Takeaways from Golden Knights’ victory over Jets

   

Takeaways from Golden Knights’ victory over Jets

The last thing the Vegas Golden Knights wanted to do following a successful road trip was to come back and lose their third straight at home.

After a back-and-forth effort, the Golden Knights picked up a 4-3 victory against the Winnipeg Jets at T-Mobile Arena on Friday.

“I feel like we had a lot of energy today,” said forward Ivan Barbashev, who had two goals. “We still let them back in the game a few times today. But overall, I think we stuck with it and got a huge two points.”

The win improved Vegas to 15-6-3 on the season.

Here are some takeaways from the game:

The Day After Thanksgiving

Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy was concerned about his team’s performance after the Thanksgiving holiday following a long road trip.

The Golden Knights came out like a team refreshed instead of a team coming off a distracted day with family, putting the coach’s mind to ease. They outshot the Jets 14-6 to start the game.

“I liked our energy.  I thought we played really well for the game, which, sometimes, you do expect the worst,” Cassidy said. ”But you just know there’s going to be a bit of a hurdle there, but our guys obviously balanced their taking care of business at home and taking care of business at the rink.”

Hungry Howden

Golden Knights forward Brett Howden scored twice to set a new career high in goals to 10 on the young season.

Howden is one of the Golden Knights’ more versatile players. He can play center; he can play wing; he kills penalties, and can hop onto the power play if needed.

All in all, Howden is a valuable member who once again came to help the Golden Knights earn a hard-fought victory.

“‘Howie’ knows his role,” Cassidy said. “We used ‘Howie’ all over the place here, a little bit over the years. He’s done a good job. I think maybe now playing predominantly with [William Karlsson], he’s building chemistry. Let’s not forget, he scored in juniors, so it’s not new to him. It just took him a while maybe to get his confidence back or understand that’s going to be part of his role.”

Golden Knights Kill Off Late Penalty

For the third game in a row, the Golden Knights needed to kill off a crucial penalty late.

Brayden McNabb took a tripping penalty against Mark Scheifele, which put the league’s best power play on the ice with a chance to tie the game.

The Golden Knights managed to kill off the penalty and other power-play opportunities for the Jets (0-for-3).

“It’s an area of focus this year,” Cassidy said. “[The penalty kill is] trending well. I think our guys are being aggressive at the right time, still staying within their structure.”

Up Next: Utah Again

The Golden Knights conclude their back-to-back set at home with a game against the Utah Hockey Club, which is coming off a 4-3 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Friday.

This marks the third time the two teams have met. Vegas has won the previous two meetings.