The Vegas Golden Knights hope to put the finishing touches on what has been a productive five-game road trip when they take on the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday.
Vegas has seven points out of a possible eight after a 3-2 overtime victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday. This is the team’s fifth victory in six games.
This hot streak has the Golden Knights tied for first place in the Pacific Division with the Anaheim Ducks with 39 points.
“It’s already a good trip (and) we have an opportunity to make it a great one,” Vegas captain Mark Stone said. “Getting nine points out of 10 would be quite a journey.”
Stone, who has recorded at least one point in all 14 games he has played this season (24 points total), scored two goals in the win over the Flyers, including the game-winner in overtime.
Jack Eichel stole the puck from Travis Konecny in the left corner of the Philadelphia zone, then fed Stone with a backdoor pass near the right post.
“Honestly, I was back checking on my guy and then I heard the crowd oohing and ahhing,” Stone said. “I didn’t really know what happened. Jack obviously forced a turnover, showed great composure, kind of caught their guys off guard, and I just fell in the gut there and he made an incredible back pass. Great play by the better player, and that’s kind of what we need in overtime.”
Eichel finished with two assists.
“It was great to get one in overtime,” Eichel said. “It’s two big points for the group.”
Columbus brings a four-game losing streak (0-3-1) to the table following a 6-3 loss to the Ottawa Senators in the first game of a four-game homestand Thursday.
The Blue Jackets fell into the Metropolitan Division cellar with the skid.
The good news is that despite the tough stretch, Columbus was just three points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for the second wild card spot entering NHL play Friday. A crowded Eastern Conference has eight teams separated by just three points for the final wild card.
Blue Jackets center Boone Jenner had a goal and an assist in his first game back after missing 14 games with an upper-body injury.
Columbus fell behind 3-0 in the first 15 minutes against the Senators and trailed 4-1 at the end of the first period, but got back to 4-3 on a power play goal from Dmitri Voronkov midway through the second period. However, Ottawa regained a two-goal lead just before the end of the period thanks to Tim Stutzle’s second goal of the game.
“I thought in the second half we were coming back,” Jenner said. “We had some momentum, some quick goals. So, it was just that late goal. I mean, a late goal in the first half and a late goal in the second. That hurt us. We couldn’t come back from that.”
The loss ended an eight-game point streak for the Blue Jackets (5-0-3), who talked about playing with more desperation in Saturday’s game against Vegas.
“We have to win hockey games,” said defenseman Zach Werenski, who had two assists Thursday. “It’s as simple as that. We’re letting things slide. We’re falling behind, and it’s up to us, as the players in this room, to fix it.”
–Field level media
