Golden Knights win preseason game on Oct. 1 anniversary

The Golden Knights played a preseason game much like they did Friday night four years earlier.

They lost to the San Jose Sharks 5-3 on Oct. 1, 2017, at T-Mobile Arena. Hours later, the city of Las Vegas, and its connection to its new hockey team, was never the same again.

The Knights remembered the aftermath of the Route 91 Harvest festival shooting during their 4-0 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Friday night at T-Mobile Arena.

They held a blood drive at City National Arena. Retired defenseman Deryk Engelland and team broadcasters visited the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department headquarters and Clark County Fire Station 22. The team put “Vegas Strong” decals on its helmets.

The Knights also held a moment of silence to honor the shooting’s victims before puck drop and gave a standing ovation to first responders in the stands in the first period against the Kings. After that, defenseman Daniil Miromanov scored twice and goaltender Laurent Brossoit recorded a 38-save shutout before an announced crowd of 17,542.

It was a step forward for the Knights after losing 3-1 to the Kings on Thursday in Salt Lake City. But hockey wasn’t the only focus.

“I thought it was a really nice tribute.,” said coach Pete DeBoer, who led the Sharks to their win four years ago. “Right from Day One this organization has tried to do the right thing as far as remembering the people that we lost that day, and I think that’s going to continue to be a part of what we do here every year.”

Here are three more takeaways from the game:

1. Miromanov makes push

Miromanov can say he’s done about everything possible to move up the Knights’ depth chart.

The 24-year-old scored a goal Thursday and followed with two more Friday. He fired a backhand shot into the net 9:29, but saved the real fireworks for later in the game.

Early in the third period Miromanov executed a give-and-go from the blue line with right wing Reilly Smith and skated into the slot. From there, he swerved past defenseman Kale Clague, got around goaltender Cal Petersen and tucked the puck into the net by the left post. It was an impressive display of skill and offensive acumen from any defenseman, let alone one who played forward in junior hockey and is trying to establish himself in North America.

Miromanov signed a one-year, entry-level deal with the Knights in March and is looking to impress after coming over from Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League. He did that Friday coming off scoring 29 points in 58 games last season with the KHL’s HK Sochi.

“I’ve noticed he has a really good shot,” left wing Jonathan Marchessault said. “You saw the goal yesterday, and he’s been pretty good offensively, so I think he’s a gifted player. It’s great to see him have a chance to play on our team.”

2. Brossoit stays collected

Brossoit didn’t wait long to get into the action Friday.

Kings left wing Viktor Arvidsson sprung loose for a breakaway 30 seconds after puck drop, forcing Brossoit to make a quick glove save. He stayed busy the rest of the game. He made 18 saves in the second period alone.

Through it all, Brossoit never looked flustered. DeBoer described his new backup goalie as “calm, cool and collected” after his first preseason start Tuesday, and Brossoit has lived up to the scouting report.

The 28-year-old looks ready for the regular season.

“After you make a breakaway save, you’re into it,” Brossoit said. “That’s always nice. You don’t want to see a breakaway for your first save usually, but since I made the save, I’ll take it.”

3. Misfits look ready

The game wasn’t all perfect for the Knights.

They were outshot 38-28 and out-attempted 59-38 at five-on-five. But there was one line that was in control most of the night.

Marchessault, Smith and center William Karlsson put together an impressive display in their second game this preseason.

They were on the ice for all four of the Knights’ goals despite Karlsson leading the three with 14:33 of ice time. The center finished with goal and an assist, and Marchessault and Smith each had two assists.

“They’re the conscience of our team,” DeBoer said. “I don’t think it’s an accident when those guys are in the lineup, they drag people into that work ethic that you need in order to compete in this league.”

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