Golden Knіgһtѕ Sһutout, Rebuke Devіlѕ; Sweep Seаѕon Serіeѕ

Tһe Vegаѕ Golden Knіgһtѕ (36-18-6) аllowed fіve goаlѕ іn botһ of tһeіr lаѕt two gаmeѕ. Neіtһer goаltendіng or teаm defenѕe wаѕ а problem on Sundаy wһen tһey ѕһutout tһe New Jerѕey Devіlѕ (33-23-6). Tһe Golden Knіgһtѕ ѕtruck twіce on tһe power plаy аnd won 2-0.

Just like when these two teams met in February, Sunday’s game was a low-event affair. It was very similar to last Monday’s game against the Los Angeles Kings, minus the defensive lapses.

In a sense, the first period was wide open. There were very few whistles, so the game had a real flow to it. The Golden Knights and the Devils raced up and down the ice, trading scoring chances to no avail. The goaltending was stellar, andthe defensive work was even better. Players laid out to block shots and were smart with their defensive sticks. 

In the second period, the Golden Knights were the best versions of themselves. They looked like a team that had given up five goals to the Chicago Blackhawks in their last outing. The Golden Knights didn’t force anything offensively, and they certainly didn’t cheat defensively. They forechecked well, and they took care of the puck.

And then, the third period.

“[The message was to] just stay on our toes. We didn’t want to sit back,” said Noah Hanifin. “We wanted to be the aggressor [in the third] period, and I thought we did a good job of that.”

Honestly, these two teams probably could have carried on dancing forever, trading chances off the rush. Luckily for the Golden Knights, they didn’t have to. Early in the third period, Bruce Cassidy slid Tanner Pearson up on Jack Eichel’s line, and he immediately generated a scoring chance and drew an interference call. 

The Golden Knights scored 15 seconds into the man advantage. Tomáš Hertl won the face off, and Noah Hanifin played catch with Jack Eichel. Hanifin settled the puck, dusted it off, drifted right, and wristed a shot on net. Mark Stone was left all alone at the top of the blue paint– generally a bad idea– and redirected it past Jacob Markström.

It was all Golden Knights after Stone broke the ice. Jack Eichel sent Tanner Pearson in on a breakaway. He beat Markström, but rung it off the crossbar.

At 8:46 in the third period, the Devils took one of the more egregious Too Many Men penalties I’ve seen. There had to be six or seven visitors on the ice– maybe more, honestly. That bench minor was costly because the Golden Knights again struck on the ensuing power play, and once again, it was off a face off play. 

Jack Eichel won the draw back to Noah Hanifin cleanly. Hanifin walked the blue line and uncorked a clapper that seemed much harder than the 85.5 MPH it was clocked at. Markström got a piece of it, but the puck trickled off of him and into the net.

With just over five minutes left in the period, Raphaël Lavoie went to the box for slashing. The Golden Knights penalty kill was impeccable and resulted in the Devils taking an offensive zone penalty. The Golden Knights probably killed off around 30-35 seconds on the delayed penalty. 

Game Notes

The real game story is uglier than a 2-0 defensive clinic. With just under two minutes left in the third period, the Devils had a short-handed 2-on-1 with Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier against Noah Hanifin. Hanifin took away the pass, so Hischier took the shot. Adin Hill kicked it away, and Jack Hughes probably would’ve potted the rebound, but Jack Eichel impeded him on the backcheck. Hughes and Eichel got tangled up, and went hard into the boards. Hughes was slow to get up and left the game. All hell broke loose. Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe took a game misconduct and was ejected. 

Noah Hanifin struggled before the 4 Nations Face-Off break. The whole team did, but because Hanifin eats so many minutes– his 21:17 average time on ice is third on the team– he can’t hide when he’s having a bad night. He’s looked better with every game coming out of the break, and that came to a head tonight. He was really, really great. It wasn’t just the power play clicking; he was dialed in all night. You could see it in how he handled the puck, how he walked the blue line, and how he wasn’t out of position even once defensively. When a player is at their best, it’s hard not to wax poetic.

Speaking of players in top form, Adin Hill was perfect. He was really, really great. He was in ‘Playoff Hill’ mode: cool, calm, and collected. Hill made 25 saves on Sunday to record his third shutout of the season, which is a new career high. He’s now up to 10 shutouts throughout his career.

Since returning from the 4 Nation Face-Off Tournament, Hill has a 2-0-0 record with an average save percentage of .983 through two starts. I know some fans want management to bring in another goaltender, and maybe they will, but they probably feel good about their chances in the playoffs if they get this version of Hill in net.

Nerd alert: I keep a spreadsheet to track the number of shutouts every team has posted and the number of times they’ve been shutout. This is the seventh time the Devils have been shutout this season, second only to the Nashville Predators, who have been shutout nine times.

Three stars of the game: Adin Hill, Noah Hanifin, Mark Stone