Golden Knights’ Defining Moments: Pacioretty’s last-second goal

By Justin Emerson

Monday, March 30, 2020 | 2 a.m.

The shopping was done, the turkey was brining and the final checklists were being made before Thanksgiving dinner.

It was Nov. 27, the night before Thanksgiving, and the Golden Knights were playing the Nashville Predators on the road. Vegas fell behind in the third period and pulled goalie Malcolm Subban in hopes of an unlikely comeback.

That’s just what the Golden Knights got when Max Pacioretty tied the game with 0.3 seconds left before winning 4-3 in overtime.

Over the next couple weeks, the Las Vegas Sun will look back at pivotal moments throughout the season. The series will cover everything from the obvious turning points to more obscure ones that went by without much fanfare at the time but turned out to be important.

Pacrioetty’s last-second goal is today’s starting point.

Where the Golden Knights were

The Golden Knights had yet to find their footing on the season. They had lost their last three games and eight of their last 10 going into the first Nashville trip of the season. Entering the night, they were 11-11-4, tied for fifth in the Pacific Division and nine points out of first.

The Golden Knights took a 2-0 lead over the Predators in the second period, but it didn’t last long. Vegas gave up a goal 39 seconds later and then another game-tying goal before the end of the period.

The Predators then scored a go-ahead goal early in the third period, and the Golden Knights trailed 3-2 setting up an offensive draw with an empty net and 21.9 seconds on the clock. Moneypuck.com gave the Golden Knights a 0.9 percent chance of winning.

What happened

The Golden Knights delivered a major victory in their history, and one of the more improbable comebacks of the entire NHL season.

Vegas lost the draw and went the length of the ice in 12 seconds. Behind the Nashville net, Reilly Smith kicked the puck out to Mark Stone, who found Pacioretty to bury the game-tying goal with 0.3 seconds remaining. It was the latest game-tying goal in Vegas history, a record that figures to stand for a long time.

Paul Stastny and Nate Schmidt took care of the rest, as latter fed the former for a game-winner at 1:52 of the extra period.

How it was received

I thought it was going to be the turning point of the season, and I wasn’t the only one. The game story refers to the win as a “miracle” that would set the Golden Knight on the right course.

That’s not totally off. Watch a highlight reel of any successful season in any sport and there’s almost always a signature moment of a team pulling out an improbable win. Pacioretty said after the game that he hoped the victory was something the group could build from.

The Golden Knights were far better than their record indicated, and all signs pointed towards the Predators’ win being a launching pad for the team to go on a roll.

How much it mattered looking back

In the end, it was far less impactful than many prophesied. Vegas did win its next three games, but then lost three of four after that. From the Nashville game through the Christmas break, the Golden Knights went 8-3-3.

That’s not bad, but eight wins in 14 games isn’t exactly a springboard to season-long success at the highest level.

It was a strong win for the Golden Knights, allowing them to avoid blowing a two-goal lead in the last game before Thanksgiving, but it wasn’t the moment that transformed them into a contender.

It did, however, serve as an exclamation point on the best season of Pacioretty’s career. In his first season as a Golden Knight, many felt Pacioretty didn’t live up to the hype of his arrival. He had 22 goals and 40 points, but lagging defense resulted in a Goals Above Replacement number of minus-4.6, the only time in his career he’s been in the negatives.

His goal in Nashville was two months into the season, but he never slowed down. Before the season was paused, Pacioretty had 32 goals and 34 assists in 71 games. That ties a career high in assists and put him one point and seven goals away from hitting another pair of all-time highs.

He’s played the best defense of his career too, boosting that GAR number to 16.9, the best in his 12 years in the NHL.

Ask a Golden Knights fan about “Pacioretty’s last-second goal” and they know what you’re talking about. It wasn’t the Golden Knights’ signature win of the year, but it turned into Pacioretty’s signature moment as a Golden Knight. That makes the goal quite important after all — just not in the way we thought.