MONTREAL — The Golden Knights began their five-game roadie with a shutout loss in Washington D.C. on Tuesday night. If there was one loss the VGK faithful was willing to forgive, it was surely that one. The Knights were probably still hungover on good vibes from their White House visit as Stanley Cup champions the day before.
Still, those are the types of games that turn into trouble in the standings when they start stringing along. And considering the Knights had actually dropped three out of four dating back nearly two weeks, a response was due from this group soon.
If there was ever a way to respond, the Knights did exactly that. Falling behind 2-0 after the first period, they tallied 6 goals in the final two periods to rally for a 6-5 victory in front of a raucous Montreal crowd that consistently sits atop NHL attendance rankings. This one was special for many Quebecois in attendance as well, given the Knights surplus of talent from the Canadian province.
It was notably Conn Smythe winner Jonathan Marchessault’s first game back in his home province as a Stanley Cup Champion. Nicolas Roy and William Carrier also hail from the area.
Four of the Knight’s six goals in the barn burner came via special teams, three coming from the power-play (Theodore, Eichel, Stone) and a short-handed goal from Brett Howden that opened the scoring for the Knights.
Mark Stone was credited with the game-winning goal, as his goal with just over a minute remaining in the game gave them the decisive sixth goal and a 6-4 lead. The GWG would have gone to Jack Eichel had the Knights not given up a Canadiens goal a mere 20 seconds after Stone’s goal, making six the necessary number.
The Knights moved to 13-3-1 with the win and recaptured the NHL lead in points from the Bruins. The Knights are being given a tough test in the pacific division, as the Canucks’ hot start has them just two points behind the league best Knights for the division lead.
Next game
The Golden Knights continue their five game road trip Saturday against the Flyers in Philadelphia. It’s an early start for Vegas locals, as the puck is scheduled to hit the ice at 10 a.m. PST.
