Knights’ new line has chance to be playoff X-factor

Smooth.

That’s the word defenseman Nic Hague used to describe center Chandler Stephenson’s goal against the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday.

Stephenson, after receiving the puck on the left wall from linemate Phil Kessel, made his inside move to the slot look effortless. He barely took a stride while gliding to the center of the ice, his pristine edgework giving off the appearance he was skating downhill.

Stephenson slipped a backhand shot past goaltender Joonas Korpisalo from there to put the Golden Knights up 3-0. It was the third goal in three shifts for his line to begin a 5-2 Knights victory.

The game was a glimpse of the group’s potential when Stephenson, left wing Ivan Barbashev and right wing Phil Kessel are clicking. And it came at a good time for the Knights, who may have found a dangerous playoff weapon with three games remaining in the regular season.

“They were on fire,” Hague said. “Should’ve kept them out there the whole time. Every time they stepped on the ice, we scored.”

It’s not shocking the line clicked in its first game together, with Barbashev leaving the top line to join an established duo in Stephenson and Kessel.

Stephenson was an All-Star this season. Kessel is one of 107 players in NHL history with at least 400 goals. He’s eight points away from joining the 95-player club with 1,000.

And Barbashev, one of the Knights’ trade acquisitions, “is going to be good no matter where we put him,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. He plays a simple game and excels at winning pucks for his linemates.

Still, it opens up possibilities for the Knights if the trio has success.

They made consecutive trips to the NHL semifinals in 2020 and 2021 in part because third-line right wing Alex Tuch scored 12 goals, tied for the team lead, during those two playoff runs. Being able to take advantage of matchups down the lineup was key to their postseason success.

Stephenson and Kessel, even if Barbashev leaves the duo at some point, have the potential to make the same kind of impact. Kessel’s shown he’s capable of it already during his two Stanley Cup runs with the Pittsburgh Penguins, when he scored 45 points in 49 games.

“Phil, he’s still got it,” Stephenson said. “He still makes plays. He’s still quick.”

The next step for the group will be showing it can put together that kind of game again.

Thursday’s three-point performance was a return to form for Stephenson, who had three goals and 13 assists in his first 26 games after attending All-Star Weekend. He had 44 points in 51 games before going to the event. Cassidy said March 31 he still likes Stephenson’s overall game, he’d just like the 28-year-old to shoot the puck more instead of always trying to set up others.

Stephenson has two goals on seven shots in the three games since.

Kessel also continues to look dangerous after adjusting to his new surroundings with the Knights. The NHL’s ironman had 14 points his first 40 games while owning a team-worst minus-11 rating at five-on-five.

Kessel has 22 points in his last 39, while sporting a plus-5 rating at five-on-five. The coaching staff has worked with him on adding more inside presence to his game in the offensive zone, and it’s added a new layer to his game.

Kessel was tangled up with two different Kings players in front of the Los Angeles net on Stephenson’s goal, giving his teammate a clear lane to attack.

Adding Barbashev to the mix sparked the best performance from the duo yet. It remains to be seen how long they’ll play together, but for one game they showed the potential to do damage in the playoffs.

“It was fun,” Stephenson said. “It’s always good playing with Phil, and (Barbashev) plays hard and gets a lot of pucks for us.”

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