Knights’ power play sets franchise record with crisp passing

Right wing Jonathan Marchessault worked his way down the left wall protecting the puck with his backhand Saturday against the New York Islanders.

It was on left wing Reilly Smith’s blade in the right circle two seconds and three passes later. Marchessault found captain Mark Stone below the goal line. Stone saw center Chandler Stephenson in the left circle. Stephenson slid a pass across to Smith.

Four seconds later, the puck was in the net. Smith’s initial shot was blocked, but he got a second opportunity when the Islanders’ scrambling defense couldn’t secure the rebound.

The Knights have put plenty of teams in similar binds lately. Their power play has flourished in December, scoring a franchise record 12 goals in a month.

The common thread has been their puck movement. The Knights are moving it fast, and their opponents can’t keep up.

“That’s what’s most important,” defenseman Daniil Miromanov said. “Guys are doing a really good job passing the puck really quick.”

The Knights’ power play needed help after ranking 20th in the NHL in their first five seasons. Coach Bruce Cassidy, whose Boston Bruins teams ranked third during his six-year tenure, appears to have provided some.

It just took awhile for the team to adjust to some of the changes. Cassidy aims to provide his players with different options every time they go on the ice. Early on in the season, he said the Knights were just cycling through plays. Now they know them well enough to understand which ones will work against different looks, and they can go to them quickly.

“Our recognition of what’s available to us has gotten a lot better from the start of the year,” Cassidy said. “It’s ‘OK, what’s available, let’s get it there, let’s do it in a hurry.’”

The Knights’ pace when they do pick a direction is also much smoother.

Stone has played a key role in his customary spot on the goal line. He has the intelligence and passing acumen to see what the defense is doing and adjust accordingly. If he’s given space, he can take the puck to the net and create chaos. If he needs to pass, he has two left-shot sticks to his left in Stephenson and Smith. He also has a right shot to his right in Marchessault.

Miromanov and defenseman Alex Pietrangelo provide a shooting threat up top if all those outlets are taken away.

The speed at which the Knights have cycled through options has kept opponents guessing. Six players have a power-play goal this month, including all four forwards on the top unit.

“You can’t be overly predictable unless you’ve got that (Alexander) Ovechkin or (David) Pastrnak one-timer bomb that you know is pretty reliable,” Cassidy said. “So, for us, it’s finding the right combination. We’ve done a better job of that.”

The Knights have the NHL’s seventh-best power play at 26 percent because of their monthlong heater. They’re 12-for-30 (40 percent) in December. Only the Edmonton Oilers (45 percent) have been better.

What makes the Knights’ success more impressive is two usual members of their top unit — center Jack Eichel and defenseman Shea Theodore — have been out with injuries. Eichel has appeared in three of 11 December games because of a lower-body injury. Theodore played five before suffering a lower-body injury.

The Knights have made up for the loss of talent with crisper execution. They’ve needed it, too.

Their 14 five-on-five goals are tied for 26th in the NHL this month. It’s taken strong special teams for them to put together a winning record at 6-5.

“It’s good to get that clicking, because it can win games,” Stone said.

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