Vegas 3, Anaheim 2
When: 10:00 PM ET, Friday, January 4, 2019
Where: Honda Center, Anaheim, California
Referees:
Ghislain Hebert, Brad Watson
Linesmen:
Lonnie Cameron, Ryan Gibbons
Attendance:
17222
By Field Level Media
Tomas Nosek had a goal and an assist, and Marc-Andre Fleury made 25 saves to pick up his league-leading 24th victory as the visiting Vegas Golden Knights moved into a tie for first place in the Pacific Division with a 3-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Friday night.
It was the 11th straight game for Fleury without a regulation loss (8-0-3). Max Pacioretty and Nate Schmidt also scored goals for Vegas, which won its fifth consecutive game, equaling its season-best win streak. The Golden Knights also improved to 16-3-3 over their past 22 games.
Daniel Sprong and Carter Rowney scored goals for Anaheim, which tied its longest losing streak of the season with its seventh straight loss (0-5-2). John Gibson finished with 39 saves for the Ducks.
Schmidt gave the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead early in the first period with his fourth goal of the season, blasting a shot from inside the blue line through traffic and past Gibson's glove side. It came at the end of a delayed penalty as Vegas controlled the puck for nearly a minute.
Anaheim scored a pair of goals in the span of 18 seconds early in the second period to a 2-1 lead. Sprong got the first on a power play, slapping a shot from the right point past a screen by Nick Ritchie and beating Fleury on his blocker side.
Rowney then followed with his third goal of the season, tapping in a Hampus Lindholm crossing pass at the end of an odd-man rush into a wide-open right side of the net.
Vegas answered later in the middle period with two goals in 31 seconds to regain the lead.
Nosek tied it with his fifth goal of the season, chopping in a backhand rebound of a Brayden McNabb shot. Pacioretty, reinstated earlier in the day from the injured reserve list after missing seven games with a lower-body injury, then scored his 11th goal of the season off a nice crossing pass from Paul Stastny with an easy tap-in into the left side of the net.
Anaheim pulled Gibson for an extra attacker with 1:30 remaining. The Ducks had a chance to tie it with 20 seconds to go, but McNabb deflected Ondrej Kase's backhand attempt from the right side of the goal over the net.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
Vegas |
|
Anaheim |
Tomas Nosek 2 |
Points |
Carter Rowney 1 |
Tomas Nosek 1 |
Goals |
Carter Rowney 1 |
Tomas Nosek 1 |
Assists |
Brian Gibbons 1 |
N/A |
Power Play Goals |
Daniel Sprong 1 |
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
Marc-Andre Fleury .926 |
Save Percentage |
John Gibson .929 |
Marc-Andre Fleury 25 |
Saves |
John Gibson 39 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
Vegas
|
42 |
3 |
0-3 |
2-3 |
6 |
29 |
Anaheim
|
27 |
2 |
1-3 |
3-3 |
6 |
23 |
Upcoming Games
-
Anaheim will play their next game at home against Edmonton. The Ducks have a W/L % of .600 after a win and .318 after a loss.
-
Vegas will play their next game at home against New Jersey. The Golden Knights have a W/L % of .480 after a win and .684 after a loss.