After falling behind late in the second period, the Golden Knights responded with three unanswered goals in one minute and 31 seconds of game time to knock off the Kraken 4-2.
“I think we did a good job tonight capitalizing on opportunities,” Alex Pietrangelo said. “That’s something I think we need to continue to get better at.”
Jordan Eberle drew first blood for the Kraken early in the first period on a power play goal. Robin Lehner made the initial save, but the puck kicked to Eberle on the back door and Lehner was unable to get over in time to make the save.
The Knight’s top line of Jonathan Marchessaulr, Nic Roy, and Reilly Smith pressed following the goal and generated some quality chances. Smith had an excellent chance from the high slot, but Kraken goaltender Chris Driedger flashed out his right pad to make the stop. Smith had another excellent chance later in the period, but Driedger once robbed him once again with a glove save.
Aside from the top line, the Golden Knights forwards were having a very hard time generating any sort of offense. They were getting beat to pucks and were constantly getting hemmed into their own zone.
The Golden Knight’s fortunes changed though, in the dying seconds of the first period. With 25 seconds remaining in the period, Alex Pietrangelo rifled a shot from the blue line that ricocheted off Driedger’s shoulder and into the back of the net to tie the game at one.
Goals at the end of periods can result in massive momentum swings in the game. This goal was no exception, however not in the way Golden Knights fans were hoping for. Seattle came out in the second period and completely dominated Vegas. Vegas spent a large majority of the period hemmed into their own zone. By the time the 18 minute mark had rolled around, the Golden Knights had only generated three shots on goal.
Despite this, Vegas was able to keep the puck out of the net. But with 31 seconds remaining in the period, Yano Gourde scored to give the Kraken a 2-1 lead.
15 seconds later, however, Evgenii Dadanov scored to tie the game at two heading into the second intermission.
“[That goal] was huge,” Lehner said. “There’s a hell of a difference coming into the period tied 2-2 than being down 2-1.”
This time, the late goal for the Golden Knights changed momentum in their favor. 30 seconds into the first period, Smith deflected a shot from Shea Theodore past Driedger to give Vegas a 3-2 lead.
45 seconds later, Smith cashed in once again. This time, his goal came on the power play. Within 91 seconds of in-game time, the Golden Knights had rattled off three unanswered goals to take a 4-2 lead.
The defense clamped down from that point on. They allowed zero high danger chances, a feat that had not been accomplished by the team in what seemed like forever. Seattle had some chances late to tie the game on a six-on-four power play, but Robin Lehner made a few key saves to preserve the two goal lead.
The defensemen showed up for the Golden Knights in this game. In particular, their two big stars. Alex Pietrangelo, who had started the first six games with zero points, has been having one of the best stretches of his short time in Vegas. He has three goals and three assists in his last four games, including two multi-point games. In last night's game, he continued his strong play in both the offensive and defensive zone and has continued to be one of the Vegas' most consistent players.
Shea Theodore also had a fantastic game. He recorded two assists, but his puck moving skills and offensive instincts were on display the entire night. For Theodore, this could not come at a better time. He had been struggling to return to form after missing most of the preseason with an injury.
“I feel pretty good,” Theodore said. “To start the season, there's a lot of games. So, you're wrapping into it pretty quick. I think some of it is just getting the timing back for certain things.”
After a stretch where Robin Lehner was the best player on the ice for the VGK, in Tuesday night’s win he was just another cog in the wheel. This is by no means a knock, he finished the game with 25 saves on 27 shots. Seattle’s offense was kept in check by the team in front of him, so he only needed to make a few saves during the game.
After an abysmal 1-4 start to the season, the Golden Knights have won six of their last eight games.
“I liked our response [to the start of the season],” Head coach Pete DeBoer said. “We were at a bit of a crossroads with the schedule there. The guys that were out injured were going to be out awhile. I thought our group from that point on recommitted to defending hard. We’ve been getting good goaltending and timely goals and have found a way to win some games.”
The Golden Knights continue their six-game homestand on Nov. 11 against the Minnesota Wild. Puck drop for that game is at 7:00 P.M. and can be viewed on AT&T Sportsnet.
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