Back from injury, Pacioretty regains goal-scoring touch for Golden Knights

By Justin Emerson

Tuesday, June 8, 2021 | 2 a.m.

DENVER — Admittedly, Max Pacioretty wasn’t himself when he returned two weeks ago for Game 7 against the Minnesota Wild in the last round of the playoffs.

Out with an undisclosed injury, he hadn’t played in almost a month — hadn’t even skated with the team. 

He played on mostly adrenaline that night in that win-or-go-home game, and despite not being at full strength, still mustered a goal. He hasn’t stopped scoring since. 

Pacioretty, who coach Pete DeBoer says is now playing at 100%, is a key to the Golden Knights’ success as they progress in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Vegas will again look to its leading scorer today at 6 p.m. in Game 5 of the second-round series against the host Avalanche. The series is even at 2-2.

“I think everyone’s feeling good about their game right now. I think I’m part of that group. However, it doesn’t take one game to mean you’re back,” Pacioretty said. “You’ve got to keep doing it night after night and I think as a unit of 20 guys these last two games that’s what we’ve done and that’s what we have to continue to do.”

He has registered a point in each of the playoff games he has played in, scoring in Games 3 and 4 against Colorado, and also registering a pair of assists.

“He’s our most dynamic forward, he can score from all over the ice, just a name that the other team has to circle and key on,” captain Mark Stone said. “He makes scoring goals look pretty easy and he scores them in different ways, so he’s been huge for us.”

His goal against the Wild was a one-timer from 16 feet out. His Game 3 goal to put Vegas on top of Colorado was a tip-in from 9 feet away and his latest goal on Sunday was a snipe from 46 feet. 

“When I met with (Pacioretty) after the bubble, I asked him to be open to adding layers to his game to be able to score this time of year,” DeBoer said. “Teams take away your rush, they’ll take away your one-timer. You want to have that multi-faceted offensive dimension to your game that you can score different ways, and this series is a perfect example of that.”

Pacioretty isn’t typically thought of as one of the NHL’s best, but he’s consistently performed since he came into the league.

Since establishing himself in 2010-11, he’s eclipsed the 30-goal mark five times, including 2019-20 with the Golden Knights. He had 24 goals in 48 games this season, a 41-goal pace over 82 games that would have been a career-best.

Since that 2010-11 season, Pacioretty ranks eighth in the NHL with 298 goals, firmly establishing himself as one of the top goal-scorers in the league for the past decade.

“It’s just great to see a guy that missed a little bit of time here, came back and since he’s been back he’s been strong,” said defenseman Nick Holden, who assisted on Pacioretty’s Game 3 goal. “He’s been obviously really good for us all year, but in the playoffs now it’s great to see him being able to score.”

Pacioretty has also made an impact defensively.

His line with Chandler Stephenson and Stone has shut down Colorado’s top line of Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog since Game 1 — a big reason Vegas has stormed back to even the series after falling behind 2-0.

“You can skate on your own as much as you want and try to get into shape as much as you want and even practices, it’s hard to simulate a game,” Stone said. “And for him to come into Game 7 and play the way he’s played throughout the playoffs, I think for sure he has another step to gain. That’s just how good he is.”