Haula lifts Golden Knights over Kings in double OT thriller

By Jesse Granger

Published Friday, April 13, 2018 | 4 p.m.

Updated Friday, April 13, 2018 | 11:21 p.m.

Erik Haula deked around Jonathan Quick to lift the Golden Knights over the Kings in double overtime Friday night at T-Mobile Arena to give Vegas a 2-0 lead in the first round series.

It was the Golden Knights' 56th shot on goal of the game. Haula lit the goal lamp at 11:20 p.m. to send the record-breaking crowd to its feet after nearly 100 minutes of hockey.

Golden Knights, Kings tied 1-1 after one overtime

The Golden Knights and Los Angeles Kings are heading to a second overtime, tied 1-1 and unable to decide game two after 80 minutes of hockey.

It’s been a goaltenders duel, with Marc-Andre Fleury and Jonathan Quick trading spectacular save for spectacular save.

The Golden Knights have outshot the Kings 47-27 but Quick’s 46 saves have the Kings still in it.

The game may become a battle of attrition late. Nate Schmidt leads the Golden Knights with 31:30 of ice time, and Los Angeles' Alec Martinez leads all skaters with 37:24.

Golden Knights, Kings tied 1-1 at the end of regulation

The Golden Knights and Los Angeles Kings are heading to sudden death overtime to decide game two of the Western Conference quarterfinals series.

Vegas outshot Los Angeles 35-20 during regulation but couldn’t beat Kings’ goaltender Jonathan Quick, who made multiple spectacular saves late in the game to keep his team in it.

His best work came with just under three minutes left in the game when he slid across the crease to rob Erik Haula of a potential game-winning goal.

The teams traded chances in the third period, with Reilly Smith clanking a shot off the crossbar and Anze Kopitar nearly backhanding the puck over Marc-Andre Fleury’s shoulder. However, the goalies were again the best players on the ice and forced overtime.

After a 15-minute intermission the teams will resume 5-on-5 play for a 20 minute overtime period. The teams will continue play until one scores a game-winner.

Golden Knights, Kings tied 1-1 after two periods

It took nearly 96 minutes, but the Los Angeles Kings finally beat Marc-Andre Fleury for a goal.

Paul Ladue fired a shot from the point that bounced off the body of Deryk Engelland and fooled Fleury to tie the game 2-2 after two periods Friday night at T-Mobile Arena.

It was a power play goal, and was assisted by Dion Phaneuf and Michael Amadio.

Vegas again dominated the action, outshooting Los Angeles 13-7 in the period and 26-12 overall. The Golden Knights have been active on the forecheck, keeping the puck in the Kings’ zone for the majority of the game.

The back check has been equally impressive, preventing the Kings from mounting much offense on the other end of the ice.

Still, though Jonathan Quick has kept Los Angeles in the game with 25 saves and the game is tied after 40 minutes of hockey.

Golden Knights lead 1-0 after one period

Golden Knights rookie forward Alex Tuch scored the first playoff goal of his career to give Vegas an early 1-0 lead over the Kings Friday night at T-Mobile Arena.

On their first power play of the game, the Golden Knights moved the puck well around the perimeter before Jonathan Marchessault fired a shot from the point. His shot went wide, rebounded off the end boards and right to Tuch, who put it into the wide-open net.

The power play goal snapped an 0-for-16 drought against the Kings with a man advantage for Vegas.

It was a strange start to the game on Friday the 13th, with multiple long stoppages to fix the game clock. The teams were forced to play without a clock for the first four minutes of the game, with the only time updates coming over the loudspeaker during breaks in the action.

Erik Haula looked like he might be on a break early in the period but accidentally stepped on the puck and crashed into the boards.

After the strange start the teams settled in, with Vegas outshooting Los Angeles 12-4 in the first period.

Marc-Andre Fleury wasn’t tested often, but made a huge save in the final minute of the period while Vegas was killing a penalty. The puck bounced around in front of the net before Kings’ defenseman Alec Martinez backhanded the puck to the low corner of the net, but Fleury slid over to make the pad save.

Pre game

If the pressure of the Stanley Cup playoffs weren’t enough, the Golden Knights are facing even more tonight as they host the Kings for Game 2 at T-Mobile Arena.

Los Angeles will be without star defenseman Drew Doughty, who was suspended for the game after what the NHL Department of Players Safety deemed an illegal hit on William Carrier during Wednesday’s game.

Already missing key defensive pieces Jake Muzzin and Derek Forbort, the Kings are extremely short-handed on the back end. If they can escape Las Vegas with a 1-1 series tie despite missing all of those pieces, it would be considered a huge win.

That makes tonight’s game even more important for the Golden Knights.

“(Doughty) is a special player in this league,” Vegas defenseman Nate Schmidt said. “He’s a defenseman that’s a difference-maker, and he’s been their catalyst for a number of years. You have to think it’s going to hurt their defensive core not having him in there.”

Doughty is third in points for the Kings this season with 60, and the Kings will now be without three of their top four defenseman.

“We’ve had a few injuries ourselves this year, and I think the biggest thing is getting used to a new defensive partner and understanding what guys want to do,” Schmidt said. “When it gets down to it, you have to rely on instincts. Sometimes the building gets loud and you can’t hear anything, you can’t hear your partner talking to you, and you have to know where he’s going to be.”

Los Angeles is now forced to play Oscar Fantenberg in the top defensive pairing alongside Alec Martinez. The two have only played 83:27 together this season, and Fantenberg averaged only 14:16 of ice time per game compared to Doughty’s usual 26:50.

“Guys will jump into those spots and work hard,” Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant said. “A lot of guys will have to play a lot more minutes for tonight’s game, but you know what, a lot of the times when opportunities like that arise for guys, they rise to the occasion.”

Carrier is expected to be in the lineup tonight. He didn’t play the final 10 minutes of Game 1 after the hit by Doughty.

“The league are asking when you get hit in the head to go in the back and talk to a doctor,” Carrier said. “There was like 10 minutes left in the game, so when I was trying to get back there was no time left. Everything feels good now.”

He led the game with 10 hits, and along with his linemates Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Tomas Nosek, provided a huge spark for Vegas on Wednesday.

“They played real well,” Gallant said. “When they’re on the ice, they control the play and they played real good. Any time you see that, you’re going to send them over the boards a little bit more. They deserve their ice time.”

The Golden Knights have a great opportunity to take control of the series, and with all of Los Angeles’ issues, the pressure to do so is mounting.

Prediction: Golden Knights 3, Kings 1

Playoffs record for predictions: 1-0

Season record for predictions: 38-26

Puck drops: 7 p.m.

Where: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas

Radio: Fox Sports 1340 AM and 98.9 FM

TV: AT&T SportsNet (DirecTV 684, Cox 1313, CenturyLink Prism 1760)

Betting line: Golden Knights minus-160, Total 5 minus-120 to the over

Golden Knights playoff record (1-0) (1-0 home)

Coach: Gerard Gallant

Playoffs goal leader: Shea Theodore (1)

Playoffs assist leader: Tomas Nosek (1)

Expected goalie: Marc-Andre Fleury (1-0, 0.00 goals against average)

Los Angeles Kings playoff record(0-1) (0-1 away)

Coach: John Stevens

Playoffs goal leader: None

Playoffs assist leader: None

Expected goalie: Jonathan Quick (0-1, 1.02 goals against average)

Golden Knights expected game day roster

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

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

Goalies (2): Marc-Andre Fleury and Malcolm Subban