LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Vegas Golden Knights will host the New York Islanders in their first matchup of the regular season on Saturday.
Going into the game, Vegas has a 22-12-5 record overall and a 13-4-2 record at home. The Islanders have gone 8-6-4 on the road and are 18-10-10 overall.
The VGK are still looking to snap their cold streak following their loss against the Panthers earlier this week.
The Islanders are currently coming off a win against the Arizona Coyotes, with Bo Horvat emerging as a scoring leader with two goals in the Islanders' 5-1 win. Over the past 10 games, Horvat has six goals and six assists.
Scoring leaders for both teams are Jack Eichel, with 16 goals and 24 assists for the VGK, and Brock Nelson, with 16 goals and assists for the Islanders.
Missing from the ice for the VGK include Adin Hill with an undisclosed injury, Shea Theodore with an upper-body injury, William Karlsson with a lower-body injury, and Keegan Kolesar, who is marked "day-to-day" with an illness. Kaedan Korczak and Ben Hutton are also out with lower-body and upper-body injuries, respectively.
The Golden Knight would get up on the scoreboard first with a snapshot from Jack Eichel. The Islanders would answer with a wrist shot from Mathew Barzal almost five minutes later, tying the game before the end of the first.
Jack Eichel buries the first goal of the game WIDE OPEN In the slot.
— Johnny Resendiz (@Johnnyresendizz) January 7, 2024
A lot of solid passes from the top line there.
VGK 1 Islanders 0 #VegasBorn
The VGK would push up by two goals late in the second period, around the 17-minute mark, from Pavel Dorofeyev and Nicolas Roy.
The third period would see Jack Eichel's second goal of the game early in the third period, bringing the overall score to 1 - 4. The Islanders' Matt Martin would find the net for New York's second goal of the game shortly after.
Mark Stone and Chandler Stephenson with some crisp passes behind the net set Pavel Dorofeyev up for a tap In goal.
— Johnny Resendiz (@Johnnyresendizz) January 7, 2024
VGK 2 Islanders 1 #VegasBorn
Nicolas Roy would also score his second goal of the game with a wrist shot reaching the net around the 4-minute mark, widening the VGK's lead 2 - 5.
And now Nic Roy gets his second today.
— Johnny Resendiz (@Johnnyresendizz) January 7, 2024
Roy hit It from the left circle and somehow the puck slips my Sorokin Into the net.
VGK 5 Islanders 2 #VegasBorn
The final score is 5 - 2 for the VGK, officially snapping their seven-game cold streak.
After the game, players said this was a great win to get back on track.
"There were good things to like about our offensive zone game," Eichel said. "I thought it was just a good response by our group."
Cormier says it was a fun first time playing at The Fortress.
"Right now, it feels like it went by pretty fast," Cormier said. "Taking everything in at once now. It was a great experience from top to bottom."
The Golden Knights will now be going on the road to Colorado to take on the Avalanche on Wednesday.
We are your official broadcast partner with the Vegas Golden Knights. For more information, read about Vegas 34.
For more on the team, visit ktnv.com/goldenknights.