The Vegas Golden Knights lost their third game in a row on Friday at the PPG Paints Arena, losing 5-2 to the Pittsburgh Penguins. However, it is Max Pacioretty’s case that will get the most attention.
The Montreal Canadiens left the game in the second half and did not return to the game after that. The striker finally spent 9 minutes 17 seconds on the ice and used that time to prepare the net for Jacques Eichel.
Passuretti was also noticed for the wrong reasons, receiving a minor penalty after punching Penguin defender Chris Letang behind the head. But the crowd favorites did not harness this power.
It was Mark Friedman who finally scored the winning goal in the third inning. He beat goalkeeper Laurent Prosuite with an accurate shot, after entering a well-coordinated area.
Brian Rost, in the power game, and Evan Rodriguez, in an empty cage, also hit the goal in the winners’ third inning. Mike Matheson in the first period and Jeff Carter in the post-penguins also scored.
At the other end of the ice, Tristan Gary did forty parades. He surrendered to Eshel and Alex Petrangelo.
Blue Jackets Merzlikins rewards
In Columbus, the Blue Jackets rewarded goalkeeper Elvis Merzlikins’ efforts by hooking the game seconds before the end of regulatory time, then securing a 3-2 penalty shootout victory over Minnesota Wild.
With just over 30 seconds left as Zach Werenski directed a precise shot from the blue line that made his way past Kaapo Kahkonen’s net. In the penalty shootout, only Igor Chinakov scored the first goal for his team in the first half.
For his part, Elvis Merzlikins saved 36 out of 38 balls aimed at him, in addition to blocking the three opposing attempts in penalty shootouts. He was only thwarted by Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello.
