Golden Knіgһtѕ Roаr to Lіfe, Subdue Devіlѕ; No Sympаtһy

Over the last 14 games for the Golden Knights (32-17-6), everything that could go wrong did go wrong. They were seemingly on the wrong end of every bounce, struggled to execute, and couldn’t finish. Tonight against the New Jersey Devils (30-20-6), the Golden Knights got back to playing Golden Knights hockey.

The first period was a little sleepy, but the Golden Knights were a step ahead of the Devils right from the drop of the puck. The Devils killed off a four-minute double minor, but they have the 4th ranked penalty kill for a reason. There were some similarities to Tuesday’s game against the New York Islanders– the Golden Knights got their chances, but Jake Allen was up to the task. As it turns out, the first was the most evenly matched period in the game.

“I thought we were the better team from start to finish,” said Bruce Cassidy. “We did a lot of things well. We made it hard on their top players to get going offensively.”

At the start of the second period, it was like the Golden Knights got their second wind. They outshot the Devils 17-4 and dominated possession time.

After that, everything went right for the Golden Knights. They got the bounces, they got the saves, and they got the finishing. The Devils have historically been known for the trap system, but tonight, the Golden Knights skated through the neutral zone as quickly as a late-night traveler on an empty stretch of the New Jersey Turnpike.

All of that manifested on their first goal.

Jack Hughes entered the zone with the puck and passed cross-ice to Jesper Bratt. Bratt teed it up for Šimon Nemec. Nemec got everything into his shot, but the puck rode up Brayden McNabb’s stick— I feel the need to mention that McNabb inadvertently blocked Nemec’s shot with his face. No one on the ice knew where the puck was… except for Nic Roy. Roy flew up the left wing with speed and fired a shot on net from the left circle. Jake Allen made the save, but Roy got his stick on the rebound and chipped the puck through Allen’s five-hole.

“It’s been tough to score goals lately,” said Nic Roy. “We wanted to have a good start, so getting that first goal was huge for us.”

The Golden Knights’ second goal came off the cycle. Behind the goal line, Ivan Barbashev took the puck from Luke Hughes and tried to find Shea Theodore in the slot. Brett Pesce intercepted Barbashev’s pass and got it to the outside, but Victor Olofsson got to the puck first. Olofsson passed back to Theodore, who walked the line and fired a shot past Jake Allen.

Just like that, the Golden Knights had a two-goal lead for the first time in seven games.

Recently, the Golden Knights’ opponents capitalized on mistakes; tonight, the Golden Knights got back to playing hockey their way. Jake Allen left the net to play the puck, and Victor Olofsson stopped it at the half wall. He worked it deeper for Jack Eichel, who put Luke Hughes in a spin cycle and flipped the puck back to Olofsson. Olofsson rimmed it around the boards and back to Zach Whitecloud, who passed cross-ice to Noah Hanifin. Hanifin walked right down Main Street and threaded a pass between Ondřej Palát’s legs to Eichel, who was crashing the net. Allen made the save, but Eichel stuffed it home on the second attempt.

“I think it started with our defensive play,” said Jack Eichel. “They have some really good offensive players; they generate a lot. I thought we did a good job maintaining good position inside and containing their high-end offensive players. It led to some good offense for us, and we capitalized on a few chances. It feels good to break through. We didn’t have the worst effort on Long Island; we just needed to find the back of the net. It was good to see [Nic Roy] get us on the scoreboard. Then we could extend the lead, and the one in the third gave us a little comfort. I thought we played well with the lead.”

Golden Knights Notes

The Golden Knights are 4-0-3 against the Devils at Prudential Center and have still not lost in regulation.

Ondřej Palát broke Adin Hill’s shutout bid with just over four minutes to play. The Devils were the benefactors of a questionable call, and they capitalized on it. Palát’s goal was in no way on Hill– Stefan Noesen fed Palát on the backhand from below the goal line, and there were no less than two odd bounces prior. Hill played exceptionally well. He’s struggled as of late, but tonight, he was at the top of his game.

Jake Allen was fantastic tonight in net for the Devils. The Golden Knights thought so, too.

“I thought [Jake] Allen had a great game,” said Adin Hill. “I thought we could have had five or six goals.”

Bruce Cassidy shared Hill’s sentiments.

“I thought [Jake Allen] played very well, and we missed some opportunities to extend the lead even more,” said Cassidy.

Before tonight, Noah Hanifin had been held pointless for fifteen straight games. You wouldn’t have known it from how he played. Hanifin was excellent tonight. He looked like his old self.

I’m not sure if the Golden Knights have fully resolved their issues, but tonight’s effort was a giant step in the right direction. They looked like the best version of themselves, like the itineration of the Golden Knights that rattled off 13 wins in 15 games back in December. They outshot the Devils 39-17 and outchanced them 27-14. The Golden Knights were dominant.

Also, if you’re keeping track, the Golden Knights have allowed just 31 shots over their last two games.

“That’s our bread and butter,” said Jack Eichel. “When you’re not scoring and producing offensively, you have to stick to your structure and rely on what helps you win games. For us, it’s been defense, and it’s been defense for years now. I think whenever we play within our structure and competitively in our own end, it gives us a chance to win, and we wait for the goals to come. They started coming tonight.”