Potpourri is a mixture of dried naturally fragrant plant materials, used to provide a gentle natural scent. Last night the VGK had their own version of potpourri at T-Mobile and as the pleasant fragrance filled the air, the Knights filled the Arizona net with different types of goals in their dominating 7-4 win over the Arizona Coyotes.

First there was a power-play goal by Jonathan Marchessault,the first PPG scored by the VGK in their last 19 attempts.

Then there was a greasy goal scored by William Carrierright in front of the blue paint, an area to which Coach DeBoer has been preachingthat his players must go.

Then Keegan Kolesar, who has been snake bitten inthe scoring department, stripped Ilya Lyubushkin of the puck as he tried to skate out frombehind his net. At first it appeared that the goal would be disallowed, as Lyubushkin fell when Kolesar reached in with his stickto strip him of the puck. Play continued and Kolesar ripped his shot past Arizonagoaltender Adin Hill on his stick side: 3-0 Vegas with just 6:59 played on 13 shots.

At the 8:44 mark, with Vegas short-handed, ReillySmith who had just one goal in his last 14 games,scored when he and William Karlsson broke in on Adin Hill on a 2-0. They playedit perfectly with tape-to-tape passes, Smith-Karlsson-Smith, leaving Hill like afloundering seal flat on his belly. It was the VGK’s 2^nd shortie goal this seasonand Reilly Smith has both.

This was a perfectly played first period that madeArizona look like they didn’t belong on the same ice. Vegas peppered Hill with 22shots before the first period was over. Vegas had 21 shots to Arizona’s 3 just 14minutes into the period.

Things got even worse for Arizona when ChandlerStephenson scored a goal 4:10 into the second period for the 5-0 debacle. Arizonafinally put one behind Robin Lehner with just 53 seconds left in the 2^nd period.

It appeared that Vegas was already looking pastthis game. They let Arizona get a lot closer than they deserved when Hunt and Kellerscored 58 seconds apart early in the 3^rd period to make the score 5-3 with plenty of time to go in thegame. The pleasant potpourri scent was fading away for the 3,950 who were luckyenough to obtain a ticket for last night’s game. 

Reilly Smith, who had been struggling in the scoringdepartment, found himself with another golden opportunity and he didn’t waste it. He scored his 2^nd goal of the game that allowedVegas to regain the 3-goal lead once again. Arizona did score 3 goals in the 3^rd period, but they were farfrom enough, as Max Pacioretty added an empty-net goal with 55 seconds left forthe 7-4 final score.

Other notes. Chandler Stephenson’s goalwas his first in 13 games going back to March 5^th at San Jose. Max Pacioretty’sgoal was his first in six games. The VGK did make a few adjustments on their powerplay, which seem to have made a difference. Pacioretty’s normal spot is in the right-wingfaceoff circle; last night he went to the opposite side of the ice and JonathanMarchessault switched sides with him. Opposing teams have tried to overcompensatetoward Max in his normal spot, so this new wrinkle seemed to help by giving someadditional time and space forMarchessault. It worked last night as Marchessault’s PPG came from the area thatMax always sets up from.

My 3 Stars of the Game

1) Reilly Smith (2G, including one shorthanded)

2) Jonathan Marchessault (1G, a PPG, and 1 A)

3) William Carrier (1G in the blue paint, 4 SOG, and 3 boominghits, one sending an Arizona player to the locker room; he never returned)

Next game is tomorrow again against Arizona at T-Mobile at 1p.m.

If you want to hear and see more VGK content please check out the podcast I do with Eddie Rivkin on YouTube it’s called Hockey Nights in Vegas. Here is a link to our previous podcast.

Your comments and opinions are welcome here atLas Vegas Advisor or you may contact me directly at [email protected] or on my Facebook page or the Facebook page of Vegas HockeyGuy or on Twitter @TheRealJoePane

One other note: If you’re reading this blog from Facebook or Twitter and would like to access it earlier in the morning before I share it on social media, it’s usually published by 8 a.m. the morning after a game on LasVegasAdvisor.com. What better way is there to enjoy your morning coffee than reading my take on last night’s VGK game.

Marchessault’s PPG

Carrier’s blue paint goal

Smith’s shorthanded goal