Golden Knights’ third-period dominance masks early-game challenges

By Justin Emerson

Monday, Jan. 18, 2021 | 11:30 p.m.

It’s a good thing hockey games go all three periods, because if the Golden Knights stopped playing after 40 minutes, their season might be off to a much different start.

Vegas improved to 3-0 on the season with a 4-2 victory over the Arizona Coyotes on Monday at T-Mobile Arena. They won in a way that’s quickly becoming a pattern in this shortened and still-young season. In three games, the Golden Knights have trailed or been tied going to the third.

They’ve outscored opponents 7-0 in the third, showing the kind of fortitude teams need to win but also the weaknesses of needing that level of dominance to come out on top.

“That’s one of the qualities that this team has,” Vegas forward Chandler Stephenson said. “That’s something that’s huge here. Big games and big situations, this team is never out.

“It’d be nice to do that for a full 60, but it’s still early. We're working some kinks out.”

Forward Max Pacioretty called it a “sense of belief” on Saturday that the Knights would come back to win. Coach Pete DeBoer on Monday said it’s a “veteran team that has a lot of confidence in their ability to win games.” Forward Reilly Smith shrugged it off and said, “we’re professionals, we’re supposed to be able to play for 60 minutes.”

Whatever it is, the Golden Knights have shifted into overdrive in the final period of the game. In the third period and overtime, Vegas has a plus-8 goals differential, a plus-12 differential in shot attempts and have generated 64% of the expected goals, according to Natural Stat Trick.

Granted, that it’s been taking that long for the offense to show up is problematic. In the first and second periods this season, Vegas has scored three goals. It’s a credit to the defense and goaltending that the Golden Knights have not faced a deficit bigger than the two-goal hole they were in Monday, leaving them in position to strike.

“The first 40 minutes we played just well enough to give ourselves a chance to hang around,” DeBoer said. “Thankfully that was enough.”

Through those 40 minutes, Vegas was severely outplayed by the Coyotes. The Golden Knights gave up the first two goals of the game on special teams, allowing a short-handed goal in the first and a power-play tally in the second. Through two periods Arizona led in shots 28-15.

A Pacioretty goal late in the second seemed to revitalize the Golden Knights, who shut down the Coyotes after that. They didn’t allow an Arizona shot in the third until past the halfway mark, and the second didn’t come until there was 4:29 left in the game.

In the meantime Smith and Stephenson both scored, turning a one-goal deficit into a one-goal lead. The Coyotes put on some good pressure late when they pulled goalie Darcy Kuemper and received a 6-on-4 power play in the final minute, but a Smith empty-netter from the other side of the arena put the game to bed.

The three goals against Kuemper came from an average distance of just over 7 feet, an emphasis by Vegas to get to the net and in the goalie’s face. Sometimes they’re pretty — Smith had a really nice goal on a pretty feed from William Karlsson — and sometimes they’re not — Stephenson’s deflected off his back while his stick was on the ice.

“Last game we didn’t do too well getting to the net-front, so that’s something we wanted to do tonight,” Stephenson said. “Right place, right time. One of those lucky ones you’re thankful to get.”

The Golden Knights will take their third-period heroics, but they certainly can’t rely on them. Neither Arizona nor Anaheim is expected to be offensive powerhouses this year, and better offensive teams could put the Golden Knights in too deep of a trench to emerge from.

It’s a credit to Vegas’ goalies that hasn’t happened. Robin Lehner, who made 31 saves on 33 shots Monday and won on opening night, and Marc-Andre Fleury, who won Saturday’s game, have combined to stop 72 of 77 shots. That’s a .935 save percentage, and the kind of production Vegas was hoping for out of its highly paid goalie tandem.

It’s clear the Golden Knights are happy with the results, if not fully pleased with the process. Still, they are one of two remaining undefeated teams, and the other is the defending Stanley Cup champion Lightning who have only played twice. They also have a two-point lead in the West Division, so they’re not going to quibble too much with the outcome.

“In a short season like this, you take as many wins as you can and they’re not all going to be great-looking wins,” DeBoer said. “But a win is the most important thing.”