Golden Knights report: Prospect excited to play in Olympics

Penguins win 5-3

RJ’s three stars

3. Penguins right wing Kasperi Kapenen — He recorded two assists to help Pittsburgh rally from a three-goal deficit. It was his fourth two-assist game of the season.

2. Knights right wing Evgenii Dadonov — He had a goal and an assist and has six points in his past six games. It was the fourth time that the offseason trade acquisition had at least two points in a game.

1. Penguins left wing Jason Zucker — The Las Vegan scored two key goals. He got Pittsburgh’s first goal in the second period, then tied the game in the third.

Key play

Left wing Jake Guentzel’s winning goal.

The Penguins rallied from a 3-0 first-period deficit to tie the game 28 seconds into the third period. Guentzel then put them ahead with his 20th goal, tied for seventh-most in the NHL.

Guentzel picked up a loose puck to the right of goaltender Robin Lehner and skated behind the crease. He managed to get a shot attempt past left wing Mattias Janmark, banking the puck off Lehner’s skate and into the net.

The play gave the Penguins their first lead 2:12 into the third period. They held on for their 13th win in 15 games.

Key stat

23 — The number of consecutive games the Knights had outshot their opponent entering Monday.

The last time the Knights were outshot was Nov. 16 in a 4-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. They were outshot 37-26 by the Penguins.

The Knights’ 23-game streak without being outshot was tied for the third-longest in NHL history since the league began tracking the stat in 1959-60. The 1999-2000 St. Louis Blues hold the record at 29 games.

Brisson excited about Olympics

Knights prospect Brendan Brisson can’t wait to wear a Team USA sweater again.

The 29th overall pick in 2020 was picked for the U.S. Olympic hockey roster Thursday. The sophomore forward at Michigan represented his country at the 2021 World Junior Championship, winning a gold medal.

“Every time you get to wear (the jersey), I feel like your game steps up,” Brisson said. “You’re playing for your whole country. There’s such a big meaning behind it, especially at the Olympic level, Olympic stage. Everybody watches.”

The pathway for college players to go to the Olympics was cleared when the NHL bowed out in December. Brisson made his case with an impressive season of 15 goals and 15 assists in 25 games for the Wolverines.

“I think my skating (has improved),” Brisson said. “It’s giving me more opportunities and chances to shoot the puck and score more.”

Knights’ next 10

Vs. Montreal, 7 p.m. Thursday

At Washington, 4 p.m. Monday

At Carolina, 4 p.m. Jan. 25

At Florida, 4 p.m. Jan. 27

At Tampa Bay, 4 p.m. Jan. 29

Vs. Buffalo, 7 p.m. Feb. 1

At Arizona, 6:30 p.m. Feb. 25

Vs. Colorado, 7 p.m. Feb. 26

Vs. San Jose, 7 p.m. March 1

Vs. Boston, 6 p.m. March 3

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.