The Vegas Golden Knights (8-4-5) made their way back into the win column with a convincing 4-1 win over the St. Louis Blues (6-9-4) Saturday night at Enterprise Center.
The win ended a four-game losing streak for the Golden Knights, who were coming off a brutal 1-3-2 homestand. The dominant, one-sided victory saw three Golden Knights net their first goal of the season, while Akira Schmid picked up his seventh win of the year.
In just his second NHL game, Braeden Bowman scored his first career goal, which proved to be the game-winner. Brandon Saad and Noah Hanifin also found twine for the first time this year, and Tomas Hertl scored for the third straight game, with Pavel Dorofeyev recording a rare multi-assist performance.
The Blues had a promising 2-on-1 chance early in the game, but Schmid stood tall to give his teammates time to settle in. Once they did, they never looked back.
In his return to St. Louis, Saad opened the scoring for the Golden Knights 12:52 into the opening frame, beating Joel Hofer five-hole. It was a solid play all-around from the entire line, as Brett Howden cut off a clearing attempt to keep the play alive, and Reilly Smith delivered a great touch pass to set up Saad in the slot.
Just over two minutes later, the Golden Knights connected for a rare power-play strike. Bowman, the club’s newest power-play weapon, scored a backdoor tap-in to finish a nice passing play, as Jack Eichel found Dorofeyev, who then sent it back across the ice to the wide-open Bowman.
Vegas took a commanding three-goal lead just 36 seconds into the middle frame on a deep blast from Hanifin, who became the third Vegas blue liner to light the lamp this season (and second in two games after Shea Theodore broke through Thursday against the Islanders).
It was all Vegas throughout the second period, as the Golden Knights were strong on the forecheck and prevented the Blues from getting anything going.
St. Louis took a double-minor for high-sticking Colton Sissons late in the period, with 1:02 of that man-advantage carrying over into the third. Though the Golden Knights were unsuccessful and subsequently took a penalty of their own, the penalty kill came through to maintain the three-goal edge.
At 11:20 of the third, Hertl scored his third goal in as many games, converting on a breakaway off a set-up by Dorofeyev. It was Hertl’s eighth goal of the season, and it made it a 4-0 contest.
With just 4:03 remaining, Philip Broberg ended Schmid’s shutout bid with a deep shot that hit something on its way into the net.
The Golden Knights closed out the 4-1 win, collecting an important two points to move into the first wildcard slot.
It was a complete effort by the Golden Knights, and the entire lineup chipped in.
The Golden Knights won the special teams battle, going 1-for-3 on the man-advantage and killing off both of St. Louis’ third-period power plays. Vegas also did an excellent job shutting things down in the neutral zone.
Additionally, the Golden Knights capitalized on their chances, including on the power play and also on the breakaway, which has been a struggle this season.
Plus, perhaps most importantly, Vegas got some much-needed production from outside the top-six, including from the blue line. The Golden Knights were able to roll four lines, and they held the lead all night.
Schmid’s steady play early in the game was also significant. He finished the game with 22 saves on 23 shots for a .957 save percentage.
However, it’s important to consider the opposition. The Blues have struggled this season and were, to be fair, listless for much of the night. Vegas deserves credit for shutting things down, but the Blues never threatened to take over this game, weren’t overly competitive and had no sense of urgency at any point.
That being said, it was an important win, especially following Vegas’ four-game losing streak and a particularly deflating loss to the Islanders. This could have been a trap game, but the Golden Knights delivered across the board.
They will look to do the same when they take on the Wild tomorrow in Minnesota. Minnesota also will be in the second half of a back-to-back after shutting out the Ducks 2-0 on Saturday.