Golden Knights continue to surge after slow starts, even in loss to Canadiens

By Justin Emerson

Saturday, Jan. 18, 2020 | 7:48 p.m.

MONTREAL — The first period hasn’t been good for Vegas since the calendar flipped to 2020.

The Golden Knights fell behind 3-0 again on Saturday, marking the fifth time in seven games that they have faced that deficit.

Fortunately for Vegas the trend doesn’t stop with the three-goal deficits. Nearly every time it’s happened, the Golden Knights have responded by looking like the better team the rest of the game. That was the case Saturday at Bell Centre.

While the Golden Knights still lost 5-4 to the Montreal Canadiens, they showed once again that a three-goal hole does not quite mean the game is over. Vegas tied the game with 7.5 seconds, then fell in the shootout.

“I think we kind of knew that we could come back in that game and we did,” forward Jonathan Marchessault said. “At the end of the season that’s going to be a big point for us.”

In the five games this calendar year where the Golden Knights have fallen behind by three or more goals, they have responded with a terrific second period in four of those games. Including Saturday, they have outscored opponents 14-6 during those stretches.

Obviously, going down by three is a suboptimal strategy for winning games. The players have mentioned in the past the need to “start the game on time.” Considering how good they’ve been in the final 40 minutes of games lately, it’s encouraging to think just how good they would be if they got through a first period clean.

In the last eight games, Vegas has given up 15 first-period goals.

“Our starts need to be better, there’s no doubt about that,” Marchessault said. “It’s on us to be ready right off the bat, but tonight we came back so it’s not too bad.”

You don’t have to look hard to find positives out of Saturday’s game, even with the disappointing ending. Vegas pulled Marc-Andre Fleury for an extra attacker down two goals with 2:07 and scored nine seconds later, a point wrister from former Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty. The Golden Knights called a timeout with 35 seconds left, then scored with 7.5 seconds remaining in regulation, a deflection from Reilly Smith on a Paul Stastny offering.

Just like that the Golden Knights had erased a three-goal deficit for only the second time all season.

“That’s a big hole anywhere, particularly in this building,” coach Peter DeBoer said. “I thought it didn’t rattle us.”

Vegas was the better team from the start of the second period onward. It’s easier to focus on the positives in a game, but the first period continues to sting Vegas. The frustration on Saturday was that it’s not like the Canadiens outplayed the Golden Knights, it’s just that the Canadiens capitalized on their chances.

In the first period the Golden Knights only had one fewer scoring chance than Montreal, one fewer high-danger scoring chance and three more shot attempts in all situations. A few defensive breakdowns and one goofy bounce off a Vegas defenseman were the difference.

“They earned their goals. We had some opportunities that we didn’t execute on, we could have had a couple, too,” DeBoer said. “I’m not sure we deserved to be down 3-0 after the first but we were, and the good news is we handled that adversity the right way.”

In the second and third periods, the Golden Knights out-attempted the Canadiens, 40-26 in rallying to even the game. The first period was just too big of a hole to overcome, following a script that’s become all too familiar. If the Golden Knights can figure out their first-period woes then watch out, because if they do this team could get awfully dangerous.

“We have one really, really big game here before the break and we’ve got to make sure that we’re just prepared right from the puck drop to really come out and compete,” Pacioretty said. “We’re optimistic that we’re going in the right direction.”