Blues defeat Pietrangelo, Golden Knights in shootout

LAS VEGAS -- David Perron scored two goals for the St. Louis Blues in a 5-4 shootout victory against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday.

The Golden Knights played without coach Peter DeBoer and his staff after an unidentified coach tested positive for COVID-19. Vegas general manager Kelly McCrimmon was coaching from the bench with the staff from Henderson of the American Hockey League.
"It's not a case where the entire staff tested positive," McCrimmon said. "Most [of them] didn't, quite frankly, but the protocol is such that you pull those people from the group. But fortunately there's been no positive tests for players. Based on how the day unfolded, we took the steps that we did to best prepare our team to play tonight."
The Golden Knights will close their practice facility Wednesday. They are scheduled to play the Blues again here Thursday.
Jaden Schwartz and Jordan Kyrou scored for St. Louis (4-2-1), and Jordan Binnington made 42 saves.
"They come at you. They played a good game. We also had many chances," Perron said. "At the end of the day, a big two points, and now we got another chance in a couple days that ... we can make some adjustments."

Max Pacioretty scored his seventh NHL hat trick, and Mark Stone had three assists for Vegas (5-1-1). Robin Lehner made 21 saves in his second consecutive loss.
"We have such good structure on this team that it doesn't change much other than everyone being on the same page and the different voice behind the bench," Pacioretty said. "We all take pride in our systems. We work on them on a daily basis, whether it's during practice or on video."
Alex Pietrangelo was plus-1 with an assist in 28:57 in his first game against the Blues since the defenseman signed a seven-year, $61.6 million contract with the Golden Knights after playing his first 12 NHL seasons in St. Louis.
"Honestly, it felt like a normal game," Pietrangelo said. "I think once you get out there and you start playing, that kind of all gets pushed to the side. First couple shifts, obviously it's a little bit different, but I think once we settled in, I felt fine."

Pacioretty scored his third goal to tie the game 4-4 with 3:25 remaining.
Perron and Brayden Schenn scored for the Blues in the shootout. Shea Theodore scored the Golden Knights' only goal.
Alex Tuch scored at 3:17 of the first period to give Vegas a 1-0 lead, but St. Louis scored three straight goals in 6:02.
Perron scored at 4:08 to tie it 1-1 and on the power play at 8:11 to give the Blues a 2-1 lead. Schwartz made it 3-1 at 10:10.
Pacioretty cut it to 3-2 at 1:42 of the second period on a one-timer off a pass from Stone.
Kyrou gave the Blues a 4-2 lead at 10:44 when he forced a turnover by Pietrangelo at the Vegas blue line, retrieved the loose puck, and beat Lehner high over his glove.
"He's competitive right now and skating [well]," Blues coach Craig Berube said. "[He] could've had three goals with the chances he had."

Pacioretty scored on the power play at 10:36 of the third period to make it 4-3.
It was the third consecutive game between the teams that went to overtime, all in Las Vegas. The Golden Knights rallied from down multiple goals each time.
"You'll take a greasy win on the road anytime," Blues defenseman Justin Faulk said. "It wasn't our game. We have to find a way to do this for 60 minutes.
NOTES: Blues defenseman Vince Dunn was a healthy scratch because of his recent play, Berube said. … Stone, tied for third in the NHL with 11 points, has scored at least one point in all but one game.