Pirri shines in Golden Knights’ win

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Brandon Pirri hadn‘t played a minute for the Golden Knights all season. But watching him on the ice at Rogers Arena Tuesday, you would have thought he was a first-line guy from opening night.

Pirri, who was called up on an emergency basis from the Knights’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Chicago Wolves, arrived in time to score two goals in the Knights’ 5-4 shootout victory over the Vancouver Canucks.

The winner, in the fourth round of the shootout, came from defenseman Shea Thedore after the Knights squandered a power play in overtime and also had a goal disallowed on goaltender interference.

“I was fortunate to be playing with some pretty good hockey players, and when an opportunity like this comes, you don’t want to miss it,” Pirri said after recording his 100th NHL point after his second-period goal made it 2-1. His first goal came 4:28 into the contest as he was all alone in the slot and had time to pick his spot and beat Jacob Markstrom to the upper corner. His second goal was off a shot from the right circle after his line had backchecked in their own end and broke out 3-on-2 into the Vancouver zone.

“He did great,” coach Gerard Gallant said. “He’s a first-line player and he fit in well.”

With several regulars either being rested or still nursing injuries, Pirri was on a plane to Vancouver from Chicago Tuesday. He arrived at 1 p.m., having missed the morning skate. But he used his speed to stay with William Karlsson and Alex Tuch on the first line. He also did an outstanding job of helping in the defensive zone, winning some battles and tying up some of the Canucks’ forwards.

“His game fits in very well with what we do,” Gallant said of Pirri’s two-way play.

Karlsson scored his 43rd goal during a 5-on-3 power play early in the third period to give the Knights a 4-1 lead. But the Canucks got a power-play goal of their own from Bo Horvat, seized momentum and got the announced crowd of 18,865 back into it. It took some big saves from Malcolm Subban to keep it even going into overtime.

Subban was perfect in the shootout, stopping all four shots and giving Theodore a chance to be the hero.

“I just tried to stay patient,” said Subban, who made 21 saves and improved to 13-3-2. “They’ve got a lot of shooters over there.”

On his shootout goal, Theodore made a nice move to get Markstrom down on the ice and then lifted in a backhand.

“I was just trying to keep it as simple as I could,”Theodore said. “Sometimes when you overthink it, the puck winds up in the corner.”

And while the Knights were dealing with less than a full deck, they did get Will Carrier back after Carrier had been out two months with a shoulder injury. He played 9:39 and and had a team-high four hits.

“He was great,” Gallant said. “He was active. He played with great energy. I’m very glad to see him back.”

The Knights have two games left, and while they should get Erik Haula and Jonathan Marchessault back in the lineup Thursday against Edmonton after both sat out Tuesday, Gallant had to piece his lines together against the Canucks, mixing and matching and juggling. It ultimately worked out. But not before some anxious moments in the third period.

“We kind of fell asleep there after we got the 4-1 lead,” Gallant said. “But Subby came up big for us at the end of regulation, and he was great again in the shootout.”

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Contact Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow @stevecarprj on Twitter.