Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Blog: Golden Knights top Canucks 4-1

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Steve Marcus

Golden Knights goaltender Malcolm Subban (30) blocks a shot by Vancouver Canucks left wing Brendan Leipsic (9) in the second period of their game at T-Mobile Arena Tuesday, March 20, 2017.

Updated Tuesday, March 20, 2018 | 9:32 p.m.

The Golden Knights cruised to their second-straight win Tuesday night at T-Mobile Arena, 4-1 over the Canucks, after racing out to a quick lead.

Early first-period goals from Jonathan Marchessault and Cody Eakin gave Vegas a 2-0 lead less than five minutes into the game.

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare added his sixth goal of the season late in the period to hand the Golden Knights a commanding three-goal lead after one.

Tomas Tatar put home a rebound in the second period to extend the lead to 4-0. It was Tatar’s second goal as a Golden Knight since coming over from Detroit at the trade deadline.

Marc-Andre Fleury played only the first period, then was mysteriously missing from the ice and the bench for the final two. The team did not provide an in-game update on his absence.

Malcolm Subban stopped 21-of-22 shots he faced in relief of Fleury.

Golden Knights lead 4-0 after two period

The Golden Knights lead the Canucks 4-0 after two periods at T-Mobile Arena, but star goalie Marc-Andre Fleury was missing from action, and the bench.

Fleury stopped all seven shots he faced in the first period, but didn’t exit the locker room for the second. The 33-year-old wasn’t on the bench throughout the stanza and the team hasn’t confirmed whether Fleury is out for rest, or if he suffered an injury.

On the ice, Tomas Tatar scored his second goal as a Golden Knight to extend Vegas’ lead to 4-0 over the Canucks.

In relief, Malcolm Subban stopped all 11 shots he faced in his first action since Feb. 2.

Golden Knights lead 3-0 after one period

It didn’t take the Golden Knights long to assert their dominance over the lowly Canucks Tuesday night at T-Mobile Arena, as they led 2-0 after less than five minutes of action.

Jonathan Marchessault opened the scoring by crushing a one-timer past Vancouver goalie Jacob Markstrom. The shot was set up by William Karlsson for his 27th assist of the season.

It was Marchessault’s 23rd goal of the season and ended an 11-game scoring drought -- his longest of the season.

Less than a minute later Cody Eakin scored his 10th goal of the season by batting the puck out of mid air and past Markstrom. Shea Theodore danced around Canucks’ defender Alex Biega and had the puck poked off his stick by Markstrom, but Eakin flew in and knocked the puck into the net.

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare added to the Golden Knights lead with his sixth goal of the season near the end of the first period.

Vegas outshot Vancouver 15-7 in a period they dominated from start to finish.

Pre game

The Golden Knights are the heaviest favorites they’ve been this season, as they host Vancouver at T-Mobile Arena.

Oddsmakers have Vegas as minus-300 favorites tonight against the Canucks, who are one of three teams already eliminated from playoff contention.

“(The Canucks) are having a tough time but they work hard, compete hard and they’re an NHL team,” coach Gerard Gallant said. “They want to win every game they play. Teams come in here and want to win so we’ve got to be ready to play.”

Vancouver has lost six straight games, and 11 of its last 13. The Canucks also rank in the bottom five in goals for (27th) and goals against (28th).

Rookie Brock Boeser was lost for the season with a back injury, and since he left the lineup Vancouver has been a mess. Attempting to fill in on the top lines for the Canucks is former Golden Knight Brendan Leipsic.

Leipsic was traded to Vancouver on Feb. 26, the day of the trade deadline, and has two goals and four assists in nine games with the Canucks.

“It’s going to be good to play against him,” Golden Knights’ defenseman Nate Schmidt said. “He was a good guy to have around our team and I’m just happy he’s getting a little bit more of an opportunity. It’s tough in this league and it takes a long time to get that kind of recognition in this league.”

The Golden Knights are only a few wins away from clinching a playoff spot, so they’ll be looking to inch closer with a win against a severely-overmatched Vancouver squad tonight.

Prediction: Golden Knights 5, Canucks 1

Season record for predictions: 35-23

Puck drops: 7:00 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)

Betting line: Golden Knights minus-300, Total 6 minus-125 to the under

Golden Knights (46-21-5) (25-9-2 home)

Coach: Gerard Gallant

Goal leader: William Karlsson (39)

Assist leader: David Perron (50)

Expected goalie: Marc-Andre Fleury (26-11-3, 2.20 goals against average)

Vancouver Canucks (25-38-9) (13-20-3 away)

Coach: Travis Green

Goal leader: Brock Boeser (29)

Assist leader: Henrik Sedin (41)

Expected goalie: Jacob Markstrom (18-25-6, 2.77 goals against average)

Golden Knights game day roster

Forwards (12): Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Ryan Carpenter, Cody Eakin, Erik Haula, William Karlsson, Jonathan Marchessault, James Neal, Tomas Nosek, David Perron, Ryan Reaves, Tomas Tatar and Alex Tuch.

Defensemen (6): Deryk Engelland, Brayden McNabb, Jon Merrill, Colin Miller, Nate Schmidt and Shea Theodore.

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

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