Rookie Brendan Brisson's 1st career goal gives Golden Knights 3-2 win over the Penguins
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Rookie Brendan Brisson scored his first career goal midway through the third period Saturday night to give the Vegas Golden Knights a 3-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Knights have won five of seven games, and they ended Pittsburgh's four-game point streak.
Brisson, a 22-year-old, was a 2020 first-round draft pick, taken 29th. He wears No. 19, which previously belonged to Reilly Smith, an original Knights player who was traded to the Penguins in the offseason.
Jonathan Marchessault and Pavel Dorofeyev also scored for Vegas, and Logan Thompson made 23 saves before a crowd that included New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Ryan Graves and Jake Guentzel scored for the Penguins. Tristan Jarry stopped 26 shots.
After a scoreless opening period, the Penguins peppered Thompson with 14 shots on goal in the second. Two of the shots got through — a shot by Graves off Thompson's back midway through the period and a blast from the right circle by Guentzel with 5:59 left.
Erik Karlsson had the primary assist on Graves' goal, extending his point streak to eight games (one goal, eight assists). It's the NHL's longest active streak for a defenseman.
Guentzel became the seventh player in Penguins history to put together seven 20-goal seasons. Only three other Pittsburgh players have longer 20-goal streaks than Guentzel — Jaromir Jagr with 11 and Rick Kehoe and Jean Pronovost with nine each.
The Knights struck quickly in the third, with Marchessault and Dorofeyev scoring 1:34 apart off rebounds to tie the game 6:52 into the period. Marchessault's goal was his team-leading 20th and was the third game in a row he hit the net.
ORIGINAL KNIGHT RETURNS
Vegas played a tribute video for Smith, a key player on last season's Stanley Cup championship team. He had 124 goals and 286 points in 399 career games with Vegas.
The Knights traded Smith, who stood in street clothes behind the Penguins bench because he’s out with a lower-body injury, to Pittsburgh after last season to clear up salary-cap room. That helped them to sign goalie Adin Hill and winger Ivan Barbashev to contract extensions.
Smith was a fan favorite and the driving force between the annual charity softball game between the Knights and the Las Vegas Raiders.
UP NEXT
Penguins: At Arizona on Monday to conclude a two-game Western road trip.
Golden Knights: At New Jersey on Monday to begin a four-game Eastern road swing.
___
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl