Marchessault’s Seventh-Career Hat Trick Carries Vegas to Victory Over the Rangers
In a highly anticipated matchup, the defending Stanley Cup Champions Las Vegas Golden Knights and the Metropolitan Division leading New York Rangers clashed on Friday night at Madison Square Garden. Coming into the game, both teams were looking to start the first half of a back-to-back prior to the All–Star Break on a good note. In the end, Jonathan Marchessault’s seventh-career hat trick would propel Vegas to a 5-2 victory over the Rangers. For the Rangers, the loss continues a bumpy January stretch, in which they have gone 4-7-2 and have been aiming to find their groove again. Meanwhile, the victory for Vegas provides them with continued momentum, as they have gone 7-4-1 in the month of January.
The Golden Knights would jump out to a 1-0 lead, at 5:02 of the first period, as winger Sheldon Rempal would tip-in a shot from Paul Cotter past goaltender Igor Shesterkin. At 6:33, the Rangers would draw level at 1-1, as Blake Wheeler would score on a wrist-shot from the left-circle. Early in the second period, the Knights would begin a stretch of scoring two goals 46 seconds apart, as Keegan Kolesar would score on a breakaway rush to retake a 2-1 lead. Following Kolesar’s goal, Marchessault would extend Vegas’ lead to 3-1, as he would score on a slap-shot from the left-circle.
To begin the third, Marchessault would score off of a heavy rebound for his second goal of the night a few minutes into the period to extend the Knights’ lead to 4-1. The Rangers would fail to generate pressure in the final period, as they managed to score once at 18:55, as Kaapo Kakko knocked in the puck with the extra-attacker on the ice to cut their deficit to 4-2. With 29 seconds left, Marchessault would bury the empty netter to complete the hat trick and give Vegas their 5-2 victory. The Knights’ victory was led by Marchessault and goaltender Adin Hill, who had himself an impressive showing, stopping 36 shots on 38 attempts. The Knights will look to finish their first half on a strong note against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night.
