On Thursday, Bruce Cassidy became the eighth active NHL coach to reach the 400-win milestone, as his Vegas Golden Knights secured a 3-2 win against the Ottawa Senators. Cassidy, who is from Ottawa, had little time for celebration, as the Golden Knights quickly boarded a train to Montreal for their next matchup against the Canadiens on Saturday night.
“Achieving 400 wins feels great,” Cassidy remarked. “But right now, I’m focused on getting to 401.” The victory over Ottawa marked the second game of a back-to-back series, following a 3-0 shutout loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday. The Golden Knights improved to 4-4-2 on the road this season and have a perfect 6-0-1 record at the Canadian Tire Centre.
Ilya Samsonov recorded 38 saves, including 16 in the tense final period, where the Senators outshot the Golden Knights 18-5. Pavel Dorofeyev scored his tenth goal of the season midway through the third, which turned out to be the game-winner, breaking Vegas’s two-game losing streak.
“We found a way to finish the game,” Cassidy stated. “It was a hectic win, but you have to find ways to secure victories. There are no easy wins in this league, so credit to the team.”
Now, Vegas will face a Montreal team that has won two straight matches, including a dominant 3-0 victory over Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers on Monday, where Sam Montembeault made 30 saves for his second shutout of the season.
“I’m really proud of our performance tonight,” Montembeault reflected after earning his third career shutout. “We’ve made significant strides defensively, and we need to maintain that consistency.”
While Montreal has outscored Columbus and Edmonton 8-1 in those wins, they still lead the Atlantic Division in goals allowed with 71, resulting in a minus-17 goal differential.
“The win was great,” Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said. “What matters to me is how we achieved it, as that strengthened our group. I believe we’re in a good position to build on what’s been working.”
For the Golden Knights, this will be their third game in four nights, while the Canadiens are benefiting from a rare four-day break with team practices held on three of those days.
“We should come out with strong energy on Saturday,” St. Louis noted. “Our start will be very important.”
