Vegas Golden Knights at Montreal Canadiens
· National Hockey LeagueShea Theodore's 4-point game powers the Golden Knights to a 6-5 win over the Canadiens
Jack Eichel and Mark Stone each had a goal and two assists, and Brett Howden, Brayden McNabb and Jonathan Marchessault also scored for Vegas (13-3-1), which was coming off a 3-0 loss to the Washington Capitals on Tuesday. Adin Hill, who entered the game with a .939 save percentage, stopped 23 shots.
“You’re going to have to win games in completely different ways every night in this league,” Stone said. “You’re going to have to win some of these run-and-gun games along the way, that’s what makes good teams good.
“I think six was probably pretty light tonight, with all the chances we had,” Stone said of Vegas' scoring.
Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy gave credit where it was due.
“They have a say in that too, right?” Cassidy said of the missed chances. “Their goaltender was excellent, then eventually you keep putting pucks at him and you’re going to get something to go usually — and that’s how it played out.”
Jesse Ylonen scored twice and Alex Newhook, Johnathan Kovacevic and Justin Barron added goals for Montreal (7-8-2). Nick Suzuki and defenseman Mike Matheson each had two assists. Cayden Primeau made 36 saves in his third start of the season.
The Golden Knights went 3 for 7 on the power play, while the Canadiens failed to convert on three man-advantage situations.
“We played with fire tonight, and got burned,” Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis said.
Canadiens 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 failed to get the tying goal.
Down 2-0, Vegas outscored Montreal 4-2 in a back-and-forth second period, tying 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 defensemen at Montreal’s blue line and 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 scored his second of the night 33 seconds later, off a pass from behind the net by Michael Pezzetta to quickly regain the lead.
Theodore evened the score with a power-play goal off a shot from the point.
After the Golden Knights opened the game with the first eight shots, Newhook scored on Montreal’s first chance 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 season at 10:03.
INJURIES
Canadiens defenseman 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 favoring his left shoulder.
UP NEXT
Golden Knights: At the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday.
Canadiens: At the Boston Bruins on Saturday.
Regular Season SeriesVGK wins series 2-0
Scoring Summary
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Goal | 1st Period 6:43 | Alex Newhook Goal (4) Wrist Shot, assists: Nick Suzuki (8), Mike Matheson (9) |
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Goal | 1st Period 10:03 | Johnathan Kovacevic Goal (1) Wrist Shot, assists: Alex Newhook (5), Nick Suzuki (9) |
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Goal | 2nd Period 2:33 | Brett Howden Goal (3) Wrist Shot, assists: Keegan Kolesar (2) |
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Goal | 2nd Period 8:28 | Jesse Ylönen Goal (2) Snap Shot, assists: none |
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Goal | 2nd Period 8:46 | Brayden McNabb Goal (1) Wrist Shot, assists: Shea Theodore (10), Jack Eichel (10) |
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Goal | 2nd Period 11:20 | Jonathan Marchessault Goal (7) Wrist Shot, assists: Ivan Barbashev (2), Michael Amadio (7) |
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Goal | 2nd Period 11:53 | Jesse Ylönen Goal (3) Snap Shot, assists: Michael Pezzetta (2), Gustav Lindstrom (1) |
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Goal | 2nd Period 16:07 | Shea Theodore Goal (4) Wrist Shot, assists: Jack Eichel (11), Mark Stone (11) |
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Goal | 3rd Period 18:04 | Jack Eichel Goal (7) Wrist Shot, assists: Shea Theodore (11), Mark Stone (12) |
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Goal | 3rd Period 18:48 | Mark Stone Goal (5) Wrap-around, assists: William Karlsson (11), Shea Theodore (12) |
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Goal | 3rd Period 19:06 | Justin Barron Goal (4) Slap Shot, assists: Cole Caufield (10), Mike Matheson (10) |
Statistics
VGK |
MTL |
|
|---|---|---|
| 13 | Blocked Shots | 26 |
| 29 | Hits | 23 |
| 8 | Takeaways | 5 |
| 42 | Shots | 28 |
| 3 | Power Play Goals | 0 |
| 7 | Power Play Opportunities | 3 |
| 42.9 | Power Play Percentage | 0.0 |
| 1 | Short Handed Goals | 0 |
| 0 | Shootout Goals | 0 |
| 33 | Faceoffs Won | 35 |
| 48.5 | Faceoff Win Percent | 51.5 |
| 7 | Giveaways | 12 |
| 3 | Total Penalties | 6 |
| 6 | Penalty Minutes | 14 |
Montreal Canadiens Injuries
| NAME, POS | STATUS | DATE |
|---|---|---|
| Phillip Danault, C | Day-To-Day | Dec 22 |
| Sam Montembeault, G | Out | Dec 21 |
| Jake Evans, C | Injured Reserve | Dec 21 |
| Kaiden Guhle, D | Injured Reserve | Dec 20 |
| Kirby Dach, C | Injured Reserve | Dec 20 |
Vegas Golden Knights Injuries
| NAME, POS | STATUS | DATE |
|---|---|---|
| Jack Eichel, C | Day-To-Day | Dec 22 |
Game Information
Bell Centre
Location: Montreal, QC
Attendance: 21,105 | Capacity:
Location: Montreal, QC
Attendance: 21,105 | Capacity:
2025-26 Pacific Division Standings
| TEAM | W | L | PTS | OTL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Anaheim |
21 | 14 | 44 | 2 |
Vegas |
16 | 8 | 42 | 10 |
Edmonton |
18 | 13 | 42 | 6 |
Los Angeles |
15 | 11 | 39 | 9 |
San Jose |
17 | 16 | 37 | 3 |
Seattle |
14 | 14 | 34 | 6 |
Calgary |
15 | 17 | 34 | 4 |
Vancouver |
15 | 18 | 33 | 3 |
2025-26 Atlantic Division Standings
| TEAM | W | L | PTS | OTL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Detroit |
21 | 13 | 45 | 3 |
Tampa Bay |
20 | 13 | 43 | 3 |
Montreal |
19 | 12 | 43 | 5 |
Boston |
20 | 16 | 41 | 1 |
Florida |
19 | 14 | 40 | 2 |
Ottawa |
18 | 13 | 40 | 4 |
Buffalo |
17 | 14 | 38 | 4 |
Toronto |
15 | 15 | 35 | 5 |




VGK
MTL
Anaheim
Vegas
Edmonton
Los Angeles
San Jose
Seattle
Calgary
Vancouver
Detroit
Tampa Bay
Montreal
Boston
Florida
Ottawa
Buffalo
Toronto