Evgenii Dadonov scoring timely goals for Golden Knights
After he was acquired by the Golden Knights in a trade this offseason, Evgenii Dadonov was described as someone who made his living in the hard areas of the ice.
Through the team’s first 15 games, he has lived up to his reputation.
Of the winger’s five goals, none have come from farther than 12 feet from the net, according to the NHL’s official play-by-play sheet.
He enters Tuesday’s game against the Metropolitan Division-leading Carolina Hurricanes off a three-point night in a win over Vancouver on Saturday.
“I think like all goal scorers, he’s a streaky guy. They come in bunches,” coach Pete DeBoer said.
“He’s feeling pretty good, but when I look back over the first dozen games, he could have easily had three or four more. I think if and when we get healthy and add some of the people back that are sitting out, I think he’s going to consistently score all year. That’s what we’re expecting.”
Dadonov arrived from Ottawa in July in exchange for defenseman Nick Holden and a 2022 third-round pick. With a $5 million salary cap for this season and next, the Knights hoped the 32-year-old could provide secondary offense and boost the power play after it faltered in the playoffs for the second straight season.
Thus far, Dadonov has come through, circling the blue paint in stealth mode and picking up scraps like a Russian vulture.
“It seems like he’s always in the right spot around the net,” defenseman Nic Hague said. “He has a knack for scoring. He always seems to be involved down there. It’s fun to watch. It’s definitely hard to defend. We’re happy to have him on our side.”
Dadonov’s longest shot for a goal came in overtime against Dallas when he fired the winner from 12 feet after Nicolas Roy created a turnover below the goal line.
His backhand goal late in the second period against Seattle on Tuesday was officially listed in the play by play as being the same distance as his goal against Dallas despite the fact the puck lay in the crease before Dadonov knocked it in.
In Saturday’s victory over the Canucks, Dadonov quietly slipped in to backhand a shot on a five-on-three advantage from 8 feet away. He later finished off a two-on-one break with winger Mark Stone from in tight.
“He just makes my game easier,” Dadonov said of Stone. “He does a lot of good things on the ice.”
Dadonov’s goals also have been timely. His goal against Seattle tied the score at 2 and was the first of three straight by the Knights en route to the victory.
He ignited the offense in the most recent game against Vancouver with a goal late in the first period, then added an important insurance goal in the third.
”It’s hard to live up to contracts when you’re paid to score goals. There’s a lot of scrutiny around that,” DeBoer said. “Why I like him is he doesn’t cheat you defensively in order to score those goals. He made a play the other night, goalie out, won a battle against a defenseman a foot taller and 50 pounds heavier to get a puck out of our end. Those are the kind of things when your goal scorers are doing things like that, that’s winning hockey.”
Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.
