3 takeaways from Knights’ win: Scoring touchdown before Super Bowl
A Shea Theodore one-timer was the spark that started the explosion.
The Golden Knights were only up 2-1 in the third period of Sunday’s game against the Anaheim Ducks when the defenseman got the puck at the point. The Knights were controlling play, but things were tight. They needed a breakaway save from goaltender Adin Hill early in the third to stay ahead.
Theodore’s blast past goaltender John Gibson broke the floodgates open. It was the first of five third-period goals for the Knights, a franchise record, in a 7-2 win in front of an announced crowd of 17,504 at T-Mobile Arena.
The team tied a season high for goals in a game to improve to 3-0 since the All-Star break. The Knights have outscored opponents 17-4 in that span, a dominating stretch that’s given them a three-point lead in the Pacific Division.
“I think that break couldn’t have come at a better time for us,” Hill said. “We seem to have a lot of energy, and we’re putting the puck in the net right now.”
Seven players scored two points for the Knights (32-18-4) on Sunday. Only four had none.
It was an all-around performance against a Ducks team with the third-worst record in the NHL at 17-31-6, one that avenged the Knights’ 3-2 shootout loss in Anaheim on Dec. 28.
Theodore kicked off the onslaught against his former team 6:40 into the third period. Right wing Phil Kessel followed that up 1:31 later with a goal of his own to make it 4-1.
Center Jack Eichel scored for the second straight game with 8:07 left in the third to add to the Knights’ lead. When center Isac Lundestrom responded to cut the Ducks’ deficit to 5-2, right wing Michael Amadio and left wing William Carrier piled on two more goals to make the final score 7-2.
Hill finished with 23 saves while helping lead a strong defensive effort. The Knights allowed two or fewer goals for the fourth straight game. They’ve only given up six in that span.
“The guys are feeling it right now,” coach Bruce Cassidy said.
Here are three takeaways from the win:
1. Depth wins out
Players from all four of the Knights’ forward lines and all three of the defense pairs got on the scoresheet in the win.
It was an impressive display from the team’s depth.
Left wing Paul Cotter opened the scoring with his 10th goal 2:08 into the first period. He is the 10th Knights player in double digits on the team. The only NHL team that has the same number of 10-goal scorers is Seattle.
Center William Karlsson credited Sunday’s outburst to the Knights doing the “simple things” right on offense.
“(We’re) getting pucks to the net, and we have bodies in front,” Karlsson said. “It creates a little bit of chaos, and then we capitalize on that.”
2. Hill stands tall
The Knights had no issues in net in their first game without rookie goaltender Logan Thompson, who is week-to-week with a lower-body injury.
Hill continued his great recent stretch of play for his 12th win. He has a .932 save percentage in eight appearances since the Knights’ last game against the Ducks, when he was pulled 12:26 into the first period for allowing two early goals.
Cassidy made sure to point out Hill’s stop on right wing Ryan Strome’s breakaway 1:47 into the third period Sunday after the game. Instead of things being tied 2-2, the Knights stayed ahead to set up Theodore’s goal.
“That’s probably going to be forgotten about in a 7-2 game,” Cassidy said. “The timely save was there for us.”
3. Ducks domination
There aren’t too many opponents the Knights like seeing more than the Ducks.
Sunday’s win improved their all-time record against Anaheim to 22-4-1. That’s tied for the Knights’ third-best against any opponent with Seattle. They’ve only been better against Ottawa (9-1-0) and San Jose (19-2-4).
Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.
