On Thursday, the Vegas Golden Knights (8-4-5) played the first half of a back-to-back against the St. Louis Blues (6-9-4). Right from puck drop, they were the better team. They generated scoring chances at will and stifled the Blues defensively en route to a 4-1 win.
Right from puck drop, the Golden Knights quietly controlled the game. They won most of their 1-on-1 battles and generated offense without cheating defensively. In the first period, they outshot the Blues 13-8 and generated five high-danger chances to the Blues’ one.
The Golden Knights broke the ice at 12:52 in the first period. Brett Howden held the zone off a Blues’ turnover and worked the puck in for Reilly Smith. Smith one-touched it to Brandon Saad, who took his ice and beat Joel Hofer five-hole.
BREAKING: Brandon Saad revenge goal. Brett Howden holds the puck in and Reilly Smith sends a touch-pass to Saad, who rips it home for his first of the season.
1-0, Golden Knightspic.twitter.com/TseIzRMfXg
— Hannah Kirkell (@h_kirk6) November 16, 2025
Just over two minutes later, the Golden Knights extended their lead on the power play. Jack Eichel fired a cross-ice pass to Pavel Dorofeyev, who set up Braedan Bowman for an easy tap-in.
The Golden Knights came out flying to start the second and added to their lead just 36 seconds into the period. Reilly Smith couldn’t handle Brandon Saad’s pass, but Noah Hanifin activated and one-touched a pass to Zach Whitecloud. Whitecloud returned the favor and set Hanifin up for a one-timer that beat Joel Hofer through traffic.
Well, when it rains, it pours. Noah Hanifin blasts a one-timer past Joel Hofer, who couldn’t see anything through Brett Howden’s screen.
3-0, Golden Knights
— Hannah Kirkell (@h_kirk6) November 16, 2025
In addition to scoring, the Golden Knights completely stifled the Blues defensively and outshot them 15-7 in the second period. There was a stretch of over 25 minutes between 9:09 in the first and 15:24 in the second where the Blues recorded just one shot on goal.Â
To start the third period, the Blues killed off the remaining 58 seconds of a Golden Knights power play. However, they failed to do anything on two opportunities of their own. Despite outshooting the Golden Knights 9-5 in the third, the Blues looked lifeless and non-threatening.
The Golden Knights added insult to injury and scored another goal at 11:20 in the third. Pavel Dorofeyev read a play and intercepted a pass meant for Colton Parayko. Dorofeyev sent a sauce-pass to spring Tomáš Hertl, who scored on the breakaway.Â
With just over four minutes left in regulation, the Blues broke the goose egg and got on the board. Robert Thomas set up Philip Broberg, who beat Akira Schmid with a wrister from the point.
Despite ending Akira Schmid’s shutout bid, the Blues gained no life from Philip Broberg’s goal. They appeared to have no more fight left in them and went quietly.
Three stars of the game: Braedan Bowman, Reilly Smith, Brandon Saad