Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Golden Knights edged by Kings after sluggish start

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Steve Marcus

Vegas Golden Knights left wing Max Pacioretty (67) shoves Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty (8) in the third period during a preseason game at T-Mobile Arena Friday, Sept. 27, 2019. Pacioretty was called for roughing.

2019 Preseason: VGK vs Kings

Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury (29) is shown in the first period during a preseason game against Los Angeles Kings at T-Mobile Arena Friday, Sept. 27, 2019. Launch slideshow »

The Golden Knights liked to call Friday’s game a dress rehearsal. It was a lineup full of returning players, a strong representation of what opening night should look like next week.

The start of the rehearsal began poorly, but the second and third acts were strong, as the Golden Knights showed the intensity of a regular-season game in an eventual 3-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings at T-Mobile Arena.

“I thought it was a good game overall, but our start wasn’t great,” coach Gerard Gallant said. “I didn’t like us in the first, but I liked everybody after that in the second and the third.”

It was a sluggish first period and the Kings hopped out to a 2-0 lead, but the second period was perhaps Vegas’ best. Despite not scoring, the Golden Knights fired 21 shots at Kings goalie Jonathan Quick and looked the part of the elite team they want to be.

“We know what we have in this lineup,” forward Max Pacioretty said. “We all know in this room that we have great chemistry up and down our lineup, and being able to keep that throughout a year normally works wonders.”

Pacioretty was terrific, recording two assists — on Paul Stastny’s power-play goal and Brayden McNabb’s score at 5-on-5 — to give him a league-best nine points this preseason. He took his usual spot on the left wing alongside Stastny and Mark Stone, and the trio picked up right where they left off last year, taking 11 of the Golden Knights’ 42 shots on goal and nabbing four of the six points.

It was also a strong night for the fourth line, as William Carrier led the team with a shot attempt share of 66.7% when on the ice. He, Tomas Nosek and Keegan Kolesar (playing the role of Ryan Reaves on the right wing) were statistically Vegas’ most effective line, although it didn’t come against Los Angeles’ top lines.

The Golden Knights tried some experiments in the faceoff circle, allowing left winger Jonathan Marchessault to take the draws instead of center William Karlsson, who took the majority of them last season.

Faceoffs, though, are the most glaring weakness in Karlsson’s game, winning only 47.7% last year, and he took only one Friday (he lost it). Marchessault was worse last year, winning only 37.2% of the 247 he took. Friday night Marchessault was better, winning five of the 11 he drew.

Defenseman Jon Merrill had a rough night paired with Shea Theodore. On three occasions he pinched toward the puck in the neutral or attacking zone and let the puck get behind him. One of those led to the first goal, and another caught Theodore in a 3-on-1. Still, the pair finished with a 9-6 shot attempt advantage and 66.6 expected goal percentage at 5-on-5.

Marc-Andre Fleury made his second start of the preseason, batting away 26 of the Kings’ 29 shots. Forwards Alex Tuch and Cody Eakin were unable to finish the game, and the team did not provide an update, only to say it would know more Saturday.

“It’s good to feel that intensity again,” McNabb said. “It’s still preseason and we have a lot of work to do before the opener.”

The Golden Knights, 4-2 in the preseason, will conclude their exhibition schedule Sunday against San Jose at T-Mobile Arena before Wednesday's season opener against the same Sharks.

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