3 takeaways from Knights’ win: 3rd line keys dominant start

The passion was palpable as fans waved golden glowsticks before Thursday’s game between the Golden Knights and Los Angeles Kings at T-Mobile Arena.

An announced crowd of 18,404, the second-largest of the season, filed in anticipating a heavyweight bought between two of the best teams in the Pacific Division and Western Conference. Energy, excitement and tension pulsated throughout the usual pregame theatrics.

What came after all that buildup was a first-round knockout.

The Knights delivered an opening blow so staggering the third-place Kings couldn’t recover. Two of the first three shots Los Angeles goaltender Joonas Korpisalo saw went past him. Two of the next three did as well.

The Knights, after taking a 4-0 first-period lead, never looked back in a 5-2 victory that all but clinched home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The team only needs a single point from its final three games to guarantee a top-two finish in the Pacific.

“Listen, everyone in here and everyone in the building knows how important that game is,” defenseman Nic Hague said. “I thought we stepped up in a big way. We had a plan and came out and executed it. Got off to a good start and just kind of kept it rolling throughout the game.”

Right wing Jonathan Marchessault said Thursday morning the matchup was “probably the biggest game of the year for us.”

A win would keep the Knights (49-22-8) three points clear of second-place Edmonton with three games to go. A regulation loss would reduce the gap to one.

The stakes showed in the Knights’ prep. Coach Bruce Cassidy said the team did a “deeper dive” into Los Angeles than it normally would, preparing to handle the Kings’ 1-3-1 neutral-zone forecheck.

The Knights’ urgency from the jump, especially after a potential Kings goal was called offside 2:26 in, also suggested they understood the magnitude of the moment. They chased Korpisalo after 21:02.

The third line did most of the Knights’ early damage. Left wing Ivan Barbashev, center Chandler Stephenson and right wing Phil Kessel each had a goal by the end of their first three shifts together. Barbashev had a plus-3 rating after 1:08 of ice time.

Center Nicolas Roy added to the onslaught with a power-play goal with 8:37 left in the first. Marchessault made it 5-0 only 1:02 into the second, leading Korpisalo to get pulled for Pheonix Copley.

The Kings (45-24-10) clawed back before the second intermission. Goals from center Anze Kopitar and defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov made the score 5-2.

The Knights’ lead ultimately proved too much to overcome.Their early display of dominance extended their point streak to five games (3-0-2), while extending Los Angeles’ losing streak to two.

”I just thought, it was one of those nights (where) there were really no passengers for us, which ends up showing in the end results,” Cassidy said.

Here are three takeaways from the win:

1. Goalie decision

Thursday provided a major hint as to which way the Knights are leaning in net before the playoffs.

Laurent Brossoit got the start in the key matchup instead of Jonathan Quick, who spent 16 years in Los Angeles and won two Stanley Cups with the Kings. Brossoit made 30 saves to improve to 5-0-3 this season.

“It was a tough decision,” Cassidy said. “It really was. Jonathan really wanted to play. LB’s been playing real good hockey, so for me, I thought it was a win-win, to be quite honest with you.”

The crease may still get more crowded. Injured goaltenders Logan Thompson and Adin Hill skated separately from the rest of the team Thursday morning, indicating they are inching closer toward being available. Cassidy said he didn’t have a timeline for when either would be ready to play.

2. Third-line magic

Cassidy swapped Barbashev with rookie left wing Pavel Dorofeyev on Thursday. He wanted to see how Dorofeyev would fare in an elevated role with Marchessault and center Jack Eichel.

Cassidy ended up giving a different line a spark. Stephenson finished with three points, and Barbashev and Kessel each had a goal and an assist.

“That line was excellent,” Roy said. “Probably the best play I’ve seen from a line in a long time.”

Stephenson scored his first non-empty-net goal in 13 games. He recorded at least three points for the fourth time this season and the first time since Dec. 31.

3. Hague brawls

The game almost turned scary for the Knights 8:28 into the first period when Kings right wing Zack MacEwen drove defenseman Ben Hutton into the neutral-zone boards.

Hague immediately fought MacEwen to make his opponent answer for the hit. Hague was given instigator, fighting and misconduct penalties. MacEwen, in addition to being called for fighting, was given a five-minute boarding penalty that led to Roy’s power-play goal.

Hutton returned to the ice 3:38 after the hit and played the rest of the game.

“I didn’t think it was a good hit,” Hague said. “That’s a vulnerable position that sometimes we get into as D-men trying to get the red line and put it in deep. I didn’t like the hit. I thought it was from behind. Just a bad spot.”

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