The Vegas Golden Knights (34-26-16) secured an important two points in a 6-3 victory over the Calgary Flames (31-36-8) Thursday night at T-Mobile Arena.
Mitch Marner recorded a hat trick and five points in the win, and Vegas also got goals from Pavel Dorofeyev, Brett Howden and Ivan Barbashev. The Flames jumped ahead three times through the first 40 minutes, but Vegas responded each time.
Carter Hart made his first start between the pipes since Jan. 8 and picked up his sixth win of the year with 19 saves on 22 shots for an .864 save percentage.
Zach Whitecloud returned to T-Mobile Arena for the first time since being dealt for Rasmus Andersson, who faced his former team for the first time since the trade. Andersson finished with an assist, a plus-two rating and two shots in 20:50.
Morgan Frost opened the scoring 7:41 into the contest when he beat his former teammate short-side on an odd-man rush.
It was the only goal of the first period, a frame in which Vegas outshot its opponent 14-8.
But Marner deflected a Shea Theodore shot to even the score in the first two minutes of the second period.
The Flames again pulled ahead when Blake Coleman scored his first of two goals in the frame. Once again, Calgary cashed in on an odd-man rush.
But an excellent passing play by Jack Eichel and Andersson set up Marner in the slot, and Marner made no mistake. His second tally of the night reset the score at 2-2 just over two minutes after Coleman’s strike.
But the back-and-forth goal-fest continued, as Coleman scored his second of the period on yet another 2-on-1. Coleman started the play with a chip off the boards and then beat Hart in transition to make it 3-2 at 12:11.
Dorofeyev potted his 35th goal of the year on an absolute blast on the power play with 3:39 remaining in the period. Dorofeyev’s team-leading 19th power-play goal of the season allowed Vegas to erase the one-goal deficit for the third time, making it a 3-3 game going into the third.
The third period got underway after a 25-minute delay due to an issue with the ice, and both teams looked as sluggish as one might expect.
However, Vegas eventually took over the game, grabbing its first lead of the night when Howden beat Dustin Wolf from the slot off a great feed from Theodore. It was Howden’s first goal since Jan. 8 and proved to be the game-winner.
Barbashev then gave Vegas a two-goal lead with 5:01 remaining in the third to give the Golden Knights a little bit of a cushion.
Marner tallied the lone assist on the play, giving him four points on the night.
He got his fifth when he completed the hat trick on a wraparound at 18:31. It was his fourth career hat trick and first as a member of the Golden Knights.
The Golden Knights finished their four-game homestand with a 2-0-2 record. The Golden Knights now trail Edmonton by three points but have a six-point advantage over Los Angeles.
Vegas is 2-0-0 in the John Tortorella era, though both games have come against non-playoff teams near the bottom of the standings.
That being said, the Golden Knights needed two points, and they got them. That’s what matters at this time of year.
Though Vegas didn’t score in the first period, Tortorella thought it was a great frame for his new team.
“I thought our first period, as far as playing fast, was one of our best periods since I’ve been here,” Tortorella said. “Odd-man rushes, we gave up a few along the way. We gotta coach that out of them. But you get to that third period, you have a delay like we did, you just gotta find a way to win the period. … I’m happy the way they handled themselves, and then they took over in the third.”
Tortorella made adjustments during the game and was rewarded with an outstanding night by Marner.
“Mitch is a great hockey player,” Tortorella said. “He’s a complete player. Very important guy, one of the top players in the league. He does a lot of things for us.”
On several occasions, Vegas’ new bench boss loaded up the top line with Eichel, Mark Stone and Marner, but the Marner-Barbashev-Stone line, which Tortorella put together Monday against Vancouver, was responsible for three of Vegas’ goals.
Part of that success was the result of Vegas playing an up-tempo and aggressive game.
“I know they’re concentrating on trying to play north; it’s very evident in our game,” Tortorella said. “I think they’ve done a really good job on keeping their focus on the style of game we’re trying to play.”
But while the Golden Knights lit the lamp six times and were able to overcome three one-goal deficits, there was a glaring issue with Vegas’ game that’s a result of that aggressive style.
The Golden Knights gave up way too many odd-man rushes, particularly through the first two periods. Tortorella’s main directive has been to play faster, but the defensemen have gotten caught pinching repeatedly over the last two games.
“It’s our job now to coach them to an area to where we’re not crazy as far as some situations, without playing safe,” Tortorella said about addressing the concern. “You gotta find that happy medium; that’s [the coaches’] job. I’d rather coach a team that’s over-aggressive than try to get a team to play aggressive. … They’ll get there.”
Under Bruce Cassidy, Vegas was one of the best teams at limiting odd-man rushes. That has quickly dissolved in the last two games, and it’s something that is not sustainable. In fact, if Vegas does not clean it up before Saturday’s game against the Oilers, the Golden Knights could be in trouble, particularly considering they are not getting saves on a consistent or reliable basis from their goaltenders.
Hart made the saves he needed to make to get the win, though it was another instance of a Vegas goalie finishing with a save percentage below .900. His teammates helped by scoring the magic number of four goals, which continues to lead to Vegas walking away with at least a point.
Tortorella, who has made no secret of his belief in Hart after coaching him in Philadelphia, was pleased with the netminder’s first outing in months after returning from injury.
“He made some big saves at key times, didn’t let it get to a two-goal deficit, which I think is very important,” Tortorella said. “For him — and I know him so well — to have to wait through that thing, the delay, I thought he handled himself well. … I liked his game.”
While the power play did convert, it finished the game 1-for-6 and looked hesitant and stiff at times. The Golden Knights rode the power play for much of the year, so it should be reexamined over the next six games.
The Golden Knights will head to Edmonton on Saturday to kick off a four-game road trip before wrapping up the regular season with two home games against Winnipeg and Seattle.
Photo courtesy of the Golden Knights