Golden Knights defensemen join offense in win over Flames

CALGARY, Alberta — It’s no secret that since Pete DeBoer took over as coach of the Golden Knights, one of the system tweaks he implemented was activating the defensemen into the rush.

But what exactly does that look like?

This:

Nick Holden’s goal in the first period of the Knights’ 5-3 victory over Calgary on Sunday at Scotiabank Saddledome was a textbook example of the added emphasis on defensemen joining the play.

“I thought our (defensemen) were great,” DeBoer said. “(Holden’s) goal was a big goal for us. I thought (Alec) Martinez was continually creating offense, jumping up. We’re asking the guys to attack as five-man units, and I think our defensemen are all buying into that.”

If Holden’s goal had a familiar look to frequent visitors of City National Arena, that’s because it closely resembled the line rushes they do in practice under DeBoer.

Holden retrieved the dump-in by the Flames and took a hit from Mikael Backlund but was able to leave the puck for defense partner Zach Whitecloud, who then chipped it ahead to Chandler Stephenson along the right-wing boards.

Stephenson started the rush when he calmly held the puck and avoided the Flames’ forecheck before banking a pass off the wall to Brandon Pirri at the red line.

Meanwhile, Holden saw an opening and was left unchecked through the neutral zone, leading to an odd-man rush. Pirri pushed the puck ahead to Nick Cousins to create a 2-on-1, and Holden finished off the feed for his sixth goal and a 2-0 lead.

Under DeBoer, the Knights defensemen are averaging 2.38 points per game (50 points in 21 games) up from 1.6 per game with Gerard Gallant (80 points in 49 games).

“I think that’s something we’ve focused on is making sure that we’re involved,” Holden said. “In the NHL right now, you’ve got to make sure your (defensemen) are providing some offense. Tonight, for us to be able to score a couple big goals was big.”

The Knights’ defensemen finished with four points against Calgary led by a goal and an assist from Holden, who played in front of his parents, sister and her two children.

Defenseman Shea Theodore scored the winner with 1:10 remaining. While that play didn’t come off the rush, Theodore pushed up to the left half-wall when he fired a shot that deflected off the stick of Calgary’s Andrew Mangiapane.

Speed to burn

Defenseman Nate Schmidt made a key play late in the first period when he reeled in Johnny Gaudreau on a breakaway and helped prevent a potential goal.

Schmidt appeared to get caught up ice and circled back to catch the Flames’ second-leading scorer, who had approximately a 10-foot head start through the neutral zone.

Gaudreau was unable to get off a shot, as Schmidt got just enough of his stick and avoided a penalty.

“Nate and (Brayden McNabb) did a great job on him all night,” DeBoer said. “We didn’t give him time and space. It wasn’t just them alone, but he’s a guy when you come in here, you have to make sure you’re aware of and I thought we did limiting his touches and his time.”

Quotable

“There was no way he was passing that one over. But glad. He’s been carrying that around on his back a little bit. It’s nice for him, too. He’s had a ton of chances, so it’s nice for him to get one. Hopefully it explodes now.” — DeBoer on Jonathan Marchessault’s empty-net goal, his first in 11 games

“We talked about having a good start and obviously we did. This game could have been over way earlier. Some missed opportunities. I thought (Flames goalie David) Rittich made some good saves. … I wasn’t really on my A game either, but it was a big two points. Take them and move on to the next one.” — Robin Lehner

Ice shavings

— The Knights were 0-for-1 on the penalty kill and have allowed a goal three consecutive times they were short-handed.

— William Karlsson finished with two assists, his second multipoint game in his point three outings.

— Max Pacioretty’s goal was his 66th point, one shy of his career high set in 2014-15 (37-30—67 in 80 games) and matched in 2016-17 (35-32—67 in 81 games).

— By avoiding overtime against Calgary, the Knights picked up their 30th regulation win, one fewer than Edmonton. Regulation wins are the first tiebreaker for first place in the division.

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