It was a rough night in Las Vegas for the Buffalo Sabres. They got off to a good start in the first few minutes of the game, but after that the Golden Knights controlled play for most of the night.
It looked like Vegas got on the scoreboard first. Defenseman Shea Theodore had a nice rush through the neutral zone and made a nice move around Rasmus Dahlin before beating Carter Hutton.
Fortunately for the Sabres the play was offside and the goal was overturned after a challenge. The Golden Knights kept the pressure on and eventually broke through.
Patrik Berglund was caught watching the puck and Jonathan Marchessault blew by him to the front of the net for an easy goal to make it 1-0.
That’s how things ended after 20 minutes and the Sabres were fortunate to be only down one goal after they were outshot 12-5 in the period.
The Sabres played a little bit better in the second, but continued to struggle to breakthrough on the man advantage. In fact, the power play opportunities worked against them to give Vegas their second goal of the game.
Cody Eakin broke in on a 2 on 1 and beat Hutton with a nice shot under the arm for a shorthanded goal.
As I mentioned in the beginning, the Sabres were not able to generate much of anything at even strength throughout the night and never really threatened to get back in this game.
The power play opportunities continued in the third period, but nothing would come of it. The Sabres ended up going 0 for 6 on night the night with a shorthanded goal against.
William Karlsson would add his first of the season late in the period to ice the game and make it 3-0 in favor of the Golden Knights. Buffalo was able to prevent getting shutout out again thanks to a late goal from Vladimir Sobotka, his first as a Sabre.
Jonathan Marchessault would add an empty netter in the final seconds for good measure and Vegas picked up their second straight win. The Sabres, meanwhile, are now 1-1 on the five-game road trip and head to the Shark Tank tomorrow night.
Final: Golden Knights 4, Sabres 1
Shots on Goal: Golden Knights 29 | Sabres 27
Sabres Goals: Vladimir Sobotka (1)
Golden Knights Goals: Jonathan Marchessault (3, 4), Cody Eakin (3), and William Karlsson (1)
Three Stars of the Game
1. Jonathan Marchessault (2 G, 1 A)
2. William Karlsson (1 G, 2 A)
3. Marc-Andre Fleury (26 saves on 27 shots)