Golden Knights score 3 in 1st period, hold off Coyotes

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Jonathan Marchessault and Nicolas Hague scored 58 seconds apart in the first period, and the Vegas Golden Knights held off the Arizona Coyotes 3-2 at Mullett Arena on Thursday.

Chandler Stephenson also scored in the first, and Adin Hill made 20 saves for the Golden Knights (31-15-6), who have won seven of their past nine (7-1-1). Hill won his sixth consecutive start and allowed two goals or fewer in his ninth straight.

“We had a really good start, we scored three goals really quick and that probably won us the game,” Vegas forward Ivan Barbashev said.

Clayton Keller and Jason Zucker scored for the Coyotes (23-23-3), who lost their fourth in a row. Karel Vejmelka stopped all 28 shots he faced in relief of Connor Ingram, who allowed three goals on six shots and was replaced at 12:20 of the first.

“The first five minutes, obviously, you could see they had the edge,” Arizona coach Andre Tourigny said. “When we got our legs, we were a good team.”

Coyotes forward Barrett Hayton played his first game since Nov. 16 after missing 32 with a hand injury. He won eight of 10 face-offs in 13:17 of ice time.

Arizona played for the first time in 12 days.

“It was great to come back and compete, but that wasn’t the way you want to come back,” Hayton said. “Coming off the All-Star break, we’ve got to be dialed in at the start.”

Marchessault gave the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead 19 seconds into the first with his ninth goal in nine games.

Nicolas Roy outworked Arizona defenseman J.J. Moser for the puck in the neutral zone, and Barbashev got it ahead to Marchessault driving to the net.

“Didn’t expect it that fast, but it’s nice to score on the first shift,” Barbashev said. “It gets the team going and, right after that, there was another one. It gets the guys pumped.”

Hague extended it to 2-0 at 1:17 with his first goal since Oct. 12, ending a 41-game drought. Hague’s shot from the left point deflected high into the air off Coyotes defenseman Michael Kesselring and past Ingram.

“We just want to start to build some consistency into our game,” Hague said. “We're obviously happy with the way we played against Edmonton and the mindset was, ‘Let’s keep it rolling.’ And I thought we did have a great start.”

Zucker cut it to 2-1 at 4:07 by redirecting Juuso Valimaki’s shot from the blue line.

Stephenson pushed it to 3-1 at 6:17, scoring in his second consecutive game.

Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy felt there was carryover from the Golden Knights’ 2-1 win Tuesday that ended the Edmonton Oilers’ 16-game winning streak, one short of tying the NHL record.

“I think we understand as a team where we are at this time of the year,” Cassidy said. “It’s Part 3 of the season and the teams that expect to be playing deep into the spring are getting their game in order, and I can see that with our guys. We’re not mismanaging as many pucks or taking as many chances. We know we have to play winning hockey.”

Vejmelka replaced Ingram after William Karlsson appeared to score a power-play goal at 12:20 of the first, but it was overturned upon video review because Karlsson batted the puck with his glove.

Keller made it 3-2 at 4:40 of the third period by scoring on a breakaway. Nick Schmaltz passed up ice to the undefended Keller after Roy was stopped on a 2-on-1 rush.

Hill played for the first time against Arizona, which selected him in the third round (No. 76) of the 2015 NHL Draft.

“The guys just have a certain level of comfort with him,” Cassidy said. “He's calm, he's relaxed, so that allows everyone else to be calm and relaxed. … He has the ability to play in big games and big environments, and everyone can just relax and play knowing that he has their back.”

NOTES: Golden Knights defenseman Daniil Miromanov, out since Dec. 31, 2022, with a knee injury, blocked two shots and was plus-1 in 15:59 in his first game this season. … Roy has 10 points (three goals, seven assists) during a six-game point streak. … Coyotes forward Liam O’Brien was a healthy scratch for the first time this season.