7 Observations: Golden Knights Smothered, Fall to Kraken in OT

After their first two games of the season went beyond regulation, the Vegas Golden Knights (1-0-2) entered yet another four-point game in search of a regulation win. Instead, they once again struggled to generate offense and barely escaped with a point. Despite yet another comeback, they fell to the Seattle Kraken (2-0-0) 2-1 in overtime.

On Friday, the Golden Knights started slow, and they paid for it. Tonight, they came out ready. But unfortunately for the Golden Knights, the Kraken got off to an equally strong start, and the two teams played a tightly contested, fast-paced first period. 

This game had a playoff feel to it. It was a tight-checking, hard-hitting affair with both teams selling out to block shots. The final blocked shot counter was 20-14 in favor of the Kraken, but none was finer than William Karlsson’s two-pad stack to deny Frédérick Gaudreau in the second period.  

The second period was a penalty-filled affair, with both teams receiving two power plays. At 7:58, the Kraken broke the ice on their second opportunity. 

Vince Dunn worked the puck in deep to Jordan Eberle, who drew Shea Theodore towards him before sending a between-the-legs pass to Matty Beniers. Beniers, alone atop the crease, pulled the puck to his backhand and stuffed past Adin Hill’s outstretched glove.

Despite allowing a goal, the Golden Knights were very good defensively in the second period. They outshot the Kraken 10-4. They were even better in the third period, and outshot the Kraken 7-2.

The Golden Knights tied the game at 4:11 in the third period on their third power play opportunity. Jack Eichel, this time at the right circle, fed Mark Stone below the goal line. Stone circled the net and fed Pavel Dorofeyev at the left dot for a one-time blast that beat Joey Daccord far-side. 

The Golden Knights barely possessed the puck in overtime and were outshot 7-3. Unlike on Friday, they weren’t handed the game. 

With 3.8 seconds remaining in overtime, Jared McCann won a battle in front of the net and banged in Matty Beniers’ rebound.

7 Golden Knights Observations

1. For the first time in franchise history, the Golden Knights have gone to overtime in each of their first three regular season games. 

2. Pavel Dorofeyev has tied James Neal in goals through the first three games of the season with five. He leads the league in goals and power play goals (4). Dorofeyev played just 4:08 in the preseason before exiting with an injury, and didn’t get back in until Opening Night. On Monday, I asked how he felt about not seeing much preseason action.

“It’s a little bit tough,” he said. “But, it is what it is.”

As it turns out, he didn’t need those preseason reps after all— silly me!

3. Adin Hill needed a get-right game after his below-average performance on Opening Night. The box score shows that he allowed two goals on 22 shots for a .909 save percentage. But in all honesty, he was better than that. He made six saves in overtime– a few of them on breakaways– and played the puck well all night. 

4. The five forward top unit power play looks lethal. Through three games, they’re 4-for-13. And, unlike Dorofeyev’s 225-goal pace, this feels sustainable. Sure, Marner doesn’t bring the shot that Noah Hanifin or Shea Theodore bring to the top of the umbrella. But, although he doesn’t have a power play assist, he looks great. 

5. Entering the season, I wondered how long Bruce Cassidy would keep Mitch Marner with Jack Eichel. Tonight, I got my answer. After the Golden Knights failed to score or generate much offense, Cassidy switched up the lines halfway through the second period. Mark Stone moved back to the top line with Eichel and Ivan Barbashev, and Marner slid down to the second line with Tomáš Hertl and Pavel Dorofeyev. Brandon Saad dropped down to the third line with Reilly Smith and William Karlsson. We’ll see if that sticks.

6. It’s early, but Tomáš Hertl hasn’t looked particularly dangerous through three games. He has just four shots on goal and one point on the season (a secondary assist on Eichel’s half-court shot against the Sharks).  

7. The Golden Knights have allowed the first goal in all three of their regular season games. Preseason is preseason, but they allowed the first goal in all seven of those, too. This is not a trend that Bruce Cassidy will want to see continue throughout the year.