Golden Knights’ power play finds redemption in Montreal
It had to be in Montreal. Of course it did.
The Golden Knights’ much-maligned power play had to return to the site of its greatest failure — an 0-for-15 performance in last season’s NHL semifinal against the Canadiens — to experience success again. Then, it was reborn.
The Knights got their first two power-play goals of the season in their return to Montreal’s Bell Centre on Saturday, which was exactly what they needed for a 5-2 win.
“Every time you go another game without scoring on it, you hear about it,” coach Pete DeBoer said. “So that pressure starts to build. I think we’ve got some new combinations with the guys we have out of our lineup. It’s taken a little bit of time but obviously timely tonight and nice that we won’t have to deal with that goose egg anymore.”
Any negative adjective one wanted to throw at the Knights’ power play the last five months was appropriate.
Awful. Putrid. Punchless.
They finished the postseason on an 0-for-18 skid dating back to Game 4 of their second-round series against Colorado. Then they started this year 0-for-19.
It seemed every time the power play took the ice it took energy from the Knights rather than giving it. Until Saturday.
The Knights (6-5) played a lifeless first period against the Canadiens (3-10) and trailed 2-0 on the scoreboard and 20-1 in shots on goal afterwards. They’ve never had fewer shots in a period in their history.
A rout appeared in store. At least it did until defenseman Ben Chiarot was called for delay of game 5:05 into the second and defenseman Alex Pietrangelo scored off a one-timer 11 seconds later.
The Knights, courtesy of their power play, had life. Left wing Jonathan Marchessault scored 5:08 later to tie the game and soon a second power play came. Defenseman Dylan Coghlan finished off that one with the fourth goal of his career and his first since his hat trick in Minnesota on March 10. It was the game-winner, and center Chandler Stephenson and defenseman Brayden McNabb added empty-net goals at the end of the team’s fifth win in six games.
The Knights power play, dead last in the NHL the entire season, moved up to 30th. And more importantly, for the first time in a long time it won the team a game.
“Sometimes you just got to simplify it and take the shots when they’re there,” Pietrangelo said. “That’s pretty much all we did tonight. We’ve been looking at a lot of different things, a lot of different ways that we can score but sometimes you just need a bounce or two to kickstart (things).”
Here are three more takeaways from the win:
1. Active Lehner wins duel
Two of the NHL’s busiest goaltenders in Robin Lehner and Jake Allen squared off Saturday.
The one that stayed busy won.
Lehner, the NHL’s saves leader, made an additional 36 stops against Montreal and didn’t allow a goal after the first period. He got his fifth win in his 10th start, tied for the second-most in the league. He also picked up his first assist on McNabb’s goal.
“We’re going through adversity and we’re scratching and clawing to stay in the race and every point matters right now,” Lehner said. “It’s simple as that.”
Allen, who leads the NHL with 11 starts, faced 16 shots but gave up three goals.
2. Offense keeps pushing
The Knights scored five goals for the second game in a row after scoring four or less in each of their first nine games.
Stephenson had a goal and an assist to give him 12 points in 11 games. Pietrangelo scored for the second straight game and added an assist. Marchessault got his third goal in the last two games and center Nicolas Roy picked up his third assist in that same span.
3. Off the list
The Knights removed the Bell Centre from the group of venues in which they’ve never won a regular-season game.
The only ones that remain are Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena, Boston’s TD Garden and the NHL’s newest rink in Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena. The Knights lost in Toronto on Tuesday, but play in Boston on Dec. 14 and in Seattle on March 30 and April 1.
Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.
