Blog: Red Wings hand Golden Knights first loss of the season

By Jesse Granger

Published Friday, Oct. 13, 2017 | 3:30 p.m.

Updated Friday, Oct. 13, 2017 | 10:06 p.m.

The Detroit Red Wings scored three third-period goals to complete the comeback win over the Golden Knights Friday night at T-Mobile Arena, ending Vegas’ undefeated run.

Red Wings’ captain and NHL veteran Henrik Zetterberg had a goal and three assists as Detroit carved the Golden Knights’ defense up in a 6-3 victory.

Vegas held a 3-2 lead entering the third period but allowed multiple odd-man rushes, and the Red Wings capitalized. Gustav Nyquist scored a pair of goals for Detroit.

For the Golden Knights, James Neal scored his sixth of the season to take sole possession of second place in the NHL in goals. Erik Haula and Jonathan Marchessault each scored their first goals of the season.

Marc-Andre Fleury allowed more goals than in the previous three games combined, but on most occasions there was little he could do as Vegas was constantly caught out of position on defense.

Because the New Jersey Devils lost to the Capitals earlier in the day, the Golden Knights were technically the last remaining undefeated team in the NHL prior to the loss.

Vegas (3-1-0) hosts Boston at 4 p.m. Sunday at T-Mobile Arena.

Knights fight back

The Golden Knights came out of the second period with their first lead of the game following a flurry of goals.

Vegas tied the game at one when Reilly Smith found Jonathan Marchessault in front of the net. Marchessault shot it into the empty net for his first goal of the season.

The Red Wings reclaimed the lead when captain Henrik Zetterberg deked Marc-Andre Fleury and slid the puck under his pads to make it 2-1.

Then the Golden Knights got back-to-back goals from James Neal and Erik Haula 1:27 apart to take a 3-2 lead into the final period.

The goal by Neal gives him six on the season, second most in the NHL.

Detroit strikes first

The Detroit Red Wings took the air out of T-Mobile Arena almost immediately Friday night, scoring less than two minutes into the game.

Golden Knights defenseman Jason Garrison whiffed on a puck trying to keep it in the offensive zone, leaving a 2-on-1 break for the Red Wings on the other end.

Henrik Zetterberg fed Gustav Nyquist, who put the puck past a helpless Marc-Andre Fleury to give Detroit a 1-0 lead 1:38 into the game.

From there the Golden Knights settled down and outshot the Red Wings 9-6 in the first period, but were unable to beat Detroit goalie Petr Mrazek.

• • •

After a storybook 3-0 start to the season, the Golden Knights have become favorites in the hearts of the fans, the national media and now Las Vegas sports books.

Vegas dropped all the way from a 150-to-1 to a 45-to-1 shot to win the Stanley Cup at Boyd Gaming properties.

And for the first time in franchise history, the Golden Knights opened a favorite ahead of tonight’s game against the Detroit Red Wings at T-Mobile Arena. They went off as high as a minus-125 (risking $1.25 to win $1) favorite over the Coyotes ahead of Tuesday’s 5-2 win after posting as a pick’em, but their price has been static at minus-130 against the Red Wings.

“Detroit is a good team,” Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant said. “They’re a fast team and I think it’s going to be a fast game.”

Gallant played nine seasons with the Red Wings from 1984-93, but after years of coaching, he says the mystique of coaching against his former team has worn off.

“I loved my time in Detroit,” Gallant said. “They were great to me and that’s a great organization. It was the best time of my life. I was a 20-year-old kid playing in the NHL, and with the crowd we had a Joe Louis Arena and playing next to Steve Yzerman, I loved every minute of it.”

Vegas’ hot start is largely due to Marc-Andre Fleury, who is second in the NHL in goals against average (1.32) and save percentage (.963), and James Neal, who’s second in goals (5) behind only Alex Ovechkin.

The Red Wings will be resting starting goaltender Jimmy Howard and playing backup Petr Mrazek in net. It’s a break for Vegas, as Howard is undefeated in his three starts and Mrazek lost 4-2 in his only start this season.

Puck drops: 7:30 p.m.

Where: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas

Radio: Fox Sports 1340 AM and 98.9 FM

TV: AT&T SportsNet (DirecTV 684, Cox 1313, CenturyLink Prism 1760, Dish Network 5414)

Betting line: Golden Knights minus-130, Total 5.5 minus-120 to the under

Golden Knights (3-0-0) (1-0-0 home)

Coach: Gerard Gallant

Goal leader: James Neal (5)

Assist leader: Four tied (2)

Expected goalie: Marc-Andre Fleury (3-0-0, 1.32 goals against average)

Detroit Red Wings (3-1-0) (2-1-0 away)

Coach: Jeff Blashill

Goal leader: Martin Frk (3)

Assist leader: Mike Green (8)

Expected goalie: Petr Mrazek (0-1-0, 3.15 goals against average)

Golden Knights game day roster

Forwards (12): Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, William Carrier, Cody Eakin, Erik Haula, William Karlsson, Brendan Leipsic, Oscar Lindberg, Jonathan Marchessault, James Neal, Tomas Nosek, David Perron and Reilly Smith.

Defensemen (6): Deryk Engelland, Jason Garrison, Brayden McNabb, Colin Miller, Luca Sbisa and Nate Schmidt.

Goalies (2): Marc-Andre Fleury and Malcolm Subban.

Prediction : Golden Knights 2, Red Wings 1 (overtime)

Season prediction record: 2-1