Jonathan Marchessault and the Vegas Golden Knights have been surging as of late, and the former Conn Smythe Trophy winner has been a huge catalyst of the team’s recent success.
The 33-year-old Canadian was excellent again on Friday night, recording his second hat trick of the year to help the Knights beat the Metropolitan Division-leading New York Rangers 5-2 at Madison Square Garden.
Vegas improved to 5-0-1 in its last six games, and Marchessault admitted afterwards that sometimes, everything just goes right.
“Sometimes you’re luckier than other times. Sometimes it goes in, sometimes it doesn’t,” the Stanley Cup champion reflected, according to The Associated Press. “When you’re hot, you just want to keep it going.”
And Marchessault is red hot. He’s picked up eight goals and 11 points in his last six games — five of them wins. And he now has seven career hat tricks under his belt.
“We played a structured game, a very good game,” he said of the convincing win over New York. “We really hit our stride when [Kolesar] scored.”
Keegan Kolesar blocked an Artemi Panarin pass attempt and scored on a breakaway against Igor Shesterkin early in the second period, giving Vegas a 2-1 lead. Marchessault would score 46 seconds later to make it 3-1, and the Golden Knights never looked back.
“I found some space, luckily it found the back of the net,” Kolesar explained. “Everyone here knows what’s at stake. We look at how the trip started with one point [OT loss at New Jersey on Monday], now we have a chance for seven out of eight points tomorrow in Detroit.”
Jonathan Marchessault, Golden Knights cruising
Even without Jack Eichel and Shea Theodore, the Golden Knights are finding ways to win games lately. A huge part of that has been Jonathan Marchessault’s play, but Adin Hill’s return from injury has also been huge.
Hill stopped 36-of-38 shots for his second consecutive win; the Golden Knights beat the New York Islanders 3-2 in his return to the lineup on Tuesday.
“It’s just fun being back with the team,” Hill said after the victory. “I feel good, my body feels good and I’m able to do everything I need to do. It’s nice for the confidence and the mental side of it, so just keep building off of it.”
The starting netminder in Nevada has stopped 76 of the 80 shots he’s faced since returning, while Marchessault continues to lead the way up front.
The Golden Knights will be looking for one more victory in Detroit against the Red Wings on Saturday before the NHL All-Star break.
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