Dorofeyev, Patera go singing the Blues in St. Louis

The Golden Knights held off the St. Louis Blues on Sunday evening with a 5-3 win. The win came on the debut of Jiri Patera as the Golden Knights netminder and was aided with the first goal of Pavel Dorofeyev’s NHL career. Coming off a win against the Carolina Hurricanes, the Golden Knights have won three straight games on their five game road trip. The game against the Blues also marked the homecoming of Ivan Barbashev back in St. Louis since being traded to the Golden Knights and it is also the 600th game of William Karlsson’s career.

Golden Knights, Blues trade goals as Dorofeyev gets first NHL point

As the first period got underway, the Golden Knights offense found itself getting off to a solid start with Alec Martinez and William Karlsson getting off a pair of shots in the first minute.  Dorofeyev’s first shot would go wide of the net with barely a minute gone by. The debuting Patera would not have to wait long to see some action as Robert Thomas and Colton Parayko got a pair of shots off. Patera’s first two saves in the NHL came with relative ease. A minute later, Schenn got another Blues shot off.

Coming off a pass from Dorofeyev, William Karlsson got the Golden Knights on the board first with his 14th goal of the season at the 8:05 mark. The assist form Dorofeyev is the first point of his career. Reilly Smith was also credited with the assist. The shots and possession would change hands a few times as Shea Theodore’s shot with 9:29 left hit the goalpost.

With 7:05 left, Phil Kessel was called for hooking on Tyler Tucker, which gave the Blues the first power play of the game. Just 30 seconds in, after a Brayden Schenn shot, the Blues would get on the board with a Jakub Vrana goal to tie the game at one goal a piece. With two minutes left, the Golden Knights would get their first power play of the game on a Tyler Pitlick holding call on Brett Howden. The Blues were able to limit the Golden Knights offensively to just one shot and escaped the period with the score even at one.

Golden Knights 1, Blues 1 – 1st Intermission

The Breakdown…

The good, Karlsson’s goal gives Dorofeyev his first NHL point. With Patera’s debut, he played about as well as he could.  The pressure of playing in your first NHL game certainly has its jitters and cobwebs. Dealing with a power play at the NHL level is a whole new animal. The opening period went about as well it possibly could.

Fast start in second leads to two Vegas goals

The second period started of with a bang as Alex Pietrangelo and Alec Martinez got an assist on a goal from Jonathan Marchessaault to put the Golden Knights back up with a 2-1 score just 28 seconds in. After Patera saved a rocket off the stick of Torey Krug with Howden got a shot on goal but was stopped by Jordan Binnington. Seconds later, with 2:10 gone by in the period, Michael Amadio would come collecting his 11th goal of the season. Amadio’s goal was assisted by Howden and Nic Hague. The second Golden Knights goal resulted in the Blues calling a timeout.

After the timeout, the Blues began playing like they wanted to be there. Pavel Buchnevich and Justin Faulk got off a pair of shots but Patera was able to make the save on Faulk’s shot. Brandon Saad was called for hooking on Stephenson with 15:03 remaining in the period giving the Golden Knights their second power play of the evening. The first minute of the power play saw the Golden Knights getting some offense as Karlsson and Marchessault would get off a couple of shots. The Blues would see just one shot in the power play as Vegas was able to kill it off.

Kasperi Kapanen and Nathan Walker a few minutes later would be the next major opportunity for St. Louis with a pair of shots. A couple minutes after that, the Blues would capitalize off a faceoff with an Eichel giveaway. Buchnevich and Thomas would get it to Kyrou, who scored to get the game to within one with just under five minutes remaining in the period. The goal was Kyrou’s 30th goal of the season. The rest of the period saw plenty of chances from both teams but both Binnington and Patera were there to make the stops.

Golden Knights 3, Blues 2 – 2nd Intermission

The Breakdown..

A fast start by the Golden Knights was the difference in the period. From the second Vegas goal on, the period was relatively even. The penalty kill for the Golden Knights was probably the biggest stand defensively. Giving the credit to not just the offense, but the defense in making sure the Blues played catch up the entire period.

Dorofeyev, Patera shine and dine in St. Louis

Within the first two minutes of the period, the Golden Knights were looking to create some breathing room from the Blues. Eichel and Dorofeyev got shots on Binnington while the Blues countered with a couple of their own on Patera. At the 3:41 mark, Pitlick would get a rebound off Patera and knock in the puck to tie the game at three a piece. It was Pitlick’s fifth goal of the season and was assisted by Scandella and Walker.

Just over two minutes later, coming on a deflection with 14:37 left to go, via Smith and Karlsson, Dorofeyev scored off hiss head his first NHL goal to give the Golden Knights a 4-3 lead. The goal was reviewed and was ultimately awarded.

The Blues would give Patera and the Golden Knight defense a very good challenge over the next few minutes, Following a Patera save against Buchnevich with 10:48 remaining, the period, Marchessault blocked a shot by Scandella before getting hos own shot that ended up in the nettings.

Patera would make a series of saves against the Blues down the stretch of the period. The Golden Knight offense fired off a few shots of their own around the 13-14 minute mark. In the final seconds off, from two former St. Louis Blues players, Barbashev made a pass to Pietrangelo for an empty net goal making the game a two goal defeat for the home squad.

Golden Knights 5, Blues 3 – Final

Game Notes

• The Golden Knights improve to 41-20-6 with 88 points. They are now three points ahead of the Los Angeles Kings and seven points ahead of the Seattle Kraken in the Pacific Division standings.
• In his NHL debut, Jiri Patera stopped 30 of 33 shots he faced.
• The game was the 600th of William Karlsson’s NHL career. He would collect a goal and an assist over the course of the game.
• The Golden Knights finish off the five game road trip Tuesday night against the Philadelphia Flyers. They are 3-1 through the four games currently played on the trip.
• If the season ended after the day’s action, the Golden Knights would get the Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the playoffs. The Central division leading Dallas Stars would get the Edmonton Oilers.

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