Golden Knights dominate Predators for second win in two nights

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — There are blowouts in hockey that feature lopsided scores and a cacophony of goal horns.

Then there are the quieter, subtler kind. The kind in which the scoreboard provides false hope for a team being suffocated.

The Golden Knights, playing for the second time in two days, achieved the latter kind of blowout Saturday at Bridgestone Arena. The final score of their 3-0 victory over the Nashville Predators was misleading even after right wing Reilly Smith scored an empty-net goal.

The Knights (27-20-7) dominated to sweep both games of their back-to-back coming off their bye week. They followed an impressive performance Friday against the Carolina Hurricanes with another one Saturday.

“Just building off what we did really well last night,” center Chandler Stephenson said. “(We) just wanted to come out with some fire, and obviously (we had) a little bit of a break, the back-to-backs aren’t too stressful right now so we still got (our) legs.”

Stephenson and center Nicolas Roy also scored for the Knights, who could have made the score even more lopsided if not for an impressive performance from Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne.

The contrast between him and Marc-Andre Fleury was stark. Rinne was used as a moving target by the Knights and forced to make 36 saves. Fleury made 19 for his third shutout of the season, and he kept pace with New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist to stay tied for fifth on the NHL’s all-time wins list with 459.

The Knights’ complete effort (50-26 edge in shot attempts, 24-8 advantage in scoring chances) was even more jarring given the Predators’ place in the standings.

They entered Saturday four points behind the Knights in the wild-card standings, with three games in hand. The game was critical for Nashville (24-20-7). The Knights steamrolled them all the same.

“I thought we defended hard,” Knights coach Peter DeBoer said. “We were tight. We got big saves when we needed to. That was a game Rinne wasn’t going to give up much, and we needed to have a 1-0, 2-1 mindset, and I thought we did that.”

Here’s what else stood out in the win:

1. Blazing start

It was clear from the beginning that the Knights were out to flatten the Predators. They showed no fatigue from Friday.

The Knights didn’t score in the first but outshot the Predators 14-2, tying their season high for fewest shots on goal allowed in a period. Fleury was mostly a spectator in his first game after the bye.

“I think the first period was a little slow, right?” Fleury said. “Especially coming off the break. Sometimes it’s good to see a few shots and get into it. … Can’t complain. The guys were playing so good in front of me.”

2. Could he be a bigger steal?

The Knights’ front office never will have a better run of transactions than the 2017 expansion draft. But getting Stephenson from the Washington Capitals for a 2021 fifth-round pick is proving to be a steal.

The 25-year-old’s second-period goal, which opened the scoring, gave him 18 points, tying his career high in a season.

“I think as a depth guy (in Washington) you don’t realize how skilled he is and how much speed he has,” DeBoer said. “He’s been impressive to me, and he’s gotten better every game I’ve been here.”

3. PK stays strong

DeBoer’s penalty kill acumen continues to pay dividends for the Knights.

His Sharks teams were known for being good on the PK, and he’s carried that success over to his new stop. After going 5-for-5 Saturday the Knights are 15-for-17 on the penalty kill under DeBoer.

The first four kills were key, as the team didn’t let early penalties derail their dominant start 5-on-5. Because the PK kept the score tied, the Knights were eventually able to break through with Stephenson’s goal 5:14 into the second period.

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