Golden Knights Win Old-Fashion 1-0 Defensive Battle Over Islanders Before 18,444 Saturday Night
By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
LVSportsBiz.com photos by J. Tyge O’Donnell
No 6-5 Vegas Golden Knights game this time.
It was a throwback defensive battle Saturday night and the VGK muscled out a 1-0 win over the tough New York Islanders before a big crowd of 18,444 at the Big Ice House by the Strip.
VGK forward Reilly Smith notched his 22nd goal with seconds left in the second period after the Islanders had a mix-up behind their net. Jonathan Marchessault picked up the puck and set up Smith on the side of the net.
That Smith goal stood up to win the contest.
It was a superb defensive effort by the Knights, which limited the Islanders to 19 shots on goal. The Knights had 43 shots on goal.
Fleury closed the deal in period three for his 60th career shutout and it meant a dozen free Krispy Kreme donuts for the attendees under a VGK-Krispy Kreme promotion. Fleury had recovered his gold pads that he used Saturday off the VGK auction block and wore them to a shutout victory.
VGK defenseman Shea discussed the defensive effort.
And Smith discussed the win after the game.
Here’s VGK coach Pete DeBoer after the game.
In the end, there were more fights (2) than goals (1). After heavyweight boxer Tyson Fury cranked the siren to get the game off and running, hard-hitting VGK forward Ryan Reaves and the Islanders’ Ross Johnston let the fists fly.
A fan hit a $30,000 “Golden Goal” contest jackpot prize between periods two and three when he made five shots from center ice for the first time in the Knights’ three seasons. Here’s a YouTube video of the scene by a VGK fan.
The crowd went nuts and the knight mascot went bonkers hugging the fan named Ruben during the intermission contest. The prize money comes from MGM Resorts. And the company’s president and COO, Bill Hornbuckle, just happened to be in the crowd watching the game.
After 30 home dates, the VGK are averaging 18,290 fans a game, filling T-Mobile Arena to 105.3 percent of capacity. The average attendance is 12th out of 31 NHL teams, the average capacity percentage ranks fourth in the NHL.
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