It was apparent pretty early that the Vegas Golden Knights were itching to get back out on the ice after a 10-day, COVID-19 induced hiatus.
50 seconds into the first period, Nicolas Hague put the puck past Los Angeles Kings goalie Jonathan Quick to put the Knights on top early.
They never looked back.
9:32 into the first, Mark Stone found the back of the net. Just over a minute later, Jonathan Marchessault added to the tally with another goal.
1:35 into the second period, William Karlsson scored a goal. Jonathan Quick was then pulled after allowing four goals on six Golden Knight shots on goal.
Cody Glass then added a power play goal 7:03 into the second.
This would turn out to be all the Knights needed, as the Kings added two third period goals, but the Golden Knights coasted to an easy 5-2 win.
"I loved our start. I loved the fact that we got a lead," said head coach Pete DeBoer after the Knights' win. "This is a hard league to win in any night, and particularly when you throw different circumstances like a 10-day layoff in there. It wasn't a perfect game, but we showed up and got the job done. We'll look at it tomorrow and get a little better."
Big night for Glass-Hague-Coghlan household
Cody Glass, Nicolas Hague, and Dylan Coghlan, who are all roomates, all had a big night on Friday.
Glass scored a power play goal, Hague scored a goal and assisted on two others, and Coghlan made his NHL debut with the Knights.
"Obviously we were very excited for Dylan coming into it," said Glass. "He played a really great game. We were all really excited to get back at it, and to get the win was special for Coghlan's first night."
Fleury emerging as The Guy going forward
When Marc-Andre Fluery allowed a goal 7:47 into the third period, it snapped a streak of 119:59 in which he had not let a goal past him. That's just one minute less than two full games. Yes, you read that right.
Fleury is excelling this season, holding a 4-0-0 record. He has stopped 85 of 90 shots against him, boasting a .944 save percentage, and 1.25 GAA.
Meanwhile, the goalie who he is rotating with, Robin Lehner, is 2-1-1, has allowed 12 goals on 104 shots (88.46 SV%), and a 2.95 GAA.
Fleury is clearly the better goalie, and, stats aside, the team just seems to have a different energy when he is on the ice. The team plays more confident and attacking, probably because they know they have 29 in goal. He will most likely stop whatever the opposition throws at him.
While DeBoer seems to be comfortable with the Lehner-Fleury rotation for now, is it time to give Fleury two out of three games? The question is a valid one, and is sure to enter Pete Deboer's mind should Fleury keep up the stellar play, and Lehner the subpar play.
The Knights look ahead to tomorrow night, February 6th, when they will again host the Los Angeles Kings at T-Mobile Arena.
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