Golden Knights power play silent in loss to Kings

By Justin Emerson

Published Sunday, March 21, 2021 | 5:40 p.m.

Updated Sunday, March 21, 2021 | 6:46 p.m.

Through what has been a tremendous first half of the season for the Golden Knights, the power play has been the most obvious flaw in what is a Stanley Cup-contending roster.

Entering Sunday, Vegas connected on just 18.4% of its power-plays to rank 23rd in the league. The power-play struggles were highlighted in a 3-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center on Sunday, where the Golden Knights went scoreless in four opportunities, including an extended 5-on-3 in the third period.

“We’ve tried everything,” captain Mark Stone said of the power play. “We’ve done different units, we’ve done different everything. We’re just not executing.”

The Golden Knights went to the man advantage just over two minutes into the third period when Jeff Carter tripped Nicolas Roy. Vegas was already 0-for-2 on the power play in the game, but had a great opportunity when Chandler Stephenson leveled a shot at the net 29 seconds into the penalty.

The call on the ice was that Chandler Stephenson scored for Vegas, but replay showed former Norris Trophy winner Drew Doughty sealed off the post in time to keep the puck out. But in doing so, he knocked the net off its pegs and was sent to the penalty box for delay of game.

That gave the Golden Knights 1:31 of 5-on-3 time, where they managed little. Defensemen Shea Theodore took all four of the shot attempts, none of them from closer than 28 feet from the net, and only one of them on goal.

“We’re trying a lot of different things,” forward Reilly Smith said. “Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t. I think we just didn’t execute tonight.”

In fairness to the Golden Knights, they were without leading scorer and top power-play weapon Max Pacioretty, who was scratched with a lower-body injury. He leads the team with 16 goals, but has also scored four of Vegas’ 16 power-play goals this season.

Vegas had a ferocious push for the rest of the third period, with 24 shots in the third period alone after having 18 in the first two periods combined. That’s where the Golden Knights scored their goal, when Tomas Nosek followed up his own shot with rebound off his hip and into the net to make it 2-1.

The Kings answered 55 seconds later with a Carter breakaway goal to restore their two-goal lead and dash any hopes of a Vegas comeback.

“We had a chance to get the goalie out down a goal and we give up a breakaway,” Stone said. “Obviously it’s deflating and hard to score two goals in this league with the goalie out. It doesn’t happen very often.”

After a sleepy first period where neither team generated anything dangerous offensively, the Kings struck first in the second. Sean Wagner poked it in after a scramble in front of the net in which Anze Kopitar appeared to bump into goalie Marc-Andre Fleury.

Vegas challenged for goalie interference, but officials ruled it was a good goal, as Brayden McNabb pushed Kopitar into Fleury.

The review hurt the Golden Knights, as the failed challenge resulted in a Vegas delay of game and a Kings power play, where Dustin Brown capitalized. He parked himself to the left of Vegas goalie Marc-Andre Fleury and easily tapped in Alex Iafallo’s feed.

After almost 26 minutes of action without a goal, Los Angeles scored twice in under a minute.

“That second period we just weren’t sharp enough and that’s coaches included — a poor challenge by us cost us a goal,” coach Pete DeBoer said. “They felt that there was contact with Fleury. When I got in at the end of the period and got a chance to really look at some different views, I think it was probably a marginal call and the refs probably got it right.”

The loss was Vegas’ first in four games against the Kings this season, but historically the Kings have had the Golden Knights’ number. Vegas has performed worse against the Kings than any traditional Pacific Division opponent with more losses than wins at 8-7-2 all-time.

It also snapped Vegas’ five-game win streak, one shy of tying a season-high.