Alex Tuch’s late goal sparks Golden Knights to win

RALEIGH, N.C. — Peter DeBoer faced crisis for the first time behind the Golden Knights’ bench Friday.

His team, which had played so well through 52-plus minutes in one of the NHL’s toughest road environments, suddenly found itself tied 3-3 after a two-goal rally by the Carolina Hurricanes. The announced crowd of 18,150 was electric.

The fans could smell an oncoming “Storm Surge,” the Hurricanes’ infamous celebration after a home win. The “Bunch of Jerks” were ready to spoil a night that featured progress in key areas.

But the Knights had other ideas. Left wing Max Pacioretty drew a penalty, right wing Alex Tuch scored a power-play goal and the Knights escaped PNC Arena with a 4-3 win in their first game after their bye week. Tuch tapped in his first goal since Dec. 31 to give DeBoer his second win in four games.

“We didn’t sag,” DeBoer said. “We got back on our toes, we started to attack, drew a penalty, scored on the power play. Big goal, big win, big, important start to the road trip.”

The Knights appeared to seal the game with 7:51 remaining when defenseman Nate Schmidt scored his fifth goal off a perfectly executed play off the rush. That put them ahead 3-1, and the Hurricanes, who entered Friday with the sixth-most home points in the league, looked poised for a rare loss in Raleigh.

But Carolina responded immediately. Left wing Brock McGinn scored 16 seconds after Schmidt’s goal. Center Sebastian Aho tied the game on the power play with 3:39 remaining. Every ounce of momentum seemed to shift to the home side.

The Knights didn’t let it affect them. After Pacioretty was hooked by Aho, they needed five seconds on the power play to score.

Center Paul Stastny won the faceoff, right wing Mark Stone sent the puck back to defenseman Shea Theodore and Tuch knocked Theodore’s shot into the net with 2:28 remaining.

“We stayed resilient,” Tuch said. “We kept pushing. We didn’t back off. We kept trying to create offense.”

Those are lessons the Knights can carry into their final 29 games, including their next three on the road. Here’s what else stood out from the win:

1. Fast start

The Hurricanes were forced to rally after the Knights applied loads of pressure early.

The visitors looked more ready after their bye and took a 2-0 lead after 9:59. It was only the Knights’ second 2-0 lead in their past 20 games.

They were clean and quick in their defensive zone, which allowed them to spend plenty of time in the offensive zone. The Knights outshot the Hurricanes 16-6 in the first period and had a 23-11 advantage in shot attempts.

“I think the first period is how we want to play,” DeBoer said. “On our toes, attacking, hard in the offensive zone, using our size and our physicality. That was 20 great minutes.”

2. New top six clicks

The fast start was spurred by DeBoer’s first major change to his forward lines. He moved Stastny to the first line with left wing Jonathan Marchessault and right wing Reilly Smith, and had Chandler Stephenson center Pacioretty and Stone.

The tweak paid off.

Stastny and Marchessault scored the Knights’ first two goals, with Smith recording assists on both. Marchessault also had an assist on Stastny’s goal to give him 100 with the Knights.

Stephenson’s line wasn’t too bad, either. It finished with an 8-5 edge in scoring chances at 5-on-5.

3. Subban shines

DeBoer admitted to being a Malcolm Subban fan before taking the Knights’ job. He’s probably an even bigger one now that he’s seen the goaltender up close.

Subban was impressive in his first start since Jan. 9 and second in 12 games. His 22 saves belied his impact. Several were jaw-dropping, especially a sliding stop on the penalty kill that took a goal away from Aho.

“I think I heard him calling for it,” Subban said. “I just tried to be patient. Obviously, you don’t want to cheat. It’s a good league. You can get burned pretty easy cheating. I just tried to stay square, and then if he passed it make a move.”

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