Vegas Golden Knights Beat Minnesota Wild 6-4
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Mark Stone scored the tiebreaking goal on a power play in the third period and the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Minnesota Wild 6-4 on Sunday night.
Vegas' top line of Stone (goal, two assists), Max Pacorietty (goal, two assists) and Chandler Stephenson (four assists) combined for 10 points as Vegas won for the ninth time in 12 home games.
Zach Whitecloud scored twice, and Evgenii Dadonov, Pacioretty and Alex Pietrangelo added goals for the Golden Knights. Robin Lehner made 23 saves.
Alex Goligoski, Mats Zuccarello, Nick Bjugstad and Marcus Foligno scored for the Wild. Cam Talbot stopped 30 shots.
Minnesota, which was on an 8-0-0 run since Nov. 24, lost consecutive games after falling 2-1 in Los Angeles on Saturday.
On Vegas' first goal, Stone got the transition started when he forced a turnover and his linemates went to work. Chandler Stephenson skated in and fed Pacioretty, who passed to Whitecloud, who scored his fourth goal of the season.
The Wild tied the game, thanks to the patience of Brandon Duhaime, who held the puck just long enough at the top of the right circle during a delayed penalty on Vegas before feeding Goligoski, who beat Lehner from the high slot.
Vegas got its fifth power-play goal in its last 33 opportunities, spanning 12 games, when Dadonov smacked home a touch pass from Stone.
Zuccaello tied the game when he took a rebound to the right of Talbot and tapped it home as time expired in the opening period. Minnesota has scored a power-play goal in five straight games, and has scored on six of its last 13 attempts.
The Wild started quickly in the second period as Bjugstad skated into the zone alone and beat Lehner high to the far side nine seconds in, giving Minnesota a 3-2 lead.
Vegas tied the game when Whitecloud took a pass from Dadonov, skated to the slot, and netted his second of the game.
Pacioretty gave the Golden Knights a 4-3 lead with his eighth goal in six games later in the period. That score was followed by a couple of fights, several penalties, and an eventual 5-on-3 power play for Minnesota.
Vegas, which has struggled on special teams lately, killed off three successive penalties and carried a one-goal lead into the break.
The Wild struck first in the third, when Jared Spurgeon's shot from the top of the right circle appeared headed wide, but instead was tipped by Lehner. The puck fell behind Lehner in the crease, where Foligno stuffed it in, tying the game.
Stone scored the winner early in the third, and Pietrangelo sent a 200 foot shot into an empty next late to provide the final margin.
UP NEXT
Minnesota: Hosts Carolina on Tuesday.
Vegas: Opens a four-game trip in Boston on Tuesday.
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