In the midst of one of the worst slumps in franchise history, the Vegas Golden Knights recalibrated with a dominant 3-1 win against the New Jersey Devils Thursday night at Prudential Center.
The Golden Knights shut down New Jersey’s offense all night, limiting the Devils to just 15 shots in 60 minutes. The only reason it was close was because of the play of Devils netminder Jake Allen.
Seven different Golden Knights found the scoresheet, including Shea Theodore, whose second-period tally proved to be the game-winner.
After a scoreless first period, the Golden Knights struck twice in the middle frame, with two players netting their seventh tallies of the season.
Nicolas Roy gave Vegas a 1-0 lead 3:09 into the second, scoring on his own rebound for his first goal since Dec. 6.
Theodore doubled Vegas’ lead at 11:18 on a shot from the blue line for his 46th point of the 2024-25 campaign. It was a strong shift with multiple puck retrievals, and Theodore capped it off with a wrister from downtown.
Through two periods, the Golden Knights were outshooting the Devils 25-9 and held a 2-0 lead.
The Devils recorded the first shot of the third period, but Vegas followed up with the next six, including one that Jack Eichel deposited in the back of the net.
Noah Hanifin found some open ice and sent a crisp centering feed to Eichel, who put home the rebound after his initial tip was turned aside by Allen. It was Eichel’s 19th goal of the year, and it marked the ninth time in the last 11 games that he has recorded at least a point. In that time, Eichel has collected eight goals and five helpers.
Ondrej Palat broke through on the power play late in the third, beating Adin Hill shortside from in tight with just over four minutes remaining in regulation.
It appeared as though Palat scored his second of the night, which would have made it a one-goal game with 52.5 seconds remaining. However, the puck hit Palat’s stick well above the crossbar and therefore was ruled no goal.
The Golden Knights closed out the 3-1 win with a 70-40 edge in Corsi, 37-18 lead in scoring chances and a whopping 16-3 advantage in high-danger chances. The Golden Knights finished with a 73.19 percent expected goal share at all strengths.
Hill ended the night with 14 saves and a .933 save percentage. Coming into the game, he had given up four goals in four of his previous five starts, going 1-2-2 in that span. Though he wasn’t overly tested in New Jersey, he made a few key saves in the third and helped the Golden Knights maintain their lead throughout the final two periods.
The win helped Hill reach the 20-win threshold for the first time in his career in what will likely be his final start before the 4 Nations Face-Off.
The Golden Knights played a nearly perfect road game despite giving up a late goal. In the end, Vegas outshot New Jersey 40-15, surrendering just four, five and six shots in the three periods, respectively.
Significantly, the Golden Knights were perfect at 5-on-5, which has been an inconsistent part of Vegas’ game throughout the recent 3-8-3 stretch.
Technically, Vegas lost the special teams battle, going 0-for-5 on the power play and 0-for-1 on the penalty kill. However, the Golden Knights outworked the Devils all night, leading to plenty of drawn penalties. Vegas generated 14 shot attempts and 10 scoring chances on the power play, per Natural Stat Trick, despite failing to convert.
But the lack of efficiency on the man-advantage did not prevent the Golden Knights from controlling the game as well as taking a lead, holding that lead and then extending it.
It has been an underwhelming year for Alexander Holtz, who has struggled to find his footing with the Golden Knights after coming over from New Jersey in an offseason trade involving Paul Cotter and Akira Schmid (who was recalled earlier on Thursday, likely to back up Ilya Samsonov Saturday in Boston).
However, Holtz delivered one of his best games of the season against his former club. He skated on a line with Tomas Hertl and Pavel Dorofeyev, which certainly helped. The trio finished with a 12-3 edge in Corsi, 5-1 advantage in shots and a 90.73 percent expected goal share in 9:28. Holtz hit the post in the third period and finished the contest with two shots and a hit in 13 minutes, a season high in ice time by nearly three minutes.
The Golden Knights have yet to lose a game in regulation at Prudential Center (4-0-3).
Vegas will wrap up this four-game road trip with a matinee matchup against Boston on Saturday before the 4 Nations Face-Off break.
Statistics courtesy of Natural Stat Trick.