Golden Knights’ Brayden McNabb logs heavy minutes vs. Canucks

Brayden McNabb padded his time on ice stat at the end of Game 3 on Saturday, kind of like hitting a two-run homer in the top of the ninth inning of a blowout.

Regardless, it was a busy night for the Golden Knights defenseman.

McNabb played 26:16 in a 3-0 victory over the Vancouver Canucks, the most he’s ever logged in a regulation game, and was ready to go Sunday despite the quick turnaround for Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta.

“I thought he was excellent (Saturday) night,” coach Pete DeBoer said. “He’s been like that almost every night for us. It was just him getting back to his game.”

McNabb and defense partner Nate Schmidt were credited on the official shift chart with playing the final 2:47 of the shutout.

A review of the game film showed McNabb changed for Zach Whitecloud in the final 10 seconds, but it’s a ridiculously long shift regardless.

The Knights iced the puck on two occasions while McNabb was on the ice, meaning he couldn’t change. But goaltender Robin Lehner also made two saves leading to defensive-zone faceoffs, and McNabb remained on the ice with Schmidt.

“I thought we did a great job six-on-five there when they pulled their goalie,” McNabb said. “There were a couple icings, which is fine in that moment. We did a good job of containing them and making sure they didn’t get a whole lot of chances at the end. It was a good way to end the game.”

McNabb played more than nine minutes in the first period, as the Knights were short-handed three times in the opening 9:28.

After he was on the ice for three of Vancouver’s five goals in Game 2, McNabb finished with a team-high five hits in addition to two blocked shots Saturday.

“I think he just played the game that I’ve been used to seeing him play, physical and hard and closing on people quickly,” DeBoer said. “I think Game 2, he was a lot like the rest of our team. Had a little bit of an off night, and he quickly got that fixed.”

Lofty comparison

As Knights right wing Alex Tuch continues to assert himself against the Canucks, DeBoer was reminded of how impactful a third-line player can be in the playoffs.

In 2016, the Penguins rolled out a third line of Carl Hagelin, Nick Bonino and Phil Kessel, a three-time all star with six 30-goal seasons.

The “HBK Line” was the top producing unit for Pittsburgh during its run to the Stanley Cup, which included a win over DeBoer and the San Jose Sharks in the final.

“The teams that have success in the playoffs have that,” DeBoer said. “That was a big difference maker for them. You need that if you’re going to have success this time of year when you’re down to the final eight teams and definitely as you move forward.”

For the kill of it

The Knights’ penalty kill found its groove in the postseason, successfully killing 18 of the past 19 opponents’ power plays entering Sunday’s game.

Part of that success is because of a subtle change in usage, with the dangerous combination of William Karlsson and Reilly Smith now getting the first tap on the shoulder. Karlsson led all forwards with 4:03 of short-handed ice time.

“Having those two guys paired back together again and going over the boards first for a lot of our kills has really set the tone for our penalty killing, which was a huge part of the win (Saturday) night,” DeBoer said.

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