Less than a week after getting shut out 3-0 in Detroit, the Vegas Golden Knights were victorious in their rematch against the Red Wings, securing a 6-3 win Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena.
For the third home game in a row, the Golden Knights recorded a hat trick, with Tomas Hertl reaching the 30-goal mark for the third time in his career after beating Cam Talbot three times in Vegas’ 41st win of the year. Hertl also lit the lamp three times in Vegas’ 6-5 loss to the Kings on March 9, and Pavel Dorofeyev reached the 30-goal milestone with a hat trick against Boston on Thursday.
Jack Eichel recorded four points, including point No. 600 of his career. His secondary assist on Hertl’s first of the night was his 83rd point of the season, which set a new career high.
Adin Hill made 28 saves and was especially sharp early in the first period when Detroit had multiple breakaways.
Vegas is now 41-20-8 and holds a five-point lead over the Kings, who have a game in hand. The Golden Knights improved their home record to 26-7-3.
The Golden Knights got off to a slow start and fell into a 1-0 hole less than five minutes into the contest when Lucas Raymond scored on the power play. Detroit benefited from a fortunate bounce, as a pass deflected off Alex Pietrangelo’s skate and beat Hill five-hole to give the Red Wings the early lead.
But Vegas responded with a power-play strike of its own seven minutes later, as the go-to combination of Eichel to Mark Stone to Hertl converted at 11:47. The Red Wings simultaneously gave Stone time and space and also lost track of Hertl, who crept in to collect and bury Stone’s pass on the doorstep.
Vegas took its first lead of the night on Hertl’s second of the period after he deflected Brayden McNabb’s slapshot past Talbot.
The Golden Knights appeared to score on a mild Haguerbomb, as Nic Hague’s shot from the point beat a screened Talbot. However, Detroit’s challenge for offside was successful, as Keegan Kolesar did not have control of the puck as he crossed the blue line.
After a long review, the Red Wings responded with an impressive push, getting a 2-on-1 almost immediately and then following it up with multiple chances and extended control in Vegas’ end. Hill stood his ground, and with less than three seconds on the clock, the Golden Knights scored a back-breaker.
Nicolas Roy collected a feed from Ivan Barbashev and beat Talbot at 19:57, restoring Vegas’ 3-1 lead going into the first intermission.
To the Red Wings’ credit, they made the most of their second power play of the night, as Patrick Kane beat Hill less than two minutes into the second to bring Detroit back within one.
At 3-2, the game was there for the taking, but the Golden Knights took charge with two goals in the span of just 55 seconds.
First, Stone scored on the rebound to make it 4-2.
Then, Vegas scored almost a carbon copy of its first-period power-play goal, with Eichel setting up Stone down low, and Stone finding Hertl for the backdoor tap-in.
The Golden Knights preserved their three-goal lead going into the third period.
But the Red Wings didn’t go quietly. For the third period in a row, Detroit scored the first goal, as Alex DeBrincat cut the deficit to two at 9:36 of the third.
But Eichel later put the game away with an empty-net goal to make it 6-3. It was his fourth point of the night and the 600th point of his career.
The Golden Knights looked much more like a contender on Saturday than they have in recent games. Though Detroit put forth a spirited effort, the Golden Knights put away their chances, maintained control of the game and had no trouble scoring. The power play went 2-for-2 and was a game-changer once again, and though the penalty kill went 0-for-2, Detroit has relied on its third-ranked power play all year.
Hill was sharp for the Golden Knights, turning aside 28 of 31 shots for a .903 save percentage and making a number of timely saves throughout the contest. He has been excellent in recent games, going 7-1-1 in his last nine starts.
Hertl had another fantastic game, and he easily could have scored four or five goals. He has been a tremendous boon to the Golden Knights this season. His dynamic ability has transformed the Golden Knights’ power play, and he has been a catalyst for the offense all year. His impact goes far beyond the numbers, and he continues to be an integral part of the team’s formula for success.
Eichel became the fifth member of the 2015 draft class to reach 600 points, joining Connor McDavid, Mitch Marner, Sebastian Aho and Mikko Rantanen.
His career year continues. Eichel casually put up four points in Vegas’ latest win for the first time since the season opener against Colorado. He has recorded 28 multi-point efforts this season and leads the team in scoring by 25 points with 86 points in 68 games (Stone is second on the team with 61).
The top line had another strong performance, leading 20-11 in Corsi, 10-2 in shots and 7-3 in scoring chances. Eichel, Stone and Barbashev combined for nine points, though the trio only scored once as a unit at even strength. Even so, it’s a significant trend for the Golden Knights, who will need that line to be productive moving forward.
Roy also had a strong game, with a slick buzzer-beater goal at the end of the first period as well as a team-high five individual scoring chances, four of which were of the high-danger variety, according to Natural Stat Trick.
Quietly, Kaedan Korczak also had another very strong game. Though Vegas expects to have Shea Theodore back at some point next week, Korczak has done an admirable job.
The Golden Knights have a quick turnaround and will be back in action tomorrow against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Ilya Samsonov is expected to start.
Statistics courtesy of Natural Stat Trick.