Golden Knights use second period to run away from Kings

The Golden Knights used a three-goal second period tonight in a 4-1 win over the visiting Los Angeles Kings to extend their home winning streak to six games.

Vegas improved to 14-2-1 at T-Mobile Arena, where on Wednesday it again will host the Kings looking to finish March with an undefeated home record.

Vegas trailed 1-0 entering the second period, but an early power-play goal by Reilly Smith erased the deficit and marked the last time the Golden Knights trailed. Tomas Nosek and Nicolas Hague scored about 90 seconds apart, and Vegas left the second period in a 3-1 lead.

Former Los Angeles defenseman Alec Martinez added an insurance goal for Vegas in the third period, scoring on a rebound attempt after shot from Keegan Kolesar was blocked.

The Kings scored first exactly a minute into the game on a Matt Roy snipe. The Kings had 10 of the first 13 shots in the game in the first 10 minutes, but sizzled after that with just 14 in the final 50 minutes. They still finished with a 25-24 edge in shots on goal.

Robin Lehner started in net and picked up the win for Vegas making 23 saves. Since his return from a concussion on March 19, Lehner has stopped 62 of 66 shots in three games for a 3-0 record save percentage of .939.

Strong second period puts Golden Knights on top of Kings

The Golden Knights entered the second period in a one-goal deficit and left it with a two-goal lead.

Vegas scored three times in the middle period and kept the Kings scoreless, flipping the game around and grabbing a 3-1 lead after two periods at T-Mobile Arena on Monday.

The Golden Knights' puck movement on their first power play of the game was pristine and resulted in their first goal of the game. A smooth zone entry led to some tic-tac-toe passing and when it didn't lead directly to the goal, it had goalie Jonathan quick on his back and out of position to turn away Reilly Smith's offering to tie the game 4:04 into the second period. Assists went to Jonathan Marchessault and Mark Stone.

Each side followed up Vegas' successful power play with an unsuccessful one as the Golden Knights continued to control play. They had the ice tilted for much of the second period and cashed in again late in the frame.

It was a bit of a broken play that scored for Vegas, as Zach Whitecloud's attempt at the net went wide. It took a fortuitous bounce behind the Kings goal and right to the crashing Tomas Nosek, who put it home for a 2-1 Golden Knights lead. It also continued Nosek's personal hot streak with his fourth goal of the season and eighth point in his last eight games.

The goals just kept coming from the bottom of the Golden Knights' lineup. Nosek's fourth-line goal put Vegas on top and Nicolas Hague's third-pair goal extended it. Marchessault set the puck on a tee for Hague, who walked it and slapped it into the net for a 3-1 lead with 2:06 to go in the period.

The Kings led in shots on goal 20-19 through two. Vegas will have 19 seconds of carry-over power-play time when the third period begins.

Golden Knights fall behind Kings after first period

It wasn't a great first period for the Golden Knights, but after some rockiness to start they settled in well. Still, the Los Angeles Kings scored the only goal of the period and Vegas trailed 1-0 at the first intermission on Monday at T-Mobile Arena.

Vegas was almost a victim of a freak play early in the game when Shea Theodore stick-handled the puck into a referee's skate in his own zone, leading a turnover. The shot was turned aside, but the Kings almost scored.

And nine seconds later, the Kings did score. Gabe Vilardi pushed off a Vegas check and found Matt Roy, who stepped in from the blue line and ripped it through traffic to give Los Angeles a 1-0 lead one minute into the game.

The first half of the first period was a mess for the Golden Knights. When Nicolas Hague took a holding penalty at the 7:06 mark, it sent Vegas to the penalty kill in a 10-3 deficit in shots on goal. The Kings didn't have a shot goal during the power play, but spent almost the full two minutes in the Vegas zone.

In fact Vegas held the Kings without a shot for over nine minutes including the Los Angeles power play, and started to push the puck down the ice well. The Golden Knights created havoc in front of the Kings goal and though they didn't score, looked like a different team after killing the initial penalty.

Los Angeles led in shots on goal 13-9.

Pre-game

Since the Golden Knights entered the league in 2017, no Western Conference team has had a better points percentage. In that same span, no Western Conference team has accumulated fewer points than the Los Angeles Kings.

The on-ice meetings between the teams have not played out that way. The Golden Knights have lost more regular season games than they've won against the Kings (8-7-2), a conundrum they'll look to decode in their 7 p.m. game today at T-Mobile Arena.

"It's almost the same team we played in the playoffs," Vegas forward William Carrier said. "The big guys, they hit hard, they got some speed and you've got to respect that. It's so tight in this league, anyone can beat anyone any night."

The Kings reached the postseason in 2018 and were promptly swept by the inaugural Golden Knights. They've been rebuilding since, but not so much in the games against Vegas. Remember, it was Los Angeles that kept the Golden Knights from a franchise-best nine-game winning streak last year, and the Kings outplayed Vegas last weekend, even if the Golden Knights are 3-1 against them this year.

The Kings will be dangerous in a few years when their abundance of prospects arrives, but even now they're a top-heavy team with remnants of their Cup winners that has given Vegas fits. Captain Anze Kopitar remains a true top-line center, defenseman Drew Doughty is enjoying a bounce-back season and Dustin Brown leads the team with 14 goals.

Those three also run one of the league's best power plays. Los Angeles connects at a 24.3% clip that is eighth in the NHL and tops in the West Division. Throw in solid goaltending on most nights, and it's easy to see why even a struggling team can be a problem any given night.

"When you have that formula — if your goaltender's on and your power play finds a way to get on the board — you're really giving yourself a good chance to win, both home and on the road," Vegas coach Pete DeBoer said. "It's a good hockey team, well-coached, and it's going to be a good test for us."

Vegas returns home after a quick two-game trip to Colorado to a barn in which it has been dominant. The Golden Knights have a 13-2-1 record at T-Mobile Arena, and only the Penguins have more wins this season on home ice. Vegas struggled at times last season to win at home, but this year the built-in advantages are paying dividends.

"We're comfortable here," defenseman Shea Theodore said. "We like playing here and I think we have some of our best games at home."

The Golden Knights won't have Alex Pietrangelo, who has missed the last 11 games with an upper-body injury, back tonight, but he's getting closer. He participated in morning skate, the first time he's been on the ice since the March 6 game in San Jose. He is considered "day-to-day," DeBoer said.

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Betting line: Golden Knights minus-220, Kings plus-190; over/under: 5.5 (minus-115, minus-105)

Golden Knights (23-8-1, 47 points; 1st place, West Division)

Coach: Pete DeBoer (second season)

Points leader: Mark Stone (39)

Goals leader: Max Pacioretty (18)

Assists leader: Mark Stone (27)

Expected goalie: Robin Lehner (2.55 GAA, .898 save percentage)

Kings (13-13-6, 32 points; 6th place, West Division)

Coach: Todd McLellan (second season)

Points leader: Anze Kopitar (37)

Goals leader: Dustin Brown (14)

Assists leader: Anze Kopitar (29)

Expected goalie: Jonathan Quick (2.91 GAA, .898 save percentage)

Golden Knights projected lineup

Forwards

Max Pacioretty—Chandler Stephenson—Mark Stone

Jonathan Marchessault—William Karlsson—Reilly Smith

Keegan Kolesar—Cody Glass—Alex Tuch

William Carrier—Tomas Nosek—Ryan Reaves

Defensemen

Alec Martinez—Shea Theodore

Brayden McNabb—Dylan Coghlan

Nicolas Hague—Zach Whitecloud

Goalies

Robin Lehner, Marc-Andre Fleury