By MARK ANDERSON AP Sports Writer
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Michael Amadio’s stay in the Vegas Golden Knights’ top line will end once Jack Eichel returns from a lower-body injury. He has made the most of his opportunity.
That line of Amadio, Chandler Stephenson and Mark Stone flourished for the second game in a row and was instrumental in handing the St. Louis Blues a 5-4 shootout loss Friday night.
Those three players combined for three goals and six assists, and they have six goals in nine assists in the past two games. After overtime, Stephenson evened the shooutout and Stone sent in the winning shot.
The Knights head into the Christmas break with back-to-back home victories after having lost six of their previous seven at T-Mobile Arena.
“It’s a shootout, it can go anyone’s way, but the difference between winning and losing, the mood in the room is significantly different,” Stone said. “So rehab and enjoy this one with the guys heading into the break. I think we’ve played almost as many games as anyone, so it’s good to get the break.”
St. Louis heads home after a strong start to their five-game trip that finished with back-to-back losses.
“I liked our effort,” Blues coach Craig Berube said. “At the same time, we’ve got to clean up some play a little bit, and we’ve got to be a little bit better defensively.”
Stephenson finished with a goal and three assists, extending his points streak to seven games (three goals, 11 assists), the longest of his career. He leads the Knights with 27 assists and 35 points.
Amadio had a goal and two assists. It’s his second three-point performance with the other coming on March 4 against Anaheim.
“He’s a guy that when he first came here, you can see the skill he had and what he can do,” Stephenson said. “There are a lot of little plays that he makes it kind of go unnoticed.”
Stone and Alex Pietrangelo each had a goal and an assist.
Vladimir Tarasenko — who scored the one Blues goal in the shootout — had a goal and two assists, and Pavel Buchnevich (goal, assist) and Torey Krug (two assists) each had two points.
Pietrangelo put the Knights on the scoreboard just 5:22 into the game.
The teams combined for five goals in the second period. Buchnevich, Tarasenko and Justin Faulk scored for the Blues and Stone and Amadio for the Knights to make the score 3-all going into the third.
Tarasenko’s goal came on a power play, ending a streak of eight consecutive penalty kills for Vegas. The Knights also had killed off 12 of the previous 13.
Noel Acciari redirected Brandon Saad’s shot with 9:15 left to put St. Louis ahead 4-3, but Saad was called for hooking with 2:38 remaining.
That put the Knights on the power play and Stephenson blasted in a rebound to make the score 4-all with 1:36 left. It was the Knights’ 13th power-play goal in December, setting a franchise record for a month.
NOTES
Blues leading scorer Jordan Kyrou didn’t play for the second game in a row because of an upper-body injury, but he took part in Friday’s morning skate. He leads St. Louis with 16 goals and 32 points. … Vegas second-line right wing Jonathan Marchessault didn’t play because of a lower-body injury. The Knights called up right-wing Pavel Dorofeyev and defenseman Brayden Pachal from their American Hockey League affiliate in Henderson, Nevada. … Pietrangelo extended his points streak to four games (one goal, three assists), and Krug extended his to four (five assists).
UP NEXT
Blues: At home against Toronto on Tuesday.
Golden Knights: At Los Angeles on Tuesday.
