Golden Knights’ first line simplifies to find scoring touch

A complicated second season together forced the Golden Knights’ first line to go back to basics.

No longer did William Karlsson, Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith catch opposing teams off guard with their speed and tenacity. No longer did things appear as easy or effortless as Karlsson’s between-the-legs goal against the San Jose Sharks that clinched the Pacific Division title on March 31, 2018.

So the group took a step back, simplified and found success again.

“I think that’s been working for us,” Karlsson said. “Some teams make it tough in the neutral zone so if you can get the puck past their (defense) and work from there, you can get opportunities that way. I think for us to realize that has been pretty good. When we have success, the confidence is coming.”

Karlsson, Marchessault and Smith took the NHL by storm last season as one of the league’s top lines. Karlsson rocketed to prominence by finishing third in goals (43) and first in plus-minus (plus-49), while Marchessault and Smith set career highs in points with 75 and 60, respectively.

Opponents didn’t want to let the trio do that again. Many clogged the neutral zone to limit the group’s speed advantage and tried to force them to score in different ways.

For a while, it worked. Sixty-three games into the season Marchessault had 42 points and was minus-7, Karlsson had 39 and was minus-8 and Smith had 35 and was plus-2.

“It was hard for the first three quarters of the season,” Marchessault said. “We still found a way to try and be successful and play well defensively. I think we take a lot of pride in doing that.”

The group started playing simpler, safer and better. They chipped more pucks into the offensive zone and fought harder on the forecheck. Karlsson and Marchessault’s speed are near the top of their respective scouting reports, but neither is afraid to battle along the boards.

Plus, Smith has never been shy about doing the dirty work for his line. Karlsson calls his linemate “the whole package” and coach Gerard Gallant agrees.

“He’s been awesome,” Gallant said. “I always talk about Reilly when he’s not scoring. You’d like to see him scoring, but he still plays a great game for us. He’s a solid, defensive guy. He does all the right things with the puck.”

The line’s new approach led to a scoring eruption at the end of the season. Smith scored 18 points in the season’s final 19 games, with Karlsson and Marchessault adding 17. Smith was plus-11 and the other two were plus-9.

The surge also placed the line where it finished last season: At the top of the Knights’ chart. Karlsson, at No. 2 with 56 points, and Marchessault, at No. 1 with 59 points, were the top two scorers for the second straight year, while Smith was third (53 points) after placing fourth last season.

“We just started to get a bit more puck luck at the end,” Smith said. “Pucks started falling for us, which is always nice. We went through some rough patches in the year where it seemed like we were getting the chances but pucks weren’t going in the back of the net. It starts to even itself out.”

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Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.