Masterful Goaltending Job By Samsonov For VGK In 3-0 Win Over Calgary Before 18,269 Sunday
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Shop at Jay’s Market at 190 East Flamingo Road at the Koval Lane intersection east of the Strip.
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Story by Alan Snel Photos by Hugh Byrne
LAS VEGAS, Nevada — The Vegas Golden Knights are playing winning hockey, using their defensive corps to place a lock on opponents.
The Calgary Flames visited the Big Ice House by the Strip and could not trigger the red light after two periods — even with a juicy one-minute-plus two-man advantage late in the first period.
After 40 minutes, the lone goal scorer was VGK forward Brett Howden, who was awarded the tally for a slight re-direct off an Alex Pietrangelo shot from the high slot. Pietrangelo, trailing on the rush, received a nice pass from Tanner Pearson and fired a shot that was tipped in by Howden to beat Calgary netminder Dan Vladar with about four minutes left in the middle stanza.
Both goalies — Vegas’ Ilya Samsonov and Vladar — were sharp. There was only that one goal on 47 shots between the two hockey teams.
Calgary came to Las Vegas with a 17-11-7 record for 41 points. They lineup included two former defensemen from the VGK organization — Danill Miromanov and Brayden Pachal.
For the first parts of the final period, the game remained, 1-0, with Vegas holding the edge.
It was an impressive crowd during the week between Christmas and New Year’s, with the Golden Knights announcing attendance at 18,269.
The Vegas sealed the deal.
VGK’s Victor Olafsson blasted a rocket from the right circle on the power play with about five minutes left in the third. It gave Vegas a 2-0 cushion.
Pearson fired in an empty-netter and that was your final: Vegas 3 Calgary 0.
VGK improved to 25-8-3 for 53 points and will play Montreal here in Vegas at 12 noon on New Year’s Eve.
