NHL

Vegas Golden Knights at Detroit Red Wings

· National Hockey League
Final
4 - 1

Eichel, Kessel lead Golden Knights past Red Wings, 4-1

Phil Kessel had a goal and an assist, while Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith also scored for Vegas, which won for the second time in five games. Adin Hill made 24 saves to record his first victory in his last four starts.

“I thought that was a real responsible, professional road game,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. “We managed the puck, took advantage of some opportunities, bent but didn’t break in some spots, got a timely power-play goal, had some good kills late and got a few big saves.”

Eichel left the game early in the third period with an undisclosed injury. The Golden Knights are hopeful he won't miss any games.

“If there’s one guy who wants to play in Boston on Monday, it’s Jack,” Cassidy said.

Oskar Sundqvist scored his third goal in two games, while Ville Husso stopped 21 shots for Detroit. The Wings lost in regulation for just the second time in eight games (4-2-2).

“Our margin of error is very thin against anyone,” Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde said. “It’s even less against these top teams.”

Eichel scored his 13th goal when he slipped unchecked next to the goal post and Chandler Stephenson backhanded a pass to him for an easy tap-in at 1:04.

Vegas and Detroit are among the three least penalized teams in the league and the first penalty wasn’t called until 7:16 of the second period, when the Red Wings' Jordan Oesterle was whistled for tripping. Marchessault cashed in with his ninth goal, lifting the puck from the right circle over Husso's shoulder off a pass from Shea Theodore at 7:50.

The Red Wings also scored on their first power play as Sundqvist converted on a rebound off a shot by Dominik Kubalik with 8:23 left.

After serving out the next penalty, Kessel came out of the box and scored on a breakaway with 3:28 remaining in the middle period for a 3-1 Vegas lead. Kessel’s goal was the 17th of his career against Detroit in 31 games.

“We were on a power play and they get out of the box and get a breakaway.,” Larkin said. “Kessel’s going to make us pay and he did. That one hurts because we’re trying to tie it up.”

Smith added an empty-netter with 3 minutes left. Vegas had given up a one-goal lead in the third period against Pittsburgh in a 4-3 loss on Thursday.

“This was a big game for us after losing in Pittsburgh,” Hill said. “The guys were great in front of me and the forwards did a good job of getting the puck behind their defensemen, so when they did get the puck, they had to come 200 feet against us.”

NOTES

The Red Wings were playing their first game since F Tyler Bertuzzi, a 30-goal scorer last season, was placed on injured reserve. Bertuzzi was struck by a shot on Wednesday and suffered a hand injury that required surgery. ... Eichel has recorded a point in 15 of the last 18 games.. ... Vegas (eight games) and expansion Seattle (two games) are the only two teams that Detroit C Dylan Larkin hasn't scored against in his career.

UP NEXT

Golden Knights: At Boston on Monday night to wrap up a four-game trip.

Red Wings: At Columbus on Sunday to begin a four-game trip.

Regular Season Series

VGK leads series 1-0

Scoring Summary

Goal 1st Period 1:04 Goal scored by Jack Eichel assisted by Chandler Stephenson and Brayden McNabb
Goal 2nd Period 7:50 Goal scored by Jonathan Marchessault assisted by Shea Theodore and Mark Stone (PPG)
Goal 2nd Period 11:37 Goal scored by Oskar Sundqvist assisted by Dominik Kubalik and Dylan Larkin (PPG)
Goal 2nd Period 16:32 Goal scored by Phil Kessel assisted by Nicolas Roy
Goal 3rd Period 17:00 Goal scored by Reilly Smith assisted by Phil Kessel and Brayden McNabb (EN)

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/vgk.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originVGK https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/det.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originDET
23 Blocked Shots 16
20 Hits 19
4 Takeaways 1
25 Shots 25
1 Power Play Goals 1
1 Power Play Opportunities 3
100.0 Power Play Percentage 33.3
0 Short Handed Goals 0
0 Shootout Goals 0
25 Faceoffs Won 27
48.1 Faceoff Win Percent 51.9
7 Giveaways 11
3 Total Penalties 1
6 Penalty Minutes 2
Detroit Red Wings Detroit Red Wings Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, RW Day-To-Day Mar 17
Michael Rasmussen, C Out Mar 14
Dylan Larkin, C Out Mar 12
Andrew Copp, C Out Mar 12
Vegas Golden Knights Vegas Golden Knights Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE

Game Information

Little Caesars Arena

Location: Detroit, MI
Attendance: 19,515 | Capacity:

2025-26 Pacific Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Anaheim 37 27 77 3
Vegas 31 22 76 14
Edmonton 33 26 75 9
Seattle 31 26 71 9
Los Angeles 28 24 71 15
San Jose 32 27 70 6
Calgary 26 34 59 7
Vancouver 20 38 48 8

2025-26 Atlantic Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Buffalo 41 20 88 6
Tampa Bay 40 21 84 4
Montreal 36 20 82 10
Detroit 37 23 82 8
Boston 37 23 81 7
Ottawa 34 23 77 9
Toronto 29 27 70 12
Florida 33 30 69 3
Full Standings