The Vegas Golden Knights managed to get back in the win column on Thursday night after defeating the Montreal Canadiens 6-5 in what was a game filled with a ton of back-and-forth action. The Golden Knights improved their record to 13-3-1 and now sit two points ahead of the Vancouver Canucks for the lead in the Pacific Division.
The last time these two teams met was on Oct. 30, when Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki scored a late game-tying goal in the third period before the Golden Knights went on to win in the shootout. The Golden Knights have now won their last six games against the Canadiens dating back to November 2021, and have outscored them 28-19 in those contests.
After being shutout 3-0 by the Washington Capitals in their previous game, the Golden Knights’ offense came out flying, recording a season-high 42 shots and putting up over five goals for the third time in just two weeks. The Golden Knights now have the second most goals scored in the league with 61, but are still well behind the Canucks, who’ve scored 72 in the same amount of games.
Analytics Rollercoaster
One of the most intriguing aspects of this game was how much of a different story the analytics told. In the opening period the Golden Knights had 41 shot attempts to the Canadiens’ 11, outshot them 16-5, had 26 scoring chances to the Canadiens’ three, and finished with 3.15 expected goals while the Canadiens had 0.45. Despite their overall dominance, the Golden Knights still found themselves down 2-0 after the first period.
Things were just as confusing in the second period, as the Golden Knights had 0.86 expected goals but ended up scoring four, finishing off an exciting exchange of goals that ended in a 4-4 tie heading into the third. The cruel part about hockey is that it doesn’t always reward the more dominant team, and even though the Golden Knights won this game, there have been so many instances in the past where a team doesn’t get the results that the analytics say they have earned.
With games like this, it really makes you question what kind of identity this Golden Knights team is building for itself. Being an organization that has previously been so well structured in their own zone, there’s no reason that they should be giving up five goals to the Canadiens. However, they’ve also never been a team that is known for their explosive offense, and they’ve managed to defy those expectations a few times this month.
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This isn’t to say that this one game should cause any concern, as there weren’t really any analytical trends that could’ve prepared us for the way it played out. If you take anything away from this game, it should be that the Golden Knights have proven they’re built to compete in any type of environment.
Golden Knights’ Power Play Breaks Out
Special teams played the biggest role for the Golden Knights in this win, which is rare for a team that gets credited so often for their dominance at even strength. After going through nearly two games without a power play opportunity, they drew six penalties against the Canadiens and converted on three of their opportunities.
The Golden Knights scored three consecutive power-play goals, with their final two coming on a double minor penalty taken by Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher for high-sticking Pavel Dorofeyev late in the third period. The Golden Knights rookie ended up losing some teeth on the play and was visibly shaken up, but finished off the game without any signs of further injury.
Both Jack Eichel and Mark Stone converted on the extended man-advantage, giving them a 6-4 lead with less than two minutes left in the game. This was the first time this season that the Golden Knights have scored three times on the power play, and the final goal by Stone would prove to be very important, as Justin Barron pulled the Canadiens back within a goal just 18 seconds later. Luckily for the Golden Knights, Adin Hill was able to shut the door in the dying seconds to secure the win.
The most noticeable difference that brought the Golden Knights success on the power play was their willingness to shoot. William Karlsson finished with nine shots on goal, Eichel had five, Marchessault had four, and to the credit of Canadiens goaltender Cayden Primeau, he responded well. Although it felt like it was only a matter of time before the floodgates opened, and the Golden Knights’ relentless pressure eventually paid off.
In previous games there have been many chances on the power play to shoot, and the Golden Knights have passed on those opportunities in favor of looking for the perfect play. Considering that the Canadiens’ penalty kill is operating at just 75.3% (24th in the NHL), there’s obviously going to be more space to create shooting lanes than other teams will give, but hopefully the willingness to constantly get pucks to the net is something that they can carry on in the future.
Final Thoughts
With 11 goals, nine penalties, and 70 combined shots on goal, this was a game that would drive both coaches crazy. Like so many of their games this season, it was far from perfect, but they won. Head coach Bruce Cassidy is going to need a lot of time to try and make sense of such a wild game, but he’ll feel a lot more comfortable doing it knowing they were able to take home two points.
The Golden Knights will continue their Eastern Conference road trip on Saturday when they take on the Philadelphia Flyers at 1 PM EST/10 AM PST. This will be the first game of a back-to-back, closing off the week against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday at 6 PM EST/3 PM PST.
