The Vegas Golden Knights have coyotes on their mind.
On Thursday night, the Knights needed a skills display to defeat the visiting Florida Panthers, 6-5, and stay ahead of the Arizona Coyotes for third place in the Pacific Division.
Reilly Smith struck for two goals in the win.
“Arizona keeps on winning, so we’ve got to keep our foot on the gas and make sure we’re heading in the right direction,” Smith said.
Vegas improved to 34-26-5.
“I was happy we got the big win, but not happy with the way we played,” Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant said. “The other night [Tuesday against the Dallas Stars] we played a great game, and tonight, that first period we were sleepy and didn’t play well enough. It’s two big points at the end of the day.”
Malcolm Subban made 32 saves to get the win.
Mike Hoffman scored two goals for the Panthers.
“You set personal goals, but what matters to me is that I’m contributing and helping the team in any way I can,” Hoffman said.
Jonathan Huberdeau, Aaron Ekblad and Aleksander Barkov also scored for Florida.
“In our situation we can’t be satisfied with one point,” Huberdeau said. “In a game like this we have to manage two points.”
Shea Theodore was credited wit the skills winner for Vegas.
“I think the momentum changed as soon as our first shift went out there. We had a lot of chances before I scored but they were hitting off the posts or the knob of Luongo’s stick. It seemed like nothing was going in. I think we really turned the tide the first shift of the second period and it rolled over from there,” Smith said.
Colin Miller, Paul Stastny and Jon Merrill scored for the Knights in regulation
“We got five, but I thought we could’ve had 10,” Stastny said. “Sometimes you have games like that. It’s fine. [Subban] played unbelievable and Luongo played unbelievable and they still allowed five goals. So sometimes it’s unfair to those guys.”
[WATCH: All Panthers vs. Golden Knights highlights]
Roberto Luongo made 41 saves in the loss.
“We would’ve liked the extra point in the shootout but we found a way to get a point. I like the way we’re competing and finding ways to scrape points,” Panthers head coach Bob Boughner said.
You must be logged in to post a comment.