Analysis: For real this time? Golden Knights may have finally figured it out

By Case Keefer (contact)

Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020 | 2 a.m.

The Vegas Golden Knights have fooled us all before.

That’s a disclaimer that must be extended before contextualizing Vegas’ current three-game winning streak, after the latest triumph came in a sterling 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals Monday evening at T-Mobile Arena.

The whole fan and media experience around this year’s team seems to be a series of false starts. The Golden Knights show a glimpse or two of their championship-level potential and everyone jumps to declare them as having arrived and settled in, poised to consistently play as well as their talent and metrics indicate they should.

Then they don’t; disappointment follows in some form and they revert to looking like a borderline playoff team.

Calling for the success to stick at this point feels a bit like a variation of The Boy Who Cried Wolf but …. deep breath. Let’s go for it.

This just might be the time it sticks.

“We’re real close,” Golden Knights coach Peter DeBoer said. “There’s always an adjustment period. I think these guys have really embraced what we’re asking them to do and they’re getting rewarded for it.”

The reward after the Capitals game was a cozy spot atop the Pacific Division, as the Golden Knights enter Tuesday tied with the Edmonton Oilers with 70 points on the season. Now officially a month into his tenure with Vegas, DeBoer has led the team to a 7-3-2 record despite facing arguably the roughest stretch of a dozen games on the schedule all year.

The Golden Knights dropped close decisions to the two Stanley Cup favorites in the span, the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning, but have blitzed past the next set of contenders. In this three-game stretch alone, Vegas has now beaten the last two Stanley Cup champions and a team who’s stayed in the playoff picture all year after winning a series a year ago.

The Golden Knights have held a win streak of at least three games at three other points of the season, but none of the previous runs stack up to a bounty of the Capitals, New York Islanders and St. Louis Blues.

“It’s huge,” goalie Marc-Andre Fleury said. “It’s good to get all these points. Everything is going well.”

The Capitals’ game felt like it threw a check list of situations that have been weaknesses for the Golden Knights in the past. Vegas passed all of the tests, even with flying colors early.

For the second straight game, Fleury showed signs of having his mojo back. He made an excellent save in the opening 10 minutes on what looked like a sure goal from Lars Eller, who may have felt robbed again two periods later when Fleury kicked a lethal shot away.

Fleury had 25 saves and neither of the Capitals’ goals was his fault.

TJ Oshie scored for the Capitals on their third power play, but they barely mustered any opportunities on the first two, a strong sign for a much-maligned Golden Knights’ penalty kill.

The Golden Knights’ defense was also tremendous in front of Fleury, giving Alexander Ovechkin no high-danger looks to keep his quest for 700 career goals locked at 698 for another day. 

“I think we’re playing our best defensive game we have throughout this year,” forward Reilly Smith said. “We’re limiting teams to not too many shots and when they are getting those shots, a lot are from the outside.”

Each of Washington's two goals, both scored by Oshie in the third period, were lasers from the faceoff circle. They cut a comfortable 3-0 lead into a flimsy 3-2 lead and raised the blood pressure of everyone in the building for the final nine minutes.

The Capitals got their chances — including a prolonged collection of them with around 5 minutes remaining — but the Golden Knights held and thwarted their opponents' championship resolve. It was a show of perseverance Pacioretty said was as important as anything that happened all night, an experience Vegas can draw from in the playoffs.

“I don’t think it’s a bad thing that a team goes through adversity through the year,” DeBoer said. “It’s more important that you come out the other side of it and you’re playing well down the stretch, and I think that’s where we’re heading.”

There are reasons to be skeptical. Even though the schedule lightens up after a home date with the Lightning on Thursday, that hasn’t mattered before.

Just look back at some of the other points of the season where the Golden Knights appeared to finally have it together. Heck, a four-game losing streak after a much-celebrated 5-4 overtime victory against the Blues sealed coach Gerard Gallant’s fate.

Such memories make it difficult to fully give in to the idea of the Golden Knights breaking through for once and for all. But it sure feels like they may have.

It sure feels like the Golden Knights are now in position to win the Pacific and go into the playoffs knowing they can beat anyone.

“The schedule has not been easy for our group considering what we’re going through and I think that’s a good thing because every night you’re seeing the best teams in the league,” DeBoer said. “Our team is embracing that and hopefully building confidence every time we win a game against a good team.”

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.