Live coverage: Golden Knights strike quickly in third to sink Kraken

By Justin Emerson

Published Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2021 | 4 p.m.

Updated Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2021 | 9:31 p.m.

It took the Golden Knights awhile to get going Tuesday night but once they did, they filled the Seattle net with relative ease.

Vegas scored on three consecutive shots on goal and 1:32 of game time spanning the end of the second period and start of the third, using the stretch the pull away from the Kraken and win 4-2 at T-Mobile Arena.

Vegas conceded the first goal, tied it, then gave up a second with 31 seconds to go in the second period. Instead of taking a deficit into the second intermission, the Golden Knights responded with an Evgenii Dadonov tally 15 seconds later to open the floodgates on the start of an eventful third period.

Vegas scored 30 seconds into the second period on a Shea Theodore wrister, then again at 1:16 of the period on a Reilly Smith power-play goal. It was the first lead of the night for the Golden Knights and they didn't look back. The rest of the third period resembled the slow burn that was the second, but when you have the lead you'll happily take it.

Seattle had a chance to fight back, pulling its goalie with four minutes to go and gaining a 6-on-4 power play with just over a minute left, but the Kraken were unable to find one goal, much less the two they needed. 

Jordan Eberle opened the scoring for Seattle 4:49 after the initial puck drop, and Alex Pietrangelo tied the game up with 30 seconds to go in the first. Pietrangelo and Theodore each finished with a goal and an assist, and William Carrier and Jonathan Marchessault each had a pair of assists.

The victory was Vegas' third at home this season and second against the Kraken, matching their 4-3 win on opening night.

Seattle finished with a 27-23 edge in shots on goal.

Late second-period goals have Golden Knights tied with Kraken

Through 19 minutes and 29 seconds of the second period went by with much of anything, then both teams scored to ensure the frame would not be forgotten. First it was Seattle, then Vegas 15 seconds later, and the sides ended the second period in a 2-2 draw at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday.

Most of the period was a defensive slog. Neither team could generate offense, and even as Seattle racked up a sizeable advantage in quantity of shots, the quality wasn't there for either side until the period was almost over.

Yanni Gourde opened the scoring in the frame from in close. Brandon Tanev won a race to the puck in the corner and fed Gourde in the slot, who whipped the puck into the net with 31 seconds to go. It looked like Seattle was going to take a lead into the third period.

Instead, Vegas found its sea legs. Seattle goalie Chris Driedger couldn't corral the initial Golden Knights shot, and when the puck squirted out to Evgenii Dadonov to the right of the crease, he buried it for this third of the season, and first at 5-on-5 his season. His other two came against an empty net and in 3-on-3 overtime.

The Golden Knights had just five shots in the second compared to Seattle's 10, but the scored was even.

Golden Knights, Kraken tied after first period

The first period certainly wasn't the best the Golden Knights have had, but it's hard to argue with a tied score.

Vegas chased the puck around much of the period, conceding an early goal to the Seattle Kraken but getting one back in the final minute, sending Tuesday's game to the first intermission in a 1-1 tie at T-Mobile Arena.

Tonight's game featured the 32nd-ranked Seattle power play (7.9%) against the 31st-ranked Vegas power play (8.3%) so of course the scoring opened on the man advantage. Chandler Stephenson was booked for unsportsmanlike conduct for grabbing a visor in a scrum and the Kraken went to work.

Marcus Johansson had the first shot, and the rebound kicked out to Jordan Eberle, who was there to back-hand it home and give Seattle a 1-0 lead at 4:49 of the first.

The Golden Knights' highlight-reel moment of the period came with about six minutes left when Brayden McNabb lined up Seattle forward Brandon Tanev. Entering the zone and dumping the puck, Tanev couldn't get out of the way of McNabb, who flattened with him one of the biggest hits of the season.

Seattle controlled much of the frame, as the Golden Knights sat stuck on four shots on goal for awhile before ramping up the pressure late. But in the classic hockey way of "get pucks to the net," Vegas managed to sneak one through in the final seconds.

It wasn't a dangerous chance, a seemingly harmless wrister fired from the point by Alex Pietrangelo went untouched to the net and goalie Chris Driedger whiffed on it. He got a piece of it, but it caught him just above the shoulder and trickled into the net to tie the game with 26 seconds left.

Vegas finished with an 11-7 edge in shots on goal in the first.

Paul Cotter to make NHL debut as Golden Knights host Kraken

When the Vegas Golden Knights' Paul Cotter saw his name on the lineup card this morning for the first time in his NHL career, he excitedly rushed to call his parents and give them the news. There was just one problem.

"I guess parents find out before the players nowadays," he said with a smirk.

Cotter will make his league debut tonight, becoming the fifth Golden Knight to play his first game this season. A 21-year-old forward, Cotter will look to make his impact on an injury-depleted Vegas squad when the team hosts the Seattle Kraken at 7 p.m. at T-Mobile Arena.

The game will be streamed exclusively on ESPN+/Hulu with no local blackout. It will not be televised.

"I'm going to try and treat it like every other day, but in the back of my head, it's always going to be my first NHL game," Cotter said. "I don't know if there's too much preparing to do. I've been in the organization; I know the system; I know the coaches, so I think it's more of what I'm expected to do."

That Cotter is the fifth rookie to play his first game is a statement on where the Golden Knights are as a team. They've been decimated by injuries, as key forwards Mark Stone, Max Pacioretty, William Karlsson and the newly acquired Jack Eichel are all out long-term. Only nine players have appeared in every game this season.

Naturally, the Golden Knights aren't where they want to be in the standings. They're 6-6-0, out of a playoff spot for now and have yet to reach even two games above .500 this season. But they're not out of the race, a testament to finding ways to win games and stay relevant in the postseason hunt while some of their best players heal.

"It's nice to be able to see them (but) if I had my preference, I think I'd rather see them in a different situation or one a month," coach Pete DeBoer said of the young players debuting. "We are keeping our head above water so far."

Now is a good time for the Golden Knights to make a push. Tonight, they welcome the last-place Kraken, who have just one road victory in seven tries this season and lost in Vegas on opening night last month. It's also a battle of struggling power plays: Seattle has the worst-ranked unit with a 7.9% success rate, and Vegas is the next-worst at 8.3%.

It's the start of a six-game homestand for the Golden Knights, tied for their longest of the season. They just finished a two-win, two-loss road trip and are looking to surge in the Pacific Division with a couple of victories at T-Mobile Arena this week and next.

"We talked about that. We're not happy being around .500," DeBoer said. "We want to separate ourselves from the group here a little bit. We don't want to be happy just winning one, losing one."

TV: Streaming exclusively on ESPN+/Hulu

Radio: Fox Sports 1340 AM and 98.9 FM

Betting line: Golden Knights minus-125, Kraken plus-105; over/under: 5.5 (EVEN, minus-120)

Golden Knights (6-6-0, 12 points; 6th place, Pacific Division)

Coach: Pete DeBoer (third season)

Points leaders: Chandler Stephenson (12)

Goals leader: Jonathan Marchessault (6)

Assists leader: Chandler Stephenson (7)

Expected goalie: Robin Lehner (2.79 GAA, .919 save percentage)

Kraken (4-7-1, 9 points; 8th place, Pacific Division)

Coach: Dave Hakstol (first season)

Points leader: Jordan Eberle (8)

Goals leaders: Jordan Eberle, Brandon Tanev (6)

Assists leaders: Jaden Schwartz, Alex Wennberg (6)

Expected goalie: Chris Driedger (1.92 GAA, .857 save percentage)

Golden Knights projected lineup

Forwards

Jonathan Marchessault—Nicolas Roy—Reilly Smith

William Carrier—Chandler Stephenson—Evgenii Dadonov

Mattias Janmark—Jake Leschyshyn—Keegan Kolesar

Paul Cotter—Brett Howden—Jonas Rondbjerg

Defensemen

Nicolas Hague—Alex Pietrangelo

Alec Martinez—Shea Theodore

Brayden McNabb—Dylan Coghlan

Goalies

Robin Lehner, Laurent Brossoit