3 takeaways from Golden Knights’ Game 4 win over Canucks

Playing games 3 and 4 of their second-round series against the Vancouver Canucks on back-to-back days gave the Golden Knights an opportunity to show off their depth.

And flex they did.

The Knights outlasted the Canucks 5-3 in Game 4 Sunday at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, to take a 3-1 series lead. They scored three straight goals in the third period as their seemingly fresher legs took over the game.

“I think individually we had some guys that maybe weren’t as sharp as they were the night before, but collectively I just felt it was our advantage with the fresh bodies we put in, with (Marc-Andre Fleury) in net,” coach Pete DeBoer said. “I just thought we had more fresh people in the lineup than they did, and I feel like we’ve got more depth than them throughout our lineup. I knew that would eventually pay off.”

DeBoer’s confidence in his depth led him to not push any players too hard. No forward played more than right wing Reilly Smith’s 17:10 despite five averaging more ice time than that in the regular season.

Centers Nicolas Roy and Chandler Stephenson played more than right wing Mark Stone. DeBoer was confident in all four of his lines to keep rolling them, even when his team entered the third period trailing 3-2.

It paid off when the third line, centered by Roy, tied the game 3-3 early in the period.

“If you roll us over, roll us over, roll us over, it’s hard to play against,” defenseman Nate Schmidt said.

The Canucks seemed to tire in the third. Their top players were worked hard in the back to back. Leading scorer JT Miller played 45:32 in the two games. Rookie defenseman Quinn Hughes played 50:39. Goaltender Jacob Markstrom started twice and gave up eight goals.

Meanwhile, the Knights alternated goaltenders and got strong performances from Fleury and Robin Lehner.

“You know that there’s no hiccup between when (Fleury) jumps in the net from Robin from the night before,” Schmidt said.

It’s a luxury that the Knights can rely on different players and goaltenders each night and still expect to win. It’s why they’re one step from the Western Conference Final.

Here are three more takeaways from the victory:

1. Theodore earns lofty label

Stone paid defenseman Shea Theodore quite the compliment in the postgame news conference.

“I think Shea Theodore is obviously turning into a Norris-caliber defenseman,” Stone said. The Norris Trophy is awarded annually to the NHL’s top defenseman.

It was high praise but not unwarranted. Theodore has followed his career regular season with a spectacular playoff performance.

The 25-year-old has a six-game point streak and ranks second among defensemen in playoff scoring with 14 points, two behind Dallas’ Miro Heiskanen. His smooth skills and puck-moving abilities have tilted the ice nearly every shift he’s played.

The Knights have outscored their opponents 19-6 with Theodore out at five-on-five. His plus-13 is by far the best mark on the team.

His defense partner, Alec Martinez, is plus-9 at five-on-five. No one else on the team is better than plus-5.

“I’m just trying to do my job,” Theodore said after recording two assists Sunday. “I’m trying to jump into the offense but at the same time not really give up anything defensively. I feel like when I can do that, I can be most effective out there.”

2. Pacioretty heats up

Left wing Max Pacioretty wasn’t in top form when he started playing in the postseason. A training camp injury, followed by a weeklong quarantine when he arrived in the bubble late, brought understandable rust to his game.

That doesn’t seem to be a problem anymore. Pacioretty, the Knights’ leading scorer in the regular season, has scored in four of the past five games. He had two goals and an assist Sunday. He had only scored three points in a playoff game twice before.

“I really liked his goals tonight because he was driving, attacking holes, stopping at the net, some real power forward-type goals,” DeBoer said. “He’s got that world-class shot that if he gets a little room, he can get it off. I think he’s gotten better every night.”

3. Merrill steps in

Sunday was defenseman Jon Merrill’s first competitive hockey game since March 9. All in all, it went pretty well.

Merrill replaced Nick Holden in the lineup to give the Knights a fresh skater for the back to back. He delivered two hits in 14:08 and recorded the first playoff point of his career.

Merrill set up Schmidt for his third-period goal that tied the game at 3.

“I thought he played great,” Schmidt said. “In the third period, when I scored, I was more excited for Jonny sliding it over than anything. He’s an unbelievable teammate and a guy that works hard behind the scenes and puts in the work.”

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