3 takeaways from Knights win: Short-handed squad takes down Canucks
The Golden Knights’ game with the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night at T-Mobile Arena featured plenty of low-event hockey in the first 30 minutes. That’s just what the Canucks wanted on the second night of a back-to-back.
The Knights played the waiting game. Then they took over down the stretch.
The Knights got through a shaky first period and then wore the Canucks down in a 3-1 victory, their sixth win in their last seven games.
Vancouver, coming off a 3-2 overtime loss to the Utah Hockey Club on Wednesday, started out strong.
Former Knights center Teddy Blueger gave the Canucks a 1-0 lead 8:15 into the first period. Vancouver dominated the opening frame and had an 11-5 edge in shots on goal.
The Knights got their game going in the second.
Defenseman Alex Pietrangelo tied things up with 2:25 left until the second intermission. Center William Karlsson then gave the Knights the lead 3:44 into the third period.
“I think we kind of felt it in the second when they got stuck out there a couple times and we kept rolling over them to control the game,” Karlsson said. “We had it in the back of our heads that they played last night and tried to use that to our advantage.”
Goaltender Adin Hill made 19 saves for the Knights (21-8-3) in their first of five straight games against Pacific Division opponents. This was their first meeting with the Canucks (16-10-6), who won the division last season.
Left wing Brett Howden added an empty-net goal with 50 seconds remaining.
“We knew they were going to be tired coming in,” Howden said. “We weren’t happy with how we came out in the first, but we were proud of how we responded.”
The Knights, after getting back from a three-game road trip, began a stretch Thursday where they will play 10 of 12 games at home.
They didn’t come charging out of the gates against the Canucks, but they rallied for their 12th comeback win of the season.
Here are three takeaways from the win:
1. Short-handed? No problem
The Knights had their full lineup healthy for just a few games.
The team played short-handed again Thursday because left wing Ivan Barbashev and center Nicolas Roy were out due to upper-body injuries.
The Knights called up 27-year-old forward Tanner Laczynski before the game and he played 7:31 in the victory.
Left wing Pavel Dorofeyev took Barbashev’s place on the top line and finished with three shots on goal playing with center Jack Eichel and captain Mark Stone.
2. Coming in clutch
The Knights know how to get things done heading into the third period. They improved to 5-0-3 this season when tied with their opponent heading into the final frame.
Coach Bruce Cassidy has talked about the importance of winning those games when playoff time draws near. The Knights are 10-1-3 in one-goal games this season and would’ve improved to 11-1-3 if not for Howden’s empty-netter.
“You have to be comfortable in these games,” Cassidy said. “You have to use your whole bench. Every guy has to feel comfortable that they can do their job.”
3. Kill stays strong
The Knights’ penalty kill has been strong the past month. It continued its recent hot streak by killing both of Vancouver’s power plays.
The Knights have killed 17 of the 20 penalties they’ve taken their last 11 games. They’re 8-2-1 in that stretch as a result.
Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.
