Golden Knights dominate Coyotes in tune up game before round robin

The Vegas Golden Knights shook off the rust from their game, as they beat the Arizona Coyotes 4-1.

The Vegas Golden Knights are one step closer to their round-robin games while the Arizona Coyotes will now shift their attention to Sunday when they play in game 1 of their play in series vs the Nashville Predators.

Both teams were looking to shake off the rust while the Vegas Golden Knights are already in the playoffs, the Arizona Coyotes will focus their attention on the Nashville Predators.

The 1st period started with both teams trading chances back and forth and it looked like this was going to be a great game. Five minutes into the period the first penalty of the game was called when Alex Goligoski was sent for the box for tripping.

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The Coyotes managed to kill the first penalty but not without a scare when Alex Tuch poked a puck free and went in on a breakaway but Darcy Kuemper was up to the task and shut the door. Three minutes later Arizona had a powerplay opportunity of their own when the Knights were called for too many men on the ice.

It didn’t go as planned for the Coyotes as Rielly Smith off a counter-attack managed to go on a 2 on 1 and beat Darcy Kuemper for the first goal of the game and a short-handed goal to boot. Special teams seemed to be a factor in this period as once again Arizona was called again when Jakob Chychrun went to the box for tripping.

It didn’t take long for Vegas to get to work on the powerplay and once again Rielly Smith was the man who would double their lead when he took a great wrist shot that went top shelf on Kuemper. At that point, the Coyotes had gone 17 minutes without registering a shot on goal. The first period would end on that score and the shots in favor of the Golden Knights 9-5.

Arizona came out in the 2nd period ready to get back in the game and start attacking early but Marc-Andre Fleury was also up to the task of stopping the puck and keeping his teams lead. Eight minutes into the period Niklas Hjalmarsson was called for not one but two penalties on the play. He was sent to the penalty box for a slashing call but decided he would give his opinion to the referee who decided to give him unsportsmanlike conduct.

The Vegas Golden Knights were gifted a four-minute power play but Arizona was able to kill it and then once again had another chance on the man advantage when Zack Whitecloud was sent off for holding. Unfortunately, as Nick Schmaltz was being held Ryan Reaves made contact with his head and he was hit pretty hard. He ended up going to the dressing room and he didn’t return.

The 2nd period would end with the Vegas Golden Knights up 2-0 and 20 minutes away from a win that would give them some confidence going into the round-robin round.

Into the 3rd period and due to the fact it was a tune-up game the Arizona Coyotes decided to give Darcy Kuemper the rest of the night off and made the switch to Antti Raanta. He was put to work early as the penalties kept coming when Oliver Ekman-Larsson was called for Slashing and it gave another opportunity to the Knights to add to their lead.

The Coyotes managed to kill it off once again and the tables were turned when Vegas got called for another penalty when Tomas Nosek was called for cross-checking. Discipline was a major issue in this game with both teams trading chances on the man advantage.

Taylor Hall would end up making the Knights pay for this one as he picked up a loose puck in the crease during a mad scramble and Fleury flopping on the ice like a fish and was able to put the puck past him to make it a 2-1 game.

Arizona even got another chance to tie it up with another powerplay opportunity when Shea Theodore was called for slashing. The Coyotes pushed for an equalizer but Fleury would shut the door. Vegas would then add to their lead with six minutes left in the game when Alex Tuch would get a great feed from Nicholas Roy and from an insane angle go top shelf on Raanta for a 3-1 lead and an insurance goal.

It was smooth sailing from there for the Vegas Golden Knights as Nick Cousins would add an empty netter to make it a final score 4-1. The Golden Knights now head into a round-robin format where they will play Dallas, Colorado, and St. Louis to try and land the number 1 seed while Arizona turns it’s attention to Sunday and game 1 of their play in series vs the Nashville Predators.

Vegas can now feel good knowing they played a good hockey game and will go into their next match with confidence.