Knights showing growth in key area as they seek to repeat

Bruce Cassidy could only muster a small grin on the Golden Knights’ bench as defenseman Nic Hague entered the United Center penalty box.

A neutral-zone collision between Hague and Chicago left wing Tyler Johnson resulted in an interference minor with 8:28 remaining in the third period Saturday. It was the Knights’ second penalty in less than three minutes while clinging to a 3-2 lead.

The sequence could have sunk the team’s six-game winning streak to open the season. Instead, it passed with nary a worry. Chicago’s two power plays resulted in just two shots on goal. Goaltender Adin Hill saved both.

The Knights identified special teams as a clear area of improvement this season as they seek to repeat as Stanley Cup champions. The penalty kill, ranked 19th at 77.4 percent last season, has provided plenty of positive signs so far. The Knights have killed 16 of 18 opposing power plays through six games for an 88.9 percent success rate.

“I think confidence,” center Nicolas Roy said when asked what’s working. “When you have that confidence on your PK, you’re going as a four-guy unit pretty aggressive. If there’s a loose puck, we’re all going. I think that’s been a big thing for us. We’re a little more aggressive than in the past.”

The Knights expected honing their kill would take a bit of an adjustment last year.

Assistant John Stevens, a three-time Cup winner who also coaches the team’s defensemen, brought in different ideas than the group had implemented in the past. The learning curve was made steeper by the fact Cassidy uses a more passive zone defense at five-on-five.

The Knights want to be aggressive on their kill in getting to loose pucks and breaking up plays when they have the chance. The mindset switch depending on whether they had four or five skaters on the ice took a bit to get used to.

“We got better at that as the year went on,” Cassidy said. “I think it’s happening with the PK now quicker this year.”

This year is also different because the Knights are using new personnel.

They traded left wing Reilly Smith to Pittsburgh this summer, which meant they lost one of the best killers in the NHL. Smith’s 12 short-handed goals the last seven seasons are tied for the third-most in the league.

Cassidy tabbed an interesting replacement: Center Jack Eichel.

The 26-year-old, who put his transformation into a complete player on full display during last year’s brilliant postseason run, is taking Smith’s old spot next to center William Karlsson. It’s a role Eichel’s embracing. He’s playing 19:57 per game so far with his extra responsibilities, 1:11 more than he did last season.

“Obviously, it keeps you involved in the game if we’re going through a couple of kills in a row,” said Eichel, who has yet to be on the ice for a goal against in 12:21 of penalty-kill time. “I think it’s a great opportunity for me to continue to build on my game and try to help our team.”

Of course, any changes the skaters are making wouldn’t make much of an impact if the goaltenders weren’t performing.

Hill and Logan Thompson have made some incredible stops to keep the Knights’ penalty-kill numbers as sparking as they are. They’ve combined for 23 short-handed saves in 33:24 of work. The two have done an excellent job shutting the door and preventing the opponents from picking up momentum.

There are times like Saturday the Knights wish they needed to be less reliant on their kill. But it’s getting the job done so far, making it an area the reigning champions have built upon to start this season.

“I think we have a good little chemistry going right now between the guys,” Eichel said. “We’ve been getting clears. We’ve been executing a lot of the details.”

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