Lineup additions prove key to Golden Knights’ Game 3 victory

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Golden Knights center Patrick Brown tore his hamstring last month.

But that didn’t stop him from making a major contribution to the Knights’ first-round playoff series. Brown was one of two players coach Pete DeBoer inserted into the lineup for Thursday’s Game 3 at Xcel Energy Center, along with defenseman Nick Holden.

Both played key roles in a 5-2 win. Brown scored a game-tying goal after the team fell behind 2-0 in the first period, and Holden had two primary assists.

“We don’t win without both those guys in the lineup,” DeBoer said. “We talked at the beginning of the playoffs that we wanted to stick to the formula we used all year, which was to not be afraid to rely on our depth.”

Brown came in for an injured Tomas Nosek and played his first game since April 3. The onetime Henderson Silver Knights captain showed no rust in adjusting to the speed of the playoffs.

Brown scored when a Holden shot from the point bounced off the end boards and found his stick in the slot. His backhand shot went up and over Minnesota goaltender Cam Talbot to make the score 2-2 with 4:41 left in the second period.

DeBoer gave a lot of credit to Brown for being ready to play. He said the 28-year-old “oozes character and intangibles.” Brown has two goals in three playoff games with the Knights.

“I felt fresh,” Brown said. “(Director of hockey operations Misha Donskov’s) been doing a great job keeping me in shape. I was ready to go.”

Holden was just as good. The veteran blue liner replaced Nic Hague and played his first game since April 9. All he did was record the first two-point playoff game of his career.

Holden set up Brown’s game-tying goal and picked up another primary assist on right wing Reilly Smith’s game-winner. He drove through the middle of the ice in the offensive zone, fired a shot on net and Smith cleaned up the rebound.

It gave Holden his first two-point game since March 8, 2020.

”I thought we had some guys that were a little fatigued after the first two games, and the stretch run of the playoffs took a lot out of some guys playing short-handed, lineup-wise and the way the schedule rolled out,” DeBoer said. “I wasn’t surprised I saw some fatigue, and we wanted to get some fresh legs in there earlier in the series than later. Both guys were great.”

Here are three more takeaways from the win:

1. Challenge changes game

The Knights were nearly down 3-0.

Center Joel Eriksson Ek put the puck in the net for the second time in the first period, and it looked as if the Wild were on their way to an easy victory. Only the Knights saw something was off.

They challenged the goal for offsides, risking going on the penalty kill down 3-0 if they failed. They were successful instead and kept their deficit at two. That kept them within striking distance once they rallied in the second period.

DeBoer and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury credited video coach Dave Rogowski for his keen eyes.

“That was a great call by our video coach, Dave. Thanks, Dave,” Fleury said. “Obviously, when you’re down by two, you can get back in the game pretty quickly, right? You get that first goal, it’s 2-1. There’s still a lot of time to play in that game, right? I thought that was a huge call by our coaches.”

2. Pietrangelo’s save

Fleury allowed two goals or fewer for the 12th consecutive start, but he had help.

Defenseman Alex Pietrangelo gave his goaltender a huge assist by helping prevent a late goal when the Knights were protecting a 4-2 lead. The puck made it to the goal line but stopped without crossing it. Pietrangelo was the first to see it and fell to the ice without his stick to bat it out of the crease.

“That was definitely nice by (Pietrangelo) to save my butt there,” said Fleury, who added he owed Pietrangelo a Diet Coke. “I couldn’t find the puck. There was a mad scramble in front, and I didn’t know where it was. Good heads-up play by him.”

3. Goalie assist

Fleury picked up his first assist of the series on center William Karlsson’s third-period goal.

It was the fourth assist of Fleury’s playoff career and his second with the Knights. He had one assist in 36 games in the regular season.

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