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NFL (American Football)

Following a nostalgic victory, the Golden Knights face off against the Ducks

The Vegas Golden Knights bounced back well after their worst loss of the season.

Now, the Golden Knights will try to keep up their strong performance when they play the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday night.

Vegas won 1-0 against the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday, with goaltender Adin Hill making 28 saves. This was a great defensive showing after the team had lost 6-0 to Utah in their previous game.

“It was a good defensive game by both sides, so I think we got a little lucky with our goal there, and a 1-0 game feels like a 2003 throwback,” Hill said. “It was a fun game. They got some shots and some chances, but … our guys did a great job kind of keeping them to the outside. I thought it was one of our best defensive efforts of the season.”

The Golden Knights are currently on a 5-1-1 run and are at the top of the Pacific Division.

However, the win against the Oilers had its challenges. Edmonton outshot Vegas 16-2 in the third period, and the Golden Knights didn’t get a shot off in the last 19:04 of the game. But coach Bruce Cassidy wasn’t complaining about the win.

“We did our jobs well. That’s what you have to do against Edmonton. It’s no easy task when (Connor) McDavid’s coming at you fast, and (Leon) Draisaitl is a strong guy through the neutral zone,” Cassidy said. “But we were able to check in layers against them, and I think that’s when we’re the most effective.”

Vegas Golden Knights (NHL)

The game was only the fifth in NHL history with no penalty minutes and one goal or fewer, and the first since a game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Chicago Blackhawks on Feb. 20, 1944.

The Ducks have won two of their last three games and are 5-2-1 in their past eight, showing big improvement from recent seasons.

Anaheim most recently won 4-3 in a shootout against the Ottawa Senators on Sunday. In that game, the Ducks gave up the lead three times but still managed to win.

“We’re finally starting to get rewarded for some things we’re doing,” said forward Frank Vatrano, who scored two goals and had an assist.

“The biggest thing with us is, we know where each other’s going to be. We’re always playing in sync, and we know where our outs are, so it’s not like we’re trying to out-skill teams — we’re just trying to out-smart them and just play the right way. It’s good to see us getting on the scoresheet and we’re getting wins.”

Vatrano has been key to the team’s recent success. After scoring a career-high 37 goals last season, he only had two goals in the first 18 games this season. However, he has scored four goals in the past four games.

“I felt Frankie was going to score eventually,” Ducks coach Greg Cronin said. “He’s a scorer, and those guys go through dry spells. … It doesn’t matter how many games you don’t score. I just believe when you score goals and you have a history of doing it, you’re eventually going to get rewarded.”

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Adin Hill was outstanding in goal as the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Edmonton Oilers 1-0

Adin Hill made 28 saves for his second shutout of the season as the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Edmonton Oilers 1-0 on Tuesday night in Las Vegas.

This was Hill’s ninth career shutout. Ivan Barbashev scored for Vegas, netting his fifth goal in the last six games. The win increased the Golden Knights’ lead in the Pacific Division to four points over the Los Angeles Kings, who were idle, and seven points over the Oilers, who are in fifth place.

Stuart Skinner made 15 saves for Edmonton, which saw its three-game win streak come to an end. This was the fourth time the Oilers have been shut out this season.

Vegas had just suffered their worst home loss in team history, a 6-0 defeat to the Utah Hockey Club on Saturday. In contrast, they played a strong game against Edmonton, limiting the Oilers to just three shots on goal and taking a 1-0 lead in the first period on Barbashev’s 13th goal of the season.

Edmonton Oilers and Utah Hockey Club

The goal came at 10:47 after Leon Draisaitl turned over the puck in his own zone. Barbashev and Jack Eichel then broke out on a two-on-one. Barbashev attempted to pass to Eichel, but Evan Bouchard blocked it. Barbashev quickly regained the puck and fired a wrist shot past Skinner’s five-hole.

The Oilers had only 12 shots through two periods, with their best chance coming at 14:05 in the second period. Bouchard set up Connor Brown with a pass, but Brown’s one-timer missed the net.

Edmonton pulled Skinner for an extra attacker with 2:44 left in the game and fired several shots, but Hill stopped them all. This marked Vegas’ first 1-0 win since October 13, 2022, against the Chicago Blackhawks.

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NHL (National Hockey League)

Utah jumps ahead early in dominant victory over Golden Knights

Jaxson Stauber made 29 saves to earn his first career NHL shutout, and Nick Schmaltz scored two goals as the Utah Hockey Club defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 6-0 on Saturday night in Las Vegas.

Clayton Keller, Logan Cooley, and Alexander Kerfoot each contributed a goal and an assist, Barrett Hayton had two assists, and Michael Carcone also scored for Utah. This win tied their season high for goals in a game.

Stauber, who was making his seventh career start and first for Utah, had previously played with the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2022-23 season, finishing with a 5-1-0 record. He also spent last season with the Rockford IceDogs in the AHL.

Vegas goalie Ilya Samsonov made 22 saves in the loss. This was the Golden Knights’ third home loss out of 12 games (9-3-0).

Utah, coming off a 4-3 overtime loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Friday in Salt Lake City, capitalized on Vegas mistakes to take a commanding 4-0 lead in the first period.

Vegas Golden Knights (NHL)

Keller opened the scoring at 5:33 with his first goal in 13 games, a wrist shot from the left circle after a turnover by Vegas in the neutral zone. Kerfoot added a short-handed goal when Samsonov’s clearing pass was intercepted by Kerfoot, who then fired the puck into the net for a 2-0 lead.

Schmaltz ended a 28-game goal drought with a one-timer from the bottom of the left circle just 69 seconds later, and Cooley made it 4-0 at 18:44, when a shot from Olli Maatta deflected off his hip and into the net for his sixth goal.

Utah extended its lead in the second period, scoring two more goals within the first 5:28. Carcone netted his first goal of the season by finishing a two-on-one rush with a wrist shot into the far corner. Schmaltz scored his second goal of the night, firing a shot into an open net after a pass from Cooley.

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NHL (National Hockey League)

The Golden Knights continue their strong performance, defeating the struggling Jets

Brett Howden and Ivan Barbashev each scored two goals as the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Winnipeg Jets 4-3 on Friday night.

Jack Eichel and Pavel Dorofeyev each had two assists, and William Karlsson and Shea Theodore also added one assist each. Adin Hill made 22 saves in goal for Vegas, which has won four of its last five games.

Cole Perfetti scored twice for the Jets, both goals assisted by Josh Morrissey. Neal Pionk also scored for Winnipeg in the loss. Nikolaj Ehlers, Vladislav Namestnikov, Haydn Fleury, and Kyle Connor each earned an assist. Eric Comrie made 26 saves for the Jets, who have lost three out of their last four games.

The Jets took the lead 6:57 into the first period when Morrissey’s shot from the top of the circle was tipped by Perfetti, who scored to end his 11-game goalless streak.

With 1:47 left in the first period, the Golden Knights tied the game at 1-1. After a turnover by Morgan Barron in the Jets’ zone, Howden grabbed the puck, sped down the ice, outran Logan Stanley, and scored on a breakaway.

Vegas Golden Knights and Utah Hockey Club

Vegas took the lead with 16 seconds remaining in the first period when Barbashev scored on a loose rebound in front of the net, making it 2-1.

Ehlers left the game in the second period after a hit from Dorofeyev along Winnipeg’s bench caused him to fall awkwardly. He did not return.

Perfetti scored his second goal of the game with 5:32 left in the second period, tying the game at 2-2. Morrissey’s long shot bounced off Hill’s pads to Perfetti, who scored.

Barbashev scored his second goal of the game 4:43 into the third period, giving Vegas a 3-2 lead. Eichel’s backhand pass in the slot set him up for a shot that beat Comrie.

The Jets responded when Pionk scored to tie the game at 3-3 with 11:05 left in the third period.

The Golden Knights regained the lead with 4:05 left in the game when Howden scored after Karlsson passed him the puck perfectly, and Howden sent it into the open net.

This was the first loss of the season for the Jets when they scored first.

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NHL (National Hockey League)

Golden Knights aim to end road trip on a high note with matchup against Avalanche

The Vegas Golden Knights may be missing home, but they’ve been doing well on their five-game road trip, which will end against the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday night in Denver.

Vegas lost the first game of the trip but has won the next three, including a 5-4 shootout win against the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday. The Golden Knights were down 3-0 in the second period but came back to tie it at 4-4 with 8:05 left in regulation before winning in the shootout.

“At the end of the day, it’s 3-0, and it’s easy to sort of say, ‘Let’s move on and get ready for the next one,’” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. “The guys dug in. I didn’t think we were far behind with our ability to catch up. We have goal-scorers in the room. … It was a game we were way too loose to expect to win anything playing like that. Some nights over the course of 82, those happen. We were able to come out on the right side.”

Jack Eichel and Ivan Barbashev each had a goal and an assist for Vegas, who played without William Karlsson (personal reasons) and Zach Whitecloud, who is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

Despite missing captain Mark Stone due to a lower-body injury, the Golden Knights have won five of their last seven games. Stone, who was placed on injured reserve last week, has been out for the last nine games.

Vegas has also gotten help from winger Callahan Burke, who was called up before the 3-0 loss to Toronto. Burke, 27, had played only three NHL games before this recall, two of them with Colorado last season. He has one goal and is averaging 11:31 of ice time in four games this season.

Vegas Golden Knights and Utah Hockey Club

The Avalanche had a chance for a perfect road trip but suffered a big loss to Tampa Bay on Monday night. Colorado had won six of seven, including the first three on the road, before losing 8-2 to the Lightning.

“I thought we had a great road trip. It just sucks it ended like this,” Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon said. “Everything went in and we couldn’t do anything to stop it.”

Goaltending was an issue again. Justus Annunen started the game but was pulled after giving up three quick goals. He returned to start the third period but allowed two more goals on the first two shots he faced.

In the middle, Alexandar Georgiev didn’t perform much better and smashed his stick after allowing a goal.

“Listen, they’re frustrated,” coach Jared Bednar said. “Probably upset with themselves, one another, everyone. I don’t blame them for having emotion and not liking the way the game was going.”

Georgiev, who has been solid in net after a rough start to the season, will likely start against Vegas. The Golden Knights defeated Georgiev and the Avalanche 8-4 in their season opener.

Colorado had been playing well before the Tampa loss, partly because the team got healthier. Valeri Nichushkin (suspension), Jonathan Drouin (upper body), and Miles Wood (upper body) returned to strengthen the first line.

Even without MacKinnon, their top scorer (35 points), Colorado had been winning. MacKinnon has only two assists in the last five games after recording 15 assists in the previous seven.

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NHL (National Hockey League)

Knights erase 3-0 deficit, eventually defeat Flyers in shootout

Jack Eichel scored the only goal in a shootout on Monday, leading the Vegas Golden Knights to a 5-4 comeback win over the Philadelphia Flyers.

Eichel and Ivan Barbashev each recorded a goal and an assist in regular time as Vegas fought back from a 3-0 deficit to improve to 3-1-0 on their five-game road trip. Goaltender Ilya Samsonov made 32 saves in regulation and stopped all three Flyers’ shootout attempts.

Philadelphia ended its homestand with a 2-2-1 record, with Morgan Frost contributing a goal and an assist, and rookie defenseman Emil Andrae scoring his first NHL goal. Sean Couturier and Matvei Michkov also scored for the Flyers, while Ivan Fedotov made 26 saves.

Eichel scored the game-winning goal in the shootout, shooting a wrist shot past Fedotov. Samsonov then stopped Owen Tippett’s attempt to secure the win.

The Flyers were ahead 4-3 until Tanner Pearson tied the game with 8:05 remaining in the third period. Pearson stole the puck on the forecheck and fired a one-timer from the slot after receiving a pass from Noah Hanifin.

Vegas Golden Knights and Utah Hockey Club

Philadelphia had a power play in overtime but couldn’t convert. Samsonov made a big save on Travis Sanheim, and Sanheim later hit the post during the man advantage.

The Flyers led 2-0 after the first period thanks to goals from Frost and Couturier. Frost tipped in a shot from Rasmus Ristolainen to give Philadelphia the lead, and Couturier scored after getting past the defense to beat Samsonov inside the right post.

Andrae’s goal on a rebound made it 3-0 early in the second period, but the Golden Knights quickly answered. Eichel scored to put Vegas on the board, then assisted Barbashev to make it 3-2 about four minutes later.

Michkov scored to give the Flyers a two-goal lead again, but the Golden Knights responded. Pavel Dorofeyev scored a power-play goal with a one-timer past Fedotov with 1:50 remaining in the second period.