Golden Knights shut out Flames, extend winning streak to 4

LAS VEGAS -- Keegan Kolesar had two goals and an assist, and Adin Hill made 16 saves for the Vegas Golden Knights in a 5-0 victory against the Calgary Flames at T-Mobile Arena on Monday.

The shutout was Hill's first of the season and eighth in the NHL.

“It was our best (defensive) performance,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. “Adin was there when we needed him. He looked good. Even if we were a little looser, it looked like he was on tonight. It’s good for his confidence. Not only a shutout, but a good solid game. Good on the guys. We looked sharp.”

Nicolas Roy had a goal and two assists, Alex Pietrangelo scored his first of the season, and Cole Schwindt had two assists for the Golden Knights (7-2-1), who have won four straight overall and extended their season-opening home winning streak to seven games.

“We felt pretty good and confident,” Roy said. “We played a lot of time in the offensive zone and we got rewarded in the third period."

Dan Vladar made 33 saves for the Flames (5-3-1), who have lost three in a row.

“We started the second poorly, and it carried on from there,” Calgary coach Ryan Huska said. “It just carried on from there. We defended way too much in the second period. You lose all rhythm to the game from that point on.”

Pietrangelo gave the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead at 6:39 of the first period, scoring through a screen with a wrist shot from the top of the right circle.

“Everybody was involved. Sometimes, your team gets hot. We might be going through one of those (stretches),” Cassidy said. “I’d love to keep this pace, don’t get me wrong. Things are going in for us. We’re making good plays. We’re extending leads.”

Stone extended the lead to 2-0 at 3:30 of the second period. He scored with a slap shot from the high slot off a drop pass from Jack Eichel, who started the play by intercepting Brayden Pachal's pass in the neutral zone.

“Just a bad game. Just outplayed up and down the sheet,” Flames forward Blake Coleman said. “Never really gave us a chance to win.”

Kolesar made it 3-0 at 2:19 of the third period, redirecting in Schwindt's centering pass from the right boards.

“I had an idea what they ran in that situation,” Schwindt said. “I had a feeling ‘Keegs’ was going to the back post there. Luckily, it found him.”

Kolesar then pushed it to 4-0 at 13:59 with a one-timer in the low slot.

“He’s looked really good,” Roy said. “During camp, he looked really fast and improved his shot a lot. He’s looked good all around. He’s a big body (6-foot-2, 216 pounds), great shot. He’s fun to play with for sure.”

Roy, who set up Kolesar for the one-timer, scored 15 seconds later from the left circle for the 5-0 final.

“They do so much grunt work. The shot blocking, the [penalty kill] stuff, the checking against top people,” Cassidy said. “When they get rewarded, guys get excited, too, for those types of players. That’s the part of the game that lifts your team when those things happen.”

NOTES: Stone (three goals, six assists), Pietrangelo (one goal, eight assists) and Eichel (one goal, five assists) each extended his point streak to four games. ... The Golden Knights' home winning streak is tied for the second longest in their history. They won eight straight at home from Oct. 15-Nov. 24, 2017.