Golden Knights HC reacts to Pietrangelo's penalty in Game 5 loss

Vegas Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy. Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports

Golden Knights HC reacts to Alex Pietrangelo's costly penalty in Game 5 loss

By Mike Santa Barbara | Last updated 5/1/24

On Wednesday, defenseman Alex Pietrangelo's unnecessary penalty late in Game 5 helped set up the go-ahead powerplay goal in a pivotal 3-2 win for the Dallas Stars over the defending Stanley Cup-Champion Vegas Golden Knights, who are now only one loss away from a first-round exit.

Following the loss, Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy shared his opinion on Pietrangelo's second costly penalty in as many games, saying a "veteran guy" should know better.

"We should know better but it happens. Margins are too thin," Cassidy said via Nick Walters of KTNV. "We have to take care of our discipline."

At 15:19 of the second period, Pietrangelo appeared to elbow Dallas Stars forward Tyler Seguin, who had earlier targeted Vegas D-man Shea Theodore.

While initially given a five-minute major penalty, a review downgraded it to a minor. However, the replay showed Pietrangelo had bloodied Seguin's nose with a foolish, undisciplined backhand.

Alex Pietrangelo was given a 2-minute minor for this play on Tyler Seguin. pic.twitter.com/f6OmV0apsb
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 2, 2024

Predictably, the Stars capitalized on the powerplay when Jason Robertson lit the lamp at 16:32 on what turned out to be the deciding goal.

According to Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Pietrangelo was unavailable to speak to the media due to "time constraints."

As previously mentioned, Wednesday night's costly penalty wasn't the first of the series for Pietrangelo, whose second-period roughing penalty on forward Roope Hintz also turned the tide of Game 4, leading to the go-ahead goal on the man advantage in a 4-2 loss.

Entering Game 5 having dropped the previous two games to the Stars, Cassidy looked to shake things up by making a change in net, replacing Logan Thompson with Adin Hill on Wednesday.

Pietrangelo is too important to sit, but after back-to-back game-costing penalties, something has to change with the Golden Knights teetering on the edge of elimination.

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