The Vegas Golden Knights beat the Buffalo Sabres 4-1 on Sunday at KeyBank Center, getting two third-period goals from Tomas Hertl to pull away after a scoreless opening period. Adin Hill stopped 28 of 29 shots for Vegas, which improved to 12-5-2.
The Golden Knights scored twice in the second period to build a 2-0 lead, and Hertl’s pair in the third put the game away. Beck Malenstyn scored the lone goal for Buffalo, which fell to 8-6-3, with assists from Tyson Kozak and Mattias Samuelsson.
Takeaways From Golden Knights’ Win Over Sabres
Vegas found its scoring touch in the third
The Golden Knights broke the game open with two goals in a span of 5:34 during the third period. Hertl scored at 5:43, then struck again at 10:00 with helpers from Ivan Barbashev and Shea Theodore, turning a one-goal game into a 4-1 cushion.
Buffalo could not solve Adin Hill
The Sabres outshot Vegas 29-26 for the game but managed only one goal against Hill, who finished with a .966 save percentage. Colten Ellis stopped 22 of 26 shots in the loss, including 17 of 18 at even strength.
Special teams were a non-factor
Both teams went 0-for-3 on the power play. The Golden Knights also won the physical and possession battles, finishing with 23 blocked shots to Buffalo’s 10 and winning 55.8% of faceoffs compared to the Sabres’ 44.2%.
Player Of The Game: Tomas Hertl
Hertl scored twice in the third period, both on wrist shots, to lead all skaters with two points. He now has nine goals on the season after netting his eighth and ninth of the year in the span of five minutes against Buffalo.
Golden Knights Vs Sabres By The Numbers
Vegas out-hit Buffalo 20-10 and out-blocked the Sabres 23-10. The Sabres held the shot edge 29-26, but Hill’s .966 save percentage proved decisive. The Golden Knights won 55.8% of faceoffs and won the possession battle that paid off in the third period. Mattias Samuelsson led Buffalo’s defense with four shots on goal and an assist on Malenstyn’s goal.
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