65°F
weather icon Partly Cloudy

William Carrier’s hustle rewarded on Golden Knights 3rd goal

Updated December 16, 2018 - 4:39 pm

NEW YORK — When Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant shows his team highlights from Sunday’s 4-3 victory over the New York Rangers, one play is sure to be included.

Winger William Carrier capped off a 2-on-1 with Tomas Nosek in the second period, but it’s what happened in the build-up to the goal that caught Gallant’s eye.

“That’s a perfect video clip for (Monday), when a guy works that hard backchecking and he gets a puck turned over and then (Nosek) makes a real good play for him,” Gallant said. “Usually when you work that hard and you backcheck, you get rewarded and that’s what happened, so good for Will.”

After the Knights lost possession of the puck, Carrier hustled back and lifted Lias Andersson’s stick to strip the Rangers rookie of the puck in the neutral zone.

Carrier tapped the puck to Nosek and patiently waited for New York goaltender Henrik Lundqvist to commit after he received a return pass.

Carrier then snapped a shot high to the blocker side to put the Knights ahead 3-2 with 6:48 remaining in the second period.

Carrier, who was reunited with former linemates Nosek and center Pierre-Edouard Bellemare on the “International Line” has seven goals, adding to his career-high total.

“I think it was the overall line,” Carrier said. “Obviously, I’m pretty fast, so I got a good stick on that guy and (Nosek) made an unbelievable pass on a 2-on-1. It’s nice for the team to get the four lines scoring.”

Fleury moves up

Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury earned his 423rd career victory, tying Hall of Famer Tony Esposito for ninth all time.

“It’s pretty cool,” Fleury said. “He’s a guy I have a lot of respect for, and it’s very humbling to be amongst these guys for sure.”

Next on the list for Fleury is Jacques Plante, who recorded 437 wins.

Fleury is third among active goaltenders behind Roberto Luongo (477) and Lundqvist (441).

Oh, captain

Defenseman Nate Schmidt was an alternate captain for the first time this season with defenseman Deryk Engelland scratched.

Schmidt wore an ‘A’ on two occasions last season, Jan. 30 against Calgary and Feb. 1 vs. Winnipeg.

More Golden Knights: Follow all of our Golden Knights coverage online at reviewjournal.com/GoldenKnights and @HockeyinVegas on Twitter.

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.

Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook.
THE LATEST
5 facts about the NHL’s Stanley Cup

Get to know the NHL’s championship trophy better before it gets awarded to either the Vegas Golden Knights or the Washington Capitals.