3 takeaways from Knights’ win: Depth comes through vs. Sharks
The first thought in Brayden Pachal’s head, he admitted, was not safe for work.
The 24-year-old had made his NHL debut. He had gotten his name on the Stanley Cup. But he was still waiting for his first goal heading into the Golden Knights’ game Thursday at SAP Center in San Jose, California.
In the third period, he got it.
Pachal grinned from ear to ear as he scored the Knights’ final goal of a 4-1 victory against the rival San Jose Sharks. He, like many players in the team’s lineup, are being given extra opportunities to start the year with four regulars unavailable. He was also one of many that took advantage.
Pachal got his milestone, left wings Pavel Dorofeyev and Jonas Rondbjerg recorded primary assists in their season debuts, and defenseman Nic Hague shined on the top pair in the victory.
The Knights depth came through, and it’s why they’ve started a season 2-0 for the fifth time in seven years.
“Tonight I thought it was our guys that we don’t typically rely on that played some of the best hockey for us,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “That shows when you’re a good team. You don’t need your top guys to have their A game all the time to win.”
Adversity came early for the Knights this year.
Defensemen Alec Martinez and Zach Whitecloud started the season on injured reserve with upper-body injuries. Left wing William Carrier sustained an upper-body injury in the opener Tuesday against Seattle. Left wing Brett Howden was given a two-game suspension Wednesday for an “illegal check to the head” on Kraken right wing Brandon Tanev.
That left a lot of skates for the Knights to fill. It seemed to show in a disjointed start Thursday.
The Knights, playing against a Sharks team that should be in the running for the 2024 No. 1 overall pick, had three shots in the first 10 minutes. They didn’t put a puck on net in the second period until 7:33 had elapsed.
It was the players stepping into new roles who got the Knights to break through.
Hague, playing with Alex Pietrangelo in Martinez’s absence, ripped an 89.1 mph one-timer between goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen’s pads to give the team a 2-1 lead with 1:29 left in the second. It was Hague’s third shot of the shift, and led to the second game-winning goal of his career.
The 24-year-old added an assist for his eighth career multipoint game.
Rondbjerg, called up Thursday morning to take Carrier’s spot on the fourth line, helped the Knights add on 53 seconds later. He sprung center Nicolas Roy on a rush, and Roy roofed a shot to put the team up 3-1 only 36 seconds before the second intermission.
Pachal’s moment came soon after. Dorofeyev couldn’t make clean contact on a pass from center William Karlsson, and the puck came to a wide-open Pachal in the right circle. He had time to spin, pick his spot and fire a wrist shot into the net.
“I was super happy,” Pachal said on the KMCC-34 broadcast. “Obviously, it’s a lifelong dream, and I banged that one out. I’m super grateful for that.”
Pachal’s tally gave the Knights eight goal-scorers in only two games this season. They had 10 players finish with a point against San Jose.
Depth and resiliency were hallmarks of last year’s Stanley Cup winners. The short-handed Knights appear to be showing some of the same attributes so far.
“I think it’s one of the strengths of our team,” Roy said. “We can roll four lines. You know anybody’s able to score some goals. We can rely on that, for sure.”
Here are three takeaways from the win:
1. Thompson returns
Goaltender Logan Thompson earned the hugs from his teammates after the game.
It wasn’t just that the 26-year-old was back in the net for his first appearance since March 23 in Calgary. It was that he finished a game as well for the first time since Jan. 28.
Thompson participated in NHL All-Star Weekend last season as a rookie but only made two starts following the event because of lower-body injuries. He didn’t complete either one.
He looked back to his normal self in San Jose. Thompson made 22 saves while looking in control of his crease.
The only goal he allowed took a funky hop. The puck bounced off center Tomas Hertl’s skate, over Hague’s stick and to right wing Filip Zadina in the right circle on the play. Zadina buried it for his first goal as a Shark.
“I’m relieved it’s over,” Thompson said. “I always think the first one’s the hardest. Happy I was able to get the win. The guys played great tonight. Made my life pretty easy out there.”
2. Rivalry stays lopsided
Another meeting, another win for the Knights against the Sharks.
They improved their all-time record in the series to 21-2-5, their third-best against any opponent behind Ottawa (9-1) and Seattle (8-1).
The Knights also continue to have no issues piling up points in SAP Center.
Their 11-0-3 record in the building is their third-best in any road barn as well behind Ottawa (5-0-0) and Seattle’s (4-0-0). The Knights’ 14-game road point streak against the Sharks is tied for the longest active run against a single franchise in the NHL.
The Lightning are 11-0-3 in their last 14 games in Chicago.
3. Eichel’s line shines
The one secondary assist next to center Jack Eichel’s name on the scoresheet undersells the impact he had on the game.
The Knights were in total control whenever the 26-year-old stepped on the ice. His line had several extended shifts in the offensive zone, including the one that led to Hague’s goal.
The Knights finished with a 12-7 edge in scoring chances when Eichel was on the ice at five-on-five, according to the website Natural Stat Trick.
Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.
