Blog: Golden Knights hang on to beat Senators, snap losing streak

By Jesse Granger

Saturday, Nov. 4, 2017 | 2:01 p.m.

Heading into Ottawa, the Golden Knights knew special teams would be key if they were going to snap their three-game losing streak.

The Senators entered Saturday’s game ranked ninth in power play percentage at 20.8 percent, and fifth in penalty kill at 86.1 percent, but were thoroughly outplayed in both phases by the Vegas.

The Golden Knights scored three power play goals, and held the Senators scoreless with a man advantage to escape with a 5-4 win.

Jonathan Marchessault scored a goal and assisted on two others to help the Golden Knights to a 5-2 lead early in the third period. Erik Haula scored his third and fourth goals of the season including a power play goal with a wide open net following a great pass by David Perron.

The Senators made a late push, with third period goals by Ryan Dzingel and captain Erik Karlsson, but fell short.

Maxime Lagace earned the first win of his career with his parents watching from the stands, and became the fourth different goalie to record a win for the Golden Knights this season. It was the Senators first loss in regulation at home.

The win snapped Vegas’ losing streak and brought its record on the current road trip to 1-3 with two more stops in Toronto (Monday) and Montreal (Tuesday).

Golden Knights lead 3-2 after two periods

The Golden Knights came out of the second period on top of the Senators after a back-and-forth 20 minutes of hockey in Ottawa.

The Senators tied the game 1-1 when Mark Stone scored his ninth goal of the season by tipping a shot by Mike Hoffman past Maxime Lagace only 21 seconds into the period.

Vegas quickly regained the lead when Erik Haula shot a rebound into a wide open net after Ottawa goalie Craig Anderson made a pad save on Jonathan Marchessault. The goal came just seconds after a power play where the Golden Knights threatened multiple times.

Ottawa answered to tie the game yet again when Alexandre Burrows stuffed the puck through Lagace’s pads with 12:48 left in the second period.

Finally, the Golden Knights scored their second power play goal of the game with 7:21 left to claim a 3-2 lead heading into the final period. This time it was Marchessault who benefited from a rebound and a wide open net. He put it past Anderson for his fourth goal of the season. Nate Schmidt, who took the original shot from the point, was credited with his seventh assist of the season – tied for the team lead.

Now the Golden Knights must overcome their third period woes. Vegas has been outscored 8-1 in the third period during the first three games of this road trip.

Golden Knights lead 1-0 after first period

Golden Knights rookie forward Alex Tuch gave Vegas an early 1-0 lead with a spectacular individual effort. The 21-year-old scored his fourth goal of the season on a power play after Senators' captain Erik Karlsson was called for tripping.

Tuch took the puck out of the corner, skated in front of the net and slipped the puck into the bottom corner of the net to put the Golden Knights ahead only 4:24 into the game.

Vegas out shot Ottawa 7-5 the first period and had five scoring chances to the Senators’ three.

Golden Knights goalie Maxime Lagace did, however, come up big with two saves in succession beginning with a 2-on-1 rush by the Senators. Lagace stopped the first attempt from the side of the net with his chest, then got all the way across the net to stop a shot by Dion Phaneuf.

Vegas is 3-1-0 this season when scoring first.

Pre game

The Golden Knights' second road trip of the year hasn’t started the way they would have liked with three straight losses in Brooklyn, N.Y., and Boston.

Today, Vegas makes its first regular-season trip to Canada, where they face the Ottawa Senators in the capital. The Senators have lost five of their last seven games and will be looking to rebound as they host a wounded Golden Knights team.

Rookie goaltender Maxime Lagace (0-3-0, 4.58 goals against average) is still searching for the first win of his career after filling in when third-string goalie Oscar Dansk went down with a lower body injury on Oct. 30 against the Islanders.

Lagace has improved each game and played well in Thursday’s 2-1 loss to the Boston Bruins. The 24-year-old stopped 26 of the 28 shots he faced. Vegas will need a good showing from him to have any chance at snapping the three-game losing streak.

Ottawa isn’t as offensively talented as some of the teams the Golden Knights have faced recently, but the Senator’s defense, headlined by Erik Karlsson, is one of the best in the NHL. While the Senators have lost seven games, only two have come in regulation.

Where the Golden Knights may be tested the most this morning is on special teams. The Senators rank in the top 10 in the league in both power play (9th with 20.8 percent) and penalty kill (5th with 86.1 percent) and Vegas has struggled with both lately.

Finally, Vegas will also be battling the time zone difference as the puck drops a full four hours earlier than any game the Golden Knights have played this season.

Puck drops: 11 a.m.

Where: Canadian Tire Centre, Ottawa

Radio: Fox Sports 1340 AM and 98.9 FM

TV: AT&T SportsNet (DirecTV 684, Cox 313, CenturyLink Prism 1760, Dish Network 5414)

Betting line: Golden Knights plus-170, Total 5.5 minus-115 to the under

Golden Knights (8-4-0) (2-3-0 away)

Coach: Gerard Gallant

Goal leader: James Neal (7)

Assist leader: Brad Hunt (7)

Expected goalie: Maxime Lagace (0-3-0, 4.58 goals against average)

Ottawa Senators (6-2-5) (3-2-4 home)

Coach: Guy Boucher

Goal leader: Mark Stone (8)

Assist leader: Erik Karlsson (12)

Expected goalie: Craig Anderson (5-2-3, 2.92 goals against average)

Golden Knights game day roster

Forwards (12): Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, William Carrier, Cody Eakin, Erik Haula, William Karlsson, Oscar Lindberg, Jonathan Marchessault, James Neal, Tomas Nosek, David Perron, Reilly Smith and Alex Tuch.

Defensemen (6): Deryk Engelland, Brayden McNabb, Colin Miller, Luca Sbisa, Nate Schmidt and Shea Theodore.

Goalies (2): Maxime Lagace and Dylan Ferguson

Prediction : Golden Knights 3, Senators 2

Season record for predictions: 6-5