Jonathan Marchessault scored a goal and assisted twice as the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Vancouver Canucks 6-3 on Tuesday night.
The Golden Knights, who are the defending Stanley Cup champions, have now won three games in a row and six out of their last seven. This recent winning streak comes after a tough stretch where they had a record of 6-10-1, which dropped them to the second spot in the wild-card race.
With this win, Vegas moves closer to the second-place team, Edmonton, in the Pacific Division. The Canucks currently hold the top spot in the division.
Marchessault was joined by Anthony Mantha, Jack Eichel, and Noah Hanifin in scoring during the first period, where Vegas built a commanding 4-1 lead.
William Karlsson and Brett Howden also scored for Vegas, while goalie Logan Thompson stopped 27 shots to secure his sixth consecutive win in his 99th career game.
During Thompson’s six-game win streak, which started on March 17, he has had the highest save percentage in the NHL at .952, and his goals-against average is the third-lowest among goalies who have started at least four games, at 1.42.
Vegas has been focusing on starting games strongly lately, and it has been paying off. Karlsson mentioned that their good starts have been a key factor in their recent success.
Quinn Hughes scored twice, and Nils Hoglander added another goal for the Canucks, with Casey DeSmith making 24 saves. The Golden Knights started their scoring spree when Anthony Mantha found the back of the net, followed by Marchessault’s goal, which was his team-leading 41st of the season.
Eichel then extended the lead, and Hanifin scored a power-play goal to give Vegas a three-goal advantage. Even with Vancouver’s power-play goal by Hughes and another goal early in the third period, Vegas maintained their lead, with Howden sealing the victory shortly after Vancouver’s goal.
