The Vegas Golden Knights (36-18-6) improved to 22-6-3 on home ice with a 2-0 shutout win over the New Jersey Devils (33-23-6) Sunday night at T-Mobile Arena.
Vegas scored twice on the power play in the third period, and Adin Hill turned aside all 25 shots he faced as the Golden Knights secured their second consecutive win to remain four points ahead of the Oilers in the Pacific Division standings.
Brayden McNabb skated in the 800th game of his NHL career, and the Vegas faithful welcomed back Paul Cotter in his return to Vegas after being traded to the Devils last summer as part of the Alexander Holtz deal. Cotter had a stellar scoring chance on a 2-on-1 in the second period but was shut down by a flashy save by former teammate Hill.
It was a scoreless game through two periods, with both goalies coming up with some impressive stops, including windmill saves and a two-pad stack by Hill. It was Jacob Markstrom’s first action since Jan. 22, but he showed no signs of an extended stint on injured reserve.
The turning point in the game came on an early power play in the third period when the Devils were whistled for interference just 1:12 into the frame.
The Golden Knights wasted very little time, striking 15 seconds into the man-advantage as Mark Stone deflected Noah Hanifin’s point shot to take a 1-0 lead.
The Devils were called for too many men at 8:46, and Hanifin found twine on his own 24 seconds later, giving Vegas a 2-0 lead with 10:50 remaining.
On Vegas’ third power play of the period, Jack Hughes went crashing into the boards after getting tangled up with Jack Eichel. Hughes was injured on the play, which appeared to be unintentional. However, Devils head coach Shelden Keefe expressed his displeasure with the officials when no penalty was called; as a result, Keefe was assessed a bench minor for unsportsmanlike conduct and was ejected from the game, setting up a 5-on-3 for the home team. The Golden Knights didn’t score but were able to close out the final few minutes of regulation for the win.
It was another strong performance by Hill, who recorded his career-best third shutout of the season. Hill has now won three games in a row — surrendering two goals on 74 shots for a .973 save percentage in that stretch — after winning just three of eight games in January.
After giving up five goals in back-to-back games, the Golden Knights responded with a much cleaner defensive performance. Vegas remained disciplined both by staying out of the box and not giving up many high-danger chances. Hill took care of the rest.
For the second game in a row, the Golden Knights’ best line was a newly-formed unit. Tomas Hertl and Pavel Dorofeyev were joined by Brandon Saad, and the trio led 18-4 in Corsi, 7-3 in shots and 7-1 in scoring chances with an 80.07 percent expected goal share in 10:54.
The Golden Knights are 2-0-0 through two games of the longest homestand of the year, which continues Wednesday against Toronto.