National Hockey League
Vegas 5, Arizona 2
When: 10:00 PM ET, Wednesday, January 20, 2021
Where: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Referees: Jake Brenk, Pierre Lambert
Linesmen: Trent Knorr, Kory Nagy
Attendance: N/A

Shea Theodore scored two goals and Alex Tuch had a goal and two assists as the Vegas Golden Knights remained unbeaten with a 5-2 victory over the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday night in Las Vegas.

It was the third two-goal game of Theodore's career. Mark Stone and Alex Pietrangelo each added a goal and an assist and Marc-Andre Fleury made 21 saves for Vegas, which improved to 4-0-0, the best start to a season in the franchise's four-year history.

The Golden Knights have also won 12 of their past 13 games at T-Mobile Arena, including all four this season.

Nick Schmaltz and Phil Kessel scored goals and Darcy Kuemper had 24 saves for Arizona. The teams resume their four-game series with a back-to-back set in Glendale, Ariz., starting Friday night.

Vegas took a 2-0 lead in the first period by scoring on two of its first three shots of the game. Theodore got the first at 5:18, a one-timer from the top of the right circle off a pass from Alec Martinez for the first goal by a Golden Knights defenseman this season.

Vegas didn't have to wait long to get a second tally from a blue-liner. A little over three minutes later, Pietrangelo, coming off a career-high 16-goal season for the St. Louis Blues, made it 2-0 with his first goal in a Golden Knights uniform. He slapped in a rebound of a Tuch shot that had caromed to him off the boards into the right circle.

Stone extended the lead to 3-0 midway through the second period with his second goal of the season. He took a pass from Max Pacioretty and then broke in alone in the slot and slid a shot around Kuemper's left pad and inside the right post.

Arizona cut it to 3-1 at 11:52 of the second. Drake Caggiula stole the puck behind the net and backhanded a pass to Schmaltz, who rifled a shot from the right dot into the far upper corner of the net.

Vegas broke the game open with two goals in a 73-second span early in the third period. Theodore got the first when he knocked in Reilly Smith's crossing pass over Kuemper's right pad at 5:01, and Tuch followed with a power-play goal.

Kessel deflected in a Jakob Chychrun shot for his fourth goal of the season at 7:38 to finish the scoring.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Arizona   Vegas
Phil Kessel 1 Points Alex Tuch 3
Phil Kessel 1 Goals Shea Theodore 2
Drake Caggiula 1 Assists Alex Tuch 2
N/A Power Play Goals Alex Tuch 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Darcy Kuemper .828 Save Percentage Marc-Andre Fleury .913
Darcy Kuemper 24 Saves Marc-Andre Fleury 21
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Arizona 23 2 0-4 6-7 14 26
Vegas 29 5 1-7 4-4 8 28
Upcoming Games
  • Vegas will play their next game on the road against Arizona. The Golden Knights have a W/L % of 1.000 after a win and .000 after a loss.
  • Arizona will play their next game at home against Vegas. The Coyotes have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .500 after a loss.