Golden Knights G Jiri Patera beats Blues in NHL debut

 

[March 13, 2023]  Pavel Dorofeyev earned his first two NHL points and goaltender Jiri Patera recorded his first NHL victory as the visiting Vegas Golden Knights defeated the St. Louis Blues 5-3 Sunday.

Dorofeyev had a goal and an assist and Patera made 30 saves for the Golden Knights, who have won six of their last seven games.

William Karlsson and Alex Pietrangelo had a goal and an assist each for Vegas. Jonathan Marchessault and Michael Amadio also scored and Reilly Smith had two assists.

Jakub Vrana, Jordan Kyrou and Tyler Pitlick scored for the Blues and Jordan Binnington made 26 saves.

The Golden Knights struck first after Dorofeyev stole the puck from Blues defenseman Nick Leddy. He set up the trailing Karlsson for his point-blank goal at 8:05 of the first period.

The Blues tied the game 1-1 on a power play with 6:34 left in the period. From behind the net, Kyrou made a centering pass to the low slot and Vrana scored his 100th career goal.

Just 28 seconds into the second period, Marchessault put Vegas up 2-1. He took Pietrangelo's pass in the right circle and beat Binnington with a shot between his pads.

Vegas increased its margin to 3-1 less than two minutes later. Brett Howden shot from the left point and Binnington kicked a long rebound to Amadio for his weak-side conversion.

Mar 12, 2023; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Vegas Golden Knights left wing Pavel Dorofeyev (16) reacts after scoring his first NHL goal against the St. Louis Blues during the third period at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Le-USA TODAY Sports

The Blues cut their deficit to 3-2 by scoring off the rush. Buchnevich fed the trailing Robert Thomas, who slid the puck to Kyrou for his 30th goal of the season, a blast from the left circle.

Buchnevich's assist, the 200th in his career, extended his point streak to nine games.

Pitlick tied the game 3-3 at 3:41 of the third period by driving to the right post and redirecting Marco Scandella's shot/pass from the left point for his 100th NHL career point.

But Dorofeyev restored the Vegas lead less than two minutes later by claiming a loose puck and firing a shot on Binnington. The rebound caromed off Dorofeyev's visor into the net.

Pietrangelo's empty-net goal with seven seconds left iced the game.

--Field Level Media

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