Golden Knights Sweep Seattle in Season Opener
Four years ago, The Vegas Golden Knights won their inaugural opening night game over the Dallas Stars, 2-1.
The team however did not want to give the opportunity to the National Hockey Leagues’ newest team at their season opener at T-Mobile Arena Tuesday night.
Although the Seattle Kraken put up a decent fight, the Knights ended up spoiling their opening game 4-3, with Max Pacioretty scoring twice
.“It felt like a playoff game out there,” Pacioretty said following the game. “Tonight was a special night in the building and we used that energy to get the win.”
Vegas notably led the game with a 3-0 lead at one point, until the Kraken’s Ryan Donato dug into the Knights’ lead by scoring Seattle’s first-ever goal. Seattle’s Jared McCann and Morgan Geekie eventually scored and brought the game to a tie by the third period.
The tie was short-lived though as Chandler Stephenson sealed the game midway into the third period about 30 seconds later. Although Stephenson’s goal was called into question due to what seemingly looked like the Vegas forward purposefully kicking the puck into the goal, the goal was eventually cleared and helped seal a win against the Knights.
“We’ve got a veteran group and they know when it’s time to dial it up and play,” Vegas Head Coach Peter DeBoer said following the game. “I thought our group was ready to play tonight.”
Last night’s game was notable as the team’s first regular-season game without some of the team’s former star players, including Marc-Andre Fleury.
Robin Lehner — who currently stands as Vegas’ undisputed number one goaltender — received warm praise when he was introduced in front of the nearly 18,000 fans that packed into the T-Mobile Arena. Lehner was credited with stopping 28 shots during the game.
“I didn’t feel any panic. It’s the strength of this group,” Lehner said after the game. “ We have a lot of veteran guys and we have a lot of experience.
The Knights are set to play their first away game this season against the Los Angeles Kings at the Staples Center this Thursday.
Follow VegasNews.com for all things Vegas sports.