Not only did Evgeny Kuznetsov get on the board with his new team on Thursday, but so did former Capital Anthony Mantha.
Mantha scored in the Vegas Golden Knights’ 4-1 loss to the Calgary Flames. Wide open in the right circle, Mantha was the benefactor of a fantastic pass by Shea Theodore, shooting the puck into the yawning net past Flames goaltender Dustin Wolf.
Mantha’s goal came 17:56 into the second period to initially give the Knights a 1-0 lead. The goal was Mantha 21st goal of the season and his first point overall with Vegas. It came in his fourth game with the defending champions.
“Feels good, obviously some pressure off,” Mantha said postgame. “Now we go, there’s nothing stopping us.”
Things you love to see 🥰 pic.twitter.com/nnaH7Syxga
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) March 15, 2024
Vegas did end up falling in the game after Calgary scored four unanswered in the third to win on home ice. The Golden Knights are bringing up the rear of the Western Conference playoff race so every point matters for them down the stretch.
The Minnesota Wild are the closest to that second wild card spot that Vegas currently sits in, winning three in a row to come within four points of the Golden Knights. Vegas has won just three of their last 10 games and Mantha was asked to come up with some reasons why things aren’t going their way recently.
“Hard to say right now,” he said. “I think just our execution. We’re probably going to look at it in the next few days, see what went wrong, work on it, and correct it. We were trying to make plays and turning the puck over all night. They were able to come back and score two real quick and we were chasing at that point.”
Mantha skated on the team’s second line with Brett Howden and fellow former Capital Chandler Stephenson in the loss. His 21 goals rank third on the Golden Knights behind William Karlsson (23) and Jonathan Marchessault (37).
Mantha was dealt to the Vegas Golden Knights by the Capitals a few days before the NHL trade deadline. The move put an end to a stint in DC that stretched over parts of four seasons and saw Mantha score 44 goals for Washington.
