3 takeaways from Knights’ win: No. 1 seed in hand, Jets up next
The Golden Knights won the West with a bounce off a skate, a close-range, short-handed goal from a defenseman and a deflection from 137 feet out.
They didn’t take the conventional route in Thursday’s 3-1 win against the Seattle Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena. But almost nothing about this year’s Knights has been ordinary.
Coming off the first playoff miss in franchise history, the team pulled off a miraculous turnaround despite dealing with a litany of key injuries and a carousel in the crease. The Knights’ victory against Seattle earned them their third division title in six seasons and the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.
They’ll begin the first round of the playoffs against the wild-card Winnipeg Jets with Games 1 and 2 on Tuesday and Thursday at T-Mobile Arena.
The Knights are rolling heading into the matchup. Their 111 points this year set a new franchise record. Their 51 wins are tied for the most in team history with their inaugural season. They’re on an eight-game point streak (5-0-3) entering the playoffs looking to make owner Bill Foley’s “Cup in six” proclamation come true.
“A lot of people counted us out,” left wing Reilly Smith said. “We always believed in this group.”
The Knights’ path back to the playoffs wasn’t easy.
Captain Mark Stone missed the final 39 games of the regular season with his second back surgery in eight months. The team started a franchise-record five goaltenders after announcing in August that Robin Lehner was out for the year. Other key contributors like left wing William Carrier and defensemen Shea Theodore and Zach Whitecloud missed significant time.
All that adversity never seemed to matter to this year’s group. The Knights (51-22-9) matched the franchise record for goals in a season despite trading away forwards Max Pacioretty and Evgenii Dadonov this summer. Every time a player would go down, someone else would step up and contribute.
Twelve players on the team scored at least 12 goals. The team relied on its depth, chemistry and defensive foundation set by first-year coach Bruce Cassidy to find ways to win no matter the circumstances.
“We have a bunch of goalies that can get the job done,” goaltender Laurent Brossoit said. “We have a lot of defensemen, four lines that can produce. Even through injuries, we’ve got young guys stepping up and playing well. That’s the sign of a good hockey club and a playoff-style hockey club.”
The Knights trusted their formula again Thursday.
They battled to get the result they needed despite not playing their best and getting hemmed into their own zone for long stretches. Smith scored his 200th goal 9:56 in when Kraken defenseman Vince Dunn bounced a puck off his skate and into the net.
Seattle tied the game 6:24 later on a goal from left wing Jaden Schwartz. The Kraken created numerous chances to take the lead in the second, but it was the Knights who broke through with 7:23 remaining. Defenseman Alec Martinez swiped at a puck 8 feet in front of the net to give his team a 2-1 lead on a delayed penalty.
The Knights leaned into their structure from there and played an excellent defensive third period. Center Chandler Stephenson finished the win out by poking a puck from the neutral zone into an empty net with 38 seconds remaining.
That set up the Knights’ matchup with the Jets (46-33-3), whom they swept 3-0-0 in this year’s season series. They also beat Winnipeg in five games in the 2018 Western Conference Final.
“Proud of the guys,” Cassidy said. “We’ve won all we could win in terms of the regular season.”
Here are three takeaways from the win:
1. Brossoit finishes strong
What little doubt remained was removed Thursday. Brossoit is the Knights’ No. 1 goaltender heading into the playoffs.
Cassidy has avoided an official declaration, but the truth is obvious at this point. Brossoit capped off an impressive comeback season by making 31 saves against the Kraken. He had several incredible stops, including one on a Daniel Sprong breakaway in the second period.
His next challenge? Winnipeg, where he backed up 2020 Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck for three seasons before signing with the Knights.
”I’ve got a book on a few of them, so hopefully that helps,” Brossoit said.
2. Key players return
The Knights welcomed back some familiar faces Thursday.
Center Jack Eichel, the team’s leading scorer, played after missing the previous two games with a lower-body injury. Defenseman Shea Theodore also returned after missing seven straight with an undisclosed injury.
“I’m glad they got a game in before Tuesday,” Cassidy said. “I think just getting back into game mode and the pressure of playing with people around you and the physicality is always good.”
3. Martinez’s rare feat
Martinez’s goal was a rare short-handed five-on-five tally.
The delayed penalty led to Brossoit to go to the bench for an extra attacker, giving the Knights five skaters while still being down a man. It was only the second short-handed goal of Martinez’s 14-year career.
Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.
