Golden Knights outlast Calgary Flames

CALGARY, Alberta — Pete DeBoer said the Golden Knights have had to play playoff hockey since he was hired as coach in mid-January, and that experience was evident Sunday.

The Knights hardly had a hair out of place while protecting a lead for most of the third period and showed the necessary moxie late to rescue a 5-3 victory over Calgary at Scotiabank Saddledome.

Shea Theodore scored with 1:10 remaining in the third period to lift the Knights (38-24-8, 84 points) back into first place in the Pacific Division entering Monday’s showdown against second-place Edmonton (82 points).

“Going into playoffs you want to have meaningful games,” Theodore said. “When it’s so tight and every point matters down the stretch, I think that’s the best thing for our group heading into the playoffs.”

Theodore’s goal deflected off the stick of Flames forward Andrew Mangiapane and sailed past goalie David Rittich less than two minutes after Calgary’s Matthew Tkachuk finished off an odd-man rush to tie the score at 3.

Nick Holden had a goal and an assist in the first period, as the Knights emphasized a fast start and led 2-0 after the first period.

Max Pacioretty tallied his team-leading 32nd goal in the second period, and Jonathan Marchessault tacked on an empty-netter for his first goal in 11 games.

“Obviously it takes a bounce for us to go up in that game, but the hard work made us deserve that bounce,” Pacioretty said. “We’ve found ways to win games differently as of late and haven’t had one like this in a while, but it should give us confidence.”

Here’s what stood out from the win:

1. Lehner hard on self

After setting the bar high in his first two starts with the Knights, Robin Lehner was critical of his own play against the Flames after making 19 stops.

Mikael Backlund’s goal in the first period was overturned after the Knights successfully challenged for goaltender interference.

Defenseman Nate Schmidt hustled back to prevent Johnny Gaudreau from getting off a shot on a breakaway late in the first, and Tkachuk hit the post for Calgary about seven minutes into the second period on an odd-man rush.

But Lehner, who debuted his new mask, improved to 3-0 with a 1.67 goals-against average and .940 save percentage with the Knights.

“Today, the team played really well,” Lehner said. “I’ve got to do better. I wasn’t that good today, but again, I’m still adjusting a little bit. It was a big two points and we’ve got to keep building.”

2. Nosek rewarded

Whether it’s pucks to the face or body-crunching checks, nobody has been on the receiving end of more punishment since the All-Star break than Tomas Nosek.

But the fourth-line center tied his career high with his eighth goal in the first period, cleaning up a rebound after Ryan Reaves’ initial shot was stopped.

It was Nosek’s first goal since Feb. 22 and his second in the past 21 games.

“Nose was good tonight and I thought our depth was great,” DeBoer said. “Our third and fourth lines both chipped in a goal and both gave us some real important minutes in the other team’s zone and some momentum for us.”

3. Lifting the curse

The Saddledome hasn’t been kind to the Knights, who lost their past three visits to Calgary by a combined score of 20-6.

But with the playoff race changing every day and a first-round matchup against the Flames a possibility, it was important for the Knights to establish they can win here.

The Knights improved to 3-0 against Calgary this season and scored 14 straight goals against the Flames dating back to their Oct. 12 matchup at T-Mobile before Milan Lucic’s goal at 8:23 of the second period.

The teams meet again in Calgary on April 2 in the Knights’ penultimate regular-season game.

“I think we’re confident in our game that if we play our game, we can win in any building,” DeBoer said. “It’s nice to get rewarded for the effort tonight because we deserved it.”

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.