By Canadian Press

Theodore has four points as Golden Knights hang on for 6-5 win over Canadiens

Nov 16, 2023 | 9:10 PM

MONTREAL — Shea Theodore had a goal and three assists as the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Montreal Canadiens 6-5 on Thursday night.

Jack Eichel and Mark Stone contributed a goal and two assists apiece while Brett Howden, Brayden McNabb and Jonathan Marchessault also scored for Vegas (13-3-1), which lost 3-0 to the Washington Capitals on Tuesday.

Adin Hill, who entered the game at Bell Centre with a .939 save percentage, stopped 23 shots.

Jesse Ylonen scored twice while Alex Newhook, Johnathan Kovacevic and Justin Barron also had goals for Montreal (7-8-2), which lost its third game in a row. Captain Nick Suzuki and defenceman Mike Matheson each had two assists.

Cayden Primeau made 36 saves in his third start of the season.

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The Golden Knights went 3-for-7 on the power play. The Canadiens were 0-for-3.

Canadiens veteran forward Brendan Gallagher took a double-minor penalty for high-sticking Pavel Dorofeyev with 2:51 left in the third period. Eichel and Stone scored for the Golden Knights with the man advantage.

Barron got one back for Montreal with the goalie pulled with 54 seconds left, but the Canadiens couldn’t find the equalizer despite a late press. 

Down 2-0, Vegas outscored Montreal 4-2 in a back-and-forth second period to tie the game entering the third.

Howden got Vegas on the board by beating Primeau short-handed at 2:33 with a shot that trickled under the netminder’s arm.

Ylonen replied at 8:28, scoring on a breakaway after tipping the puck between both Golden Knights defencemen at Montreal’s blue line and skating down the ice before deking out Hill.

McNabb scored 18 seconds later to make it 3-2 and Marchessault added another at 11:20 to tie the game.

Ylonen, playing on Montreal’s fourth line, buried his second of the night just 33 seconds after that off a pass from behind the net by Michael Pezzetta to quickly regain the lead.

Theodore, however, evened things again with a power-play marker off a shot from the point.

Primeau carried the Canadiens through the first period by turning away all 18 Vegas shots, compared to Montreal’s six.

After the Golden Knights opened the game with the first eight shots, including a couple Primeau robberies on William Karlsson, Newhook scored on Montreal’s first look at 6:43 with a wrister from a sharp angle. It was his fourth goal of the season, and his first in 14 games.

Kovacevic then scored his first of the campaign at 10:03. Primeau continued to hold the fort until Vegas opened the floodgates in the second.

INJURIES

Canadiens defenceman Arber Xhekaj left the game with an upper-body injury after falling to the ice from a heavy hit from Vegas forward Ivan Barbashev. Xhekaj exited favouring his left shoulder.

Montreal forward Rafael Harvey-Pinard missed the game with a lower-body injury. He’s considered day-to-day.

KARL TREMBLAY (1976-2023)

The Canadiens held a touching tribute for the late singer-songwriter Karl Tremblay, leader of the award-winning Québécois band “Les Cowboys Fringants,” and played the group’s music throughout the evening. 

Tremblay, who had prostate cancer, died Wednesday. He was 47.

Fans sang along and waved their flashlights to “Les Étoiles Filantes” before the puck drop, following along with lyrics for the 2004 hit song on the Bell Centre big screen. Tremblay was named the game’s first star.

UP NEXT

Vegas: Visits the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday in the third game of a five-game road trip.

Montreal: Visits the Boston Bruins on Saturday to open a five-game road trip.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 16, 2023.

Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press