Blog: Golden Knights take down Panthers for 5th straight win

By Justin Emerson

Published Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020 | 4 p.m.

Updated Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020 | 9:48 p.m.

The Golden Knights were up against the third-best offense in the league in goals scored in the Florida Panthers. They had a two-goal lead in the third, gave up one and had a fight to the finish to keep a lethal offense from getting just one more.

Instead, the Golden Knights had the last laugh, sinking an empty-netter with 1:17 left in the game and finished off a 5-3 victory over Florida at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday. It was Vegas' fifth-straight win, sweeping the homestand.

It was 3-2 going to the third, meaning there was plenty of game left. One game after Ryan Reaves scored 10 seconds into the third period to take control of the game, Reilly Smith did almost the exact same thing.

It took 19 seconds this time, but the Golden Knights took advantage of a poor Florida play in its own end. Jonathan Marchessault fed Smith at the right circle, who unleashed an angry one-timer into the net.

It was Smith's 24th goal of the season, one shy of his career-high, and gave Vegas a 4-2 lead.

The Golden Knights got to enjoy the two-goal lead for about five minutes before the Panthers got it back. Marc-Andre Fleury couldn't defend an Alexi Saarela shot from his back, and Vegas challenged the goal to find out why he was on his back to begin with. It turned out two Golden Knights pushed two Panthers into Fleury, and the call stood, making the score 4-3 Vegas at 5:11 of the third.

Smith added his second of the game, against an empty net as time wound down in the third.

The Panthers scored the first goal of the game and led 1-0 and 2-1 at different times. Mike Hoffman scored in the first and after Vegas tied it, Evgenii Dadonov had the second. On both occasions the Panthers were shooting on a wide-open net, the first after Vegas left the crease open and on the second thanks to some perfect power-play puck movement by Florida.

All three of Vegas' goals meanwhile trickled in after Florida goalie Sam Montembeault got a piece but not all of them. First was Tomas Nosek in the first period going between the legs. Next was Carrier getting a piece off the glove, then Max Pacioretty nicking part of Montembleau's gear late in the second to give Vegas a 3-2 lead after two periods.

Vegas led in final shots on goal 39-35.

Golden Knights grab lead on Panthers after 2

The Golden Knights gave up an early goal in the second period, then roared back with a dominant 19 minutes and took a 3-2 lead over the Florida Panthers into the third period at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday.

The Panthers started off the second period with the kind of scoring play that will make coaches giggle. Florida had 1:46 of carry-over power-play time and made it count. Evgenii Dadonov finished the goal, and it's kind of a shame they only give out two assists on a goal.

Jonathan Huberdeau started it with a zone entry then dished to Keith Yandle. He snapped a quick pass to Aleksander Barkov, who just as quick fed Dadonov on the other side of the net for a tap-in goal. Patrick Roy in his prime wouldn't have stopped it, and the Panthers grabbed a 2-1 lead 42 seconds into the second.

It led to a Florida lead on the scoreboard that didn't match the way the period went. Vegas all over the Panthers, including another strong power play that came and went without a goal. It was frustrating for Vegas, until it pounced and scored a goal that might have had a little puck luck on it.

It was the second goal of the game for Vegas and the second goal that Sam Montembeault should have stopped. This time it was William Carrier going high to the glove side, and Montembeaault got his glove on it, but it deflected off and into the net at 12:39 to tie the game.

Perhaps Vegas should have already scored a pair of goals, with a shots-on-goal lead at that point that doubled up Florida 28-14. But sometimes when a team is rolling like Vegas is, good things happen.

A scary moment happened late in the third when Nicolas Roy was plastered into the boards by Florida's Noel Acciari. William Carrier responded with a hit and after a scrum, and Acciari and Carrier were both sent to the box. That gave the game two minutes of 4-on-4 action, a state in which the Golden Knights have scored five times this season and have given up zero.

So naturally, Vegas scored to take the lead. Shea Theodore picked the Panthers' pocket and created a 2-on-0 with himself and Max Pacioretty, and after Theodore fed the puck, Pacioretty finished. It put Vegas up 3-2 with 52 seconds left in the period.

The Golden Knights outshot the Panthers 17-6 in the second period and led 33-16 for the game.

Golden Knights, Panthers even after 1

It's always more fun to watch a hockey game when it's intense right from the opening puck drop. That was Saturday's Golden Knights-Florida Panthers game. The game started on a lightning pace, and after 20 minutes the score was even 1-1.

Both teams combined for seven shots on goal in the first four minutes, including five from the Golden Knights. It was the Panthers' shot that began the scoring.

There wasn't much Marc-Andre Fleury could do on Florida's first goal. The Vegas defense evacuated the net-front area, allowing the Panthers to swarm the crease. Fleury turned away Mark Pysyk's first shot, but couldn't stop Mike Hoffman from putting home the rebound at 3:38 for an early 1-0 lead.

Vegas looked disjointed early on. There were miscommunications in the defensive zone and passes in the offensive zone that were just a bit off. Sometimes though, even broken plays can yield big results.

Take Vegas' first goal of the game. Ryan Reaves had control of the puck and though it bounced off his stick, Tomas Nosek was there to pick up. He took a shot, and though Sam Montembeault got a piece of it, it trickled into the net at 11:52 to tie the game 1-1.

The Golden Knights had one power play in the period but did not score, though Jonathan Marchessault hit the post.

Vegas led in shots on goal 16-10.

Gage Quinney to become first Nevada-born player in NHL history for Golden Knights

His father played five seasons with the old Las Vegas Thunder. It was right after the 1994-95 season that Gage Quinney was born, and tonight, nearly 25 years later, the younger Quinney will make history for the Golden Knights.

Quinney is set to make his NHL debut when the Golden Knights take on the Florida Panthers at 7 p.m. at T-Mobile Arena. He will become the first Nevada-born player in NHL history. For a team whose moniker is "Vegas Born," the Golden Knights will have a player who embodies that literally.

"Getting that chance is awesome," Quinney said. "I'm just focused on playing tonight and enjoying it."

Quinney has been terrific in 42 games with AHL Chicago this season, registering 14 goals and 32 points. The playmaking center went undrafted out of the Western Hockey League and spent time in the Penguins organization before coming to Vegas last season.

It's a homecoming for Quinney, who addition to being born in Las Vegas also spent time with the Las Vegas Storm junior teams. He will play on the fourth line tonight between Tomas Nosek and Ryan Reaves.

"I think it's huge, and it's a testament I think to USA Hockey and the NHL and (its) expansion into markets that are nontraditional and where hockey's going," Vegas coach Peter DeBoer said. "I think it's fantastic, and I'm sure he's the first of many to come."

Quinney's debut comes in the final game of a five-game homestand. The Golden Knights have won four games, all against playoff teams.

The Panthers enter tonight's outside of a playoff spot, but only barely. They have had a resurgent season under first-year coach Joel Quenneville and the 7-2 beatdown Vegas gave them two weeks ago is not indicative of the talent gap between the two teams.

In fact, the Panthers have as many standings points as the Golden Knights in one fewer game played, while also in a tougher division. Florida is third in the NHL in goals scored this year, and the Panthers will pose another tough challenge for a team on its hardest stretch of games so far.

"We're on a good little run right now, but we cannot be satisfied with that. We've got to keep going and focus on tonight," Golden Knights forward Jonathan Marchessault said. "They have a really good team with a lot of high-skilled forwards. They're going to be ready for us. They're going to give us a good battle, and we've got to be ready to push back."

Vegas is 3-1-1 all-time against the Panthers, including 2-0 at T-Mobile Arena.

TV: AT&T Sports Net (DirecTV 684, Cox 1313, CenturyLink 1760)

Radio: Fox Sports 1340 AM and 98.9 FM

Betting line: Golden Knights minus-200, Panthers plus-170; over/under: 6.5 (minus-110, minus-110)

Golden Knights (32-22-8, 70 points) (18-10-4 home), first place, Pacific Division

Coach: Peter DeBoer (first season)

Points leader: Mark Stone (59)

Goals leader: Max Pacioretty (28)

Assists leader: Mark Stone (38)

Expected goalie: Marc-Andre Fleury (2.79 GAA, .906 save percentage)

Panthers (32-23-6, 70 points) (16-11-4 road), fourth place, Atlantic Division; fourth place, Wild Card

Coach: Joel Quenneville (first season)

Points leader: Jonathan Huberdeau (76)

Goals leader: Evgenii Dadonov (24)

Assists leader: Jonathan Huberdeau (54)

Expected goalie: Sam Montembeault (3.30 GAA, .890 save percentage)

Golden Knights projected lineup

Forwards

Jonathan Marchessault—Paul Stastny—Reilly Smith

Max Pacioretty—William Karlsson—Mark Stone

William Carrier—Chandler Stephenson—Nicolas Roy

Tomas Nosek—Gage Quinney—Ryan Reaves

Defensemen

Brayden McNabb—Nate Schmidt

Nick Holden—Shea Theodore

Alec Martinez—Zach Whitecloud

Goalies

Marc-Andre Fleury, Malcolm Subban