Jonathan Marchessault’s clutch goal sparks Golden Knights

The announced crowd of 8,683 at T-Mobile Arena was stunned silent by Minnesota Wild defenseman Matt Dumba’s second period goal Tuesday.

After hanging on for so long in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series, the Golden Knights finally cracked. And with the way the game had played out, the Wild’s 1-0 lead seemed as if it had a chance to hold up.

It didn’t. It didn’t even last a shift.

Knights left wing Jonathan Marchessault answered Dumba’s tally in 18 seconds to give the Knights their first goal of the series. His top-shelf shot brought the fans back to life and sparked the team to a 3-1 win to even the series.

The play by Marchessault by massive. Maybe even season-saving.

“I just sensed we were a different group after that goal,” coach Pete DeBoer said. “It was great timing by (Marchessault) to get that one right away obviously and put us back in the game. The importance of actually getting a goal can’t be minimized because I thought we were much better after that.”

The Knights hadn’t scored a goal in the first 95:45 of the series before Marchessault’s tally. Minnesota goaltender Cam Talbot’s shutout streak was the second-longest in team history.

The team was tight, and it showed. At least until Marchessault gave it a lift.

The play started when right wing Reilly Smith was given enough room by the Wild to carry the puck over the offensive blue line. He sent a backhand pass to Marchessault, who came in streaking through the neutral zone. Marchessault skated until he almost reached the right faceoff dot before firing a hard, high shot over Talbot’s left shoulder.

It was the kind of play the Knights needed to get back on track. It’s no surprise it came from Marchessault, who has been a key cog in the franchise since the beginning. He ranks second in team history with 15 playoff goals.

“Those momentum swings are what changes playoff games,” Smith said. “If you can score a goal after the other team does or at the start of a period or the end of a period, it goes a long way. These series, they all just come down to momentum swings, and we did a better job tonight being able to control them.”

Here are three more takeaways from the win:

1. Tuch’s two goals

Alex Tuch took another opportunity to haunt his former team.

The former Wild first-round pick scored two goals, including the decisive one with 2:41 remaining in the second period. Tuch started on the first line with center Chandler Stephenson and right wing Mark Stone and took full advantage.

The 25-year-old has the most playoff goals in Knights history with 16.

“He’s such a dynamic skater, and when he’s using that size and that speed and getting to those tough areas of the rink, he’s a really hard guy to handle,” DeBoer said. “He’s consistently been doing that, and when he does, he gets rewarded.”

2. Fleury’s performance

Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury bounced back from his first loss in nine starts quickly.

Fleury made 34 saves for his 82nd career playoff victory, the sixth-most all time. He has allowed one goal or fewer in four straight games.

Fleury is feeling so confident after his recent stretch of play that he tried to fire a puck all the way down the ice and into Minnesota’s empty net at the end of the game. He was thwarted when his shot was knocked out of the air by a Wild player.

“I like the angle,” Fleury said. “I think the guy got a high stick on it. I wish I could’ve seen where it was going. I don’t think I’ve taken too many of those this season. It’s nice to have a chance at it.”

3. Defending Kaprizov

The Knights have done a good job shutting down Minnesota’s top forward.

Rookie Kirill Kaprizov, who led the team with 27 goals and 51 points, has no points. He has five shots on goal.

“He’s their best player,” Marchessault said. “He’s everywhere. … He’s been great all year. We’ve got to make his life harder.”

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.