Knights’ Pacioretty dishing out assists until his scoring prowess returns

By Justin Emerson

Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2019 | 2 a.m.

If you told Max Pacioretty before the season that he would have 11 points in the Golden Knights’ first 13 games, he might have believed you. But if you told him he would only have two goals, he might push back a bit.

Pacioretty has been a goal-scorer for most of his career, and only four times since his rookie year in 2009 has he finished a season with more assists than goals. This season, he leads the Golden Knights in assists but foresees more scoring in the near future.

“I’d like to produce a little more in the goals column, but that will come. The chances are there,” Pacioretty said. “Whether it’s goals or assists, it doesn’t really matter.”

Pacioretty’s career-high in assists was 34 in 2015-16, and he’s already more than a quarter of the way there. Of his nine helpers, seven were primary assists, meaning that Pacioretty fed the goal-scorer.

“Some nights it seems like you’re the one who’s forechecking every night and some nights you’re the one who seems to be getting the puck in the slot all the time,” center Paul Stastny said. “When you play with linemates who are aggressive like that and don’t just sit in one possession, that’s what’s going to happen.”

Stastny has been the biggest beneficiary of Pacioretty’s play-making. Pacioretty has assisted on four of Stastny’s five goals and has the primary assist on three of those. He’s also assisted on three of linemate Mark Stone’s seven goals.

The Pacioretty-Stastny-Stone combo has been arguably Vegas’ best line since Stone arrived in February. Through 13 games this season it’s been Stastny and Stone putting the puck in the net, but soon enough it’s going to be Pacioretty.

“Half the reason we’re getting these goals is because goalies respect him so much and he’s making nice plays,” Stastny said. “We’re not worried at all. When you get that many good looks and you’re that good of a player, the law of averages always kind of comes back.”

The players and numbers agree: The goals are coming. Pacioretty is shooting 3.7% this year, an enormous drop-off from his career rate of 10.9%. He’s played well enough to accumulate 4.15 expected goals despite just the two actual goals, and at 5-on-5 leads the team with an on-ice Corsi percentage of 58.0% at 5-on-5, according to Natural Stat Trick. He’s also hit the post three times already, most on the team.

It’s not that he minds racking up points, even if those are assists. The biggest change is on the power play, where he lines up on the wall now, ceding the middle of the ice to Stone. It puts Pacioretty in more of a quarterback position where he can either shoot or pass.

“I used to be strictly a passer then I became strictly a shooter, so to be able to be that dual-threat I think can be both beneficial to both me and the team,” Pacioretty said. “It’s been more of a conscious effort to make sure that I can do both. At times in the past I’ve either over-passed or over-shot, and you look at the best players and they’re able to do both.”

Pacioretty has posted a point total in the 60s five times in his career and could be well on his way to doing so again this year. Just expect that goals-to-assists ratio to skew more toward lighting the lamp the rest of the way.