Vegas Golden Knights: Max Pacioretty tears it up in preseason opener

Notes and Stats

• This is how the Vegas Golden Knights lined up in full:

Pacioretty-Glass-Smith
Marchessault-Roy-Zykov
Cotter-Eakin-Kolesar
McKenzie-Quinney-Brown

Bischoff-Holden
Schuldt-Whitecloud
McNabb-Coghlan

Subban

• And here are some stats from the game:
• Shots On Goal – VGK: 31 – ARI: 30
• FO% – VGK: 49% – ARI: 51%
• PP – VGK: 0/0 – ARI: 0/0
• PIM – VGK: 27 – ARI: 30
• HITS – VGK: 34 – ARI: 37
• BLKS – VGK: 19 – ARI: 11

Now for some notes on the game…

• Max Pacioretty should be the First Star for this game and he was exceptional. He set the tone for his younger teammates from the first drop of the puck and he was a shining example for line-mate Cody Glass, who would have benefitted from being a witness first hand to the masterclass put on by Pacioretty. Although it is only the preseason, a four point night including a hat trick can’t be sniffed at and it was an encouraging sign to see the veteran locked in so early on in the preseason.
• Speaking of Cody Glass, the rookie flashed glimpses of quality on the top line alongside Max Pacioretty and Reilly Smith, recording an assist, a plus/minus rating of +2 and logging 15:04 of ice time, including 1:58 of ice time on the power play. It was a good start for the forward who will no doubt be given more top line minutes throughout the preseason as he continues to try and win a spot on the opening night roster.

• Malcolm Subban recovered from a dreadful start where he let in two soft goals in the first period, going on to stop 28 shots and pulling off a flurry of fine saves in the second and third periods. It was a good recovery from the goalie but he has to figure out how to start strong from the first drop of the puck, he won’t be a regular starter in the NHL if he continues to suffer slow starts.
• Nick Holden looks set to take on the role of depth defenseman in 2019-20 for the Vegas Golden Knights following what was a hugely disappointing debut year in Sin City. However, he appeared to play with a chip on his shoulder in the preseason opener and impressed, getting a primary assist on Max Pacioretty’s first goal with a stellar dish, while recording one hit, two blocked shots and two takeaways in 17:09 minutes of ice time.
• Obviously no one told the Vegas Golden Knights and the Arizona Coyotes that this was an exhibition game in the preseason. There was a staggering combined 72 hits between the two teams and some absolutely bone-crushing hits, including a huge hit from Max Pacioretty in the first period. It was a preseason tilt that certainly had a lot of edge and nastiness to it.
• Finally, the battle for the one remaining blueline roster spot on the opening night roster rages on and a number of the candidates looked solid today. Dylan Coghlan was the standout out of the four rookie defensemen that played, logging 19:23 minutes of ice time with an assist and a plus/minus rating of +3, while Jake Bischoff also caught the eye with a plus/minus rating of +2 in 16:44 minutes of ice time. Zach Whitecloud was -1 and logged 20:17 minutes of ice time, while Jimmy Schuldt was -2 in 19:15 minutes of ice time.

So, overall, it was an eventful preseason opener for the Vegas Golden Knights who hit the road on Tuesday when they travel to Colorado to take on the Avalanche in their second preseason game – 6:00 p.m. PT.