Highlights & Analysis: Golden Knights Pummel, Route Maple Leafs

The Vegas Golden Knights (37-18-6) are on a heater. They’ve won three in a row and six of their last seven games. Prior to Wednesday’s game, the Toronto Maple Leafs (38-21-3) had played three games in four days. They were tired, and the Golden Knights took advantage of their exhaustion. They struck early, never took their foot off the gas, and won 5-2.

The game started with a bang– literally. Right off the opening face off, Matthew Knies challenged Zach Whitecloud to a tilt, and Whitecloud obliged. In their last meeting, Whitecloud stood Knies up with a hit that kept him out of two games. Knies– who is apparently a Southpaw– fed him his lunch, but Whitecloud hung in there and took his lumps.

Brandon Saad didn’t score the first Golden Knights goal, but he very well might have. He blocked Jake McCabe’s shot, was the only player on the ice to locate the puck, faked McCabe out, and drove the net. Joseph Woll kicked away Saad’s shot attempt, but Tomáš Hertl deposited the rebound into the empty net. It was the first official Golden Knights shot.

Nicolas Roy took a tripping penalty, but the Golden Knights killed it off. 

Noah Hanifin won’t get an assist on the second Golden Knights goal, but what a stretch pass. Keegan Kolesar settled the puck at center ice, drove into the zone, and left the puck for Ivan Barbashev. Barbashev fed Brett Howden, who shielded the puck from Oliver Ekman-Larsson, pulled it to his forehand, and backhanded a shot that leaked through Joseph Woll. 

Less than four minutes later, Ivan Barbashev drew a boarding call that put the Golden Knights on the man advantage for the first time. Off the face off, Noah Hanifin sent the puck to Jack Eichel. It was in Eichel’s skates, but he corralled it and backhanded a pass to Pavel Dorofeyev, who worked it back to Hanifin. Hanifin fed Eichel, and Eichel one-timed it past Woll, which ended his night.

At the end of the first period, the Maple Leafs were outshooting the Golden Knights 16-8.

The Golden Knights started the second period; the Maple Leafs did not. Off the opening face off, Mark Stone gained the red line and dumped the puck into the zone. Jack Eichel got in on the forecheck and was double-teamed by Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Morgan Rielly. From his knees, Eichel won a puck battle and backhanded a pass to Noah Hanifin, who was all alone in the slot. Hanifin settled the puck and beat Anthony Stolarz top-shelf.

The Maple Leafs couldn’t buy a save, but it wouldn’t be fair to say they couldn’t buy a goal. That would diminish the play of Adin Hill. If you looked at the box score after the second period, you would assume the Golden Knights dominated the game. That was not the case– through 40 minutes, the best Golden Knights player was by far Hill. Five minutes into the second, Hill had to make a big shorthanded save on Auston Matthews and was up to the task.

The Golden Knights’ fifth goal was indicative of the night both teams were having– the Golden Knights got all the bounces, and the Maple Leafs got all the whammies. Tomáš Hertl entered the zone, danced around Calle Järnkrok, and drove the net; Stolarz stopped Hertl’s stuff attempt. Hertl corralled the puck behind the goal line and tried to feed Pavel Dorofeyev, who parked in front of the net. The puck took a fortuitous bounce off 2’s skate right onto the stick of Kaeden Korczak. Korczak waited out Jake McCabe’s block and fed Tanner Pearson for a back-door tap-in. Stolarz kicked the shot out, but Pearson dug away at it and got a greasy goal. Toronto challenged for goaltender interference, but the goal stood.

The Maple Leafs converted on their third power play of the night with two minutes to go in the second. John Tavares fed Auston Matthews, and the Maple Leafs captain crashed the net to break Adin Hill’s shutout bid.

Despite the late goal, the Maple Leafs couldn’t get anything going in the second. The Golden Knights didn’t score again, but they stayed on their toes and conceded just six shots on goal through the final 20. With just over seven minutes to go in the third period, Mitch Marner stripped Ivan Barbashev of the puck and beat Adin Hill blocker-side, but that was the extent of the fight they had left.

Game Notes

The injury bug giveth, and the injury bug taketh away—Cole Schwindt and William Karlsson are practicing with the team, but Raphaël Lavoie exited the game early and was ruled out with an upper-body injury. 

Adin Hill continues his string of hot play. He’s 3-0-0 with an average save percentage of .963 in three games since returning from the 4 Nations Face-Off Tournament. This is the exact time of year you want him to get hot.

Noah Hanifin, too, looks stronger every game. He and Jack Eichel are rekindling their chemistry at 5-on-5 and on the power play. Hanifin had the highest GameScore per HockeyStatCards.com; Tanner Pearson and Eichel followed close behind.

Jack Eichel’s assist on Noah Hanifin’s goal puts him at 54 on the season. That ties him for a career-high, set with the Buffalo Sabres during the 2018-19 season. He’s just eight points shy of his career high of 82, also set during the 2018-19 season.

I thought Tomáš Hertl looked excellent on Wednesday. He was strong on the puck, and he was dialed in. Hertl was always at the right place at the right time, both defensively and offensively, as demonstrated by the game’s first goal. It’s hard to contain a player of his size and skill; he’s fully healthy now and will be a big-impact player come April.

Kaedan Korczak was impressive. His patience on Tanner Pearson’s goal shows his hockey IQ and proves he has some real offensive upside. Zach Whitecloud, too, is playing well in his increased role. The Golden Knights could bring in a defensive replacement for Shea Theodore, but as of now, doing it by committee is working out for them.

Three stars of the game: Jack Eichel, Noah Hanifin, Adin Hill