and-gun games along the way, that’s what makes good teams good.”
Stone added, “I think six was probably pretty light tonight with all the chances we had.”
Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy acknowledged the missed opportunities but praised the team’s persistence.
“They have a say in that, too, right?” Cassidy said of the missed chances. “Their goaltender was excellent, but eventually, you keep putting pucks at him, and you’re usually going to get something to go — and that’s how it played out.”
For Montreal (7-8-2), Jesse Ylonen scored twice, and Alex Newhook, Johnathan Kovacevic, and Justin Barron each added goals. Nick Suzuki and defenseman Mike Matheson had two assists apiece. Cayden Primeau made 36 saves at the third start of the season.
The Golden Knights were efficient on the power play, converting 3 of 7 opportunities, while the Canadiens failed to score on three power-play chances.
“We played with fire tonight and got burned,” Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis said.
A critical moment came when Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher took a double-minor penalty for high-sticking Pavel Dorofeyev with 2:51 left in the third period. Eichel and Stone capitalized on the power play for the Golden Knights.
Barron scored for Montreal with the goalie pulled and 54 seconds left, but the Canadiens couldn’t find the equalizer.
Down 2-0, Vegas outscored Montreal 4-2 in a seesaw second period, tying the game heading into the third.
Howden put Vegas on the scoreboard with a short-handed goal at 2:33, slipping the puck under Primeau’s arm.
Ylonen responded at 8:28, scoring on a breakaway after slipping the puck between Golden Knights defensemen and deking out Hill.
McNabb scored 18 seconds later, making it 3-2, and Marchessault tied the game at 11:20.
Ylonen quickly regained the lead for Montreal with his second goal of the night, set up by a pass from behind the net by Michael Pezzetta.
Theodore then leveled the score with a power-play goal from the point.
After the Golden Knights opened the game with the first eight shots, Newhook scored on Montreal’s first chance at 6:43 with a sharp-angle wrister. Kovacevic followed with his first of the season at 10:03.
INJURIES
Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj left the game with an upper-body injury after a heavy hit from Vegas forward Ivan Barbashev, favoring his left shoulder as he exited.
UP NEXT
- Golden Knights: At the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday.
- Canadiens: At the Boston Bruins on Saturday.
