Vegas 7, Florida 2
When: 7:00 PM ET, Thursday, February 6, 2020
Where: BB&T Center, Sunrise, Florida
Referees:
Francis Charron, Kendrick Nicholson
Linesmen:
Tony Sericolo, Travis Toomey
Attendance:
15057
By Field Level Media
Mark Stone scored two goals and added three assists, leading the Vegas Golden Knights to a 7-2 win over the Florida Panthers on Thursday night in Sunrise, Fla.
Max Pacioretty added two goals and one assist for Vegas.
Marc-Andre Fleury made 23 saves to earn his 460th career win, passing Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers for fifth place on the NHL's all-time list.
Stone, who has 20 goals, leads the Knights in assists (33) and points (53). Nate Schmidt and Shea Theodore added a goal and an assist apiece, and Jonathan Marchessault also scored for Vegas.
Vincent Trocheck registered a goal and an assist, and Mike Hoffman also had a goal for the Panthers. Jonathan Huberdeau, Florida's first-time All-Star this year, had two assists.
The Panthers were without their captain, center Aleksander Barkov, due to a lower-body injury. Barkov skated in practice on Thursday and may be ready to face the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday. Center Brian Boyle (upper-body injury) and defenseman MacKenzie Weegar (ill) were also out for Florida.
Sergei Bobrovsky, who saved 23 of the 29 shots he faced, took the loss. He was removed with 11:07 left in the game, immediately following the goal by Marchessault, who is a former Panthers winger. Sam Montembeault entered and saved nine of 10 shots.
The game was tied 1-1 after the first period. Stone rebounded his own shot to give Vegas the lead at 2:15, and Florida tied the score on a power-play goal by Hoffman at 16:22, thanks to a brilliant pass from Trocheck.
Vegas took a 2-1 lead with just 1:41 gone in the second as Stone stickhandled past four defenders before pushing the puck and lifting it over Bobrovsky's glove.
Florida tied the score with 11:52 gone in the second as Trocheck, skating with speed, swooped in for a wraparound past Fleury's right leg.
Vegas grabbed its third lead 26 seconds later as Pacioretty took a great pass from Stone and then stuffed in his own rebound.
The Knights extended their lead to 4-2 as Schmidt scored just 17 seconds into the third period, firing through traffic as Bobrovsky never saw the puck until it was too late.
Theodore made it 5-2 with his short-handed goal, a wrist shot from above the left circle that beat Bobrovsky's glove at 4:11. After Marchessault's power-play one-timer, the rout was on for Vegas, with Pacioretty scoring at 15:06.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
Vegas |
|
Florida |
Mark Stone 5 |
Points |
Vincent Trocheck 2 |
Mark Stone 2 |
Goals |
Vincent Trocheck 1 |
Mark Stone 3 |
Assists |
Jonathan Huberdeau 2 |
Jonathan Marchessault 1 |
Power Play Goals |
Mike Hoffman 1 |
Shea Theodore 1 |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
Marc-Andre Fleury .920 |
Save Percentage |
Sam Montembeault .900 |
Marc-Andre Fleury 23 |
Saves |
Sergei Bobrovsky 23 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
Vegas
|
39 |
7 |
1-5 |
2-3 |
8 |
27 |
Florida
|
25 |
2 |
1-3 |
4-5 |
12 |
31 |
Upcoming Games
-
Florida will play their next game at home against Pittsburgh. The Panthers have a W/L % of .467 after a win and .652 after a loss.
-
Vegas will play their next game at home against Carolina. The Golden Knights have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .500 after a loss.