The Vegas Golden Knights broke their three-game skid Monday evening, defeating the Vancouver Canucks 4-2 in John Tortorella’s first game behind the bench in Las Vegas.
Reilly Smith netted the decisive goal in the final minutes of the second period, while goaltender Adin Hill stopped 22 shots to secure the victory for Vegas (33-26-16, 82 points). The win moved the Golden Knights within a single point of Edmonton for second place in the Pacific Division standings.
Tortorella stepped into his role after the organization dismissed Bruce Cassidy on Sunday. The seasoned bench boss, now in his 24th NHL season, recorded his 771st career victory, placing him ninth among all-time coaching wins.
Additional scoring for Vegas came from Rasmus Andersson, Shea Theodore, and Cole Smith. The triumph marked just their second victory in eight contests.
Vancouver (21-45-8, 50 points) extended their losing streak to six games despite goals from Evander Kane and Brock Boeser. Kane reached a milestone, appearing in his 1,000th NHL contest. Goalie Kevin Lankinen recorded 30 stops in the losing effort.
The Canucks struck first when Kane converted on a 2-on-1 opportunity with Jake DeBrusk at 12:19 of the opening frame, burying a backhand attempt.
Vegas answered in the middle period as Andersson converted a Tomas Hertl feed, tapping the puck into an open net for his third tally in four outings.
Boeser restored Vancouver’s advantage on the power play, redirecting Filip Hronek’s point shot over Hill’s right shoulder from the high slot.
The Golden Knights seized control late in the second with two goals in a 77-second span. Theodore broke away and beat Lankinen with a wrist shot from the slot on the blocker side. Smith followed by converting a Brayden McNabb cross-ice pass, one-timing the puck off Lankinen’s glove and into the net.
With Vancouver pressing for the equalizer after pulling Lankinen with 2:15 remaining, Cole Smith iced the victory with an empty-net goal from the right boards with 1:10 left on the clock, marking his first goal as a Golden Knight.
