Golden Knights come out flat, lose to Kings in Salt Lake City

By Justin Emerson

Published Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021 | 10:16 p.m.

Updated Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021 | 10:35 p.m.

There was some novelty to Thursday’s preseason game, in that it was in Salt Lake City, a locale that had hosted only lower-level hockey in the past. Golden Knights coach Pete DeBoer would know, having played against the Salt Lake Golden Eagles in his IHL days.

“I haven’t been to Salt Lake in probably 20 years, so I’m looking forward to going back,” DeBoer said this morning.

His return to Utah was not triumphant. The Golden Knights coughed up a goal 1:48 into the game and never led, falling 3-1 to the Los Angeles Kings at Vivint Arena, home of the NBA’s Utah Jazz.

"Glad it's over," DeBoer said to the team' website after game. "There wasn't a lot to like there."

Here are three takeaways from the loss:

Tough night on defense

The Golden Knights ran out a blue line that included only four players with NHL experience — three who were in the NHL last season, two who were regulars last year and none who played in the top four. The unit struggled without its usual veteran presence.

The pairing of Kaedan Korczak and Daniil Miromanov in particular struggled, conceding both of the Kings’ first two goals. Korczak lost his man in front of the net on his first shift of the game, and in the second period Miromanov pinched up in the defensive zone to allow a Los Angeles odd-man rush.

In fairness to Miromanov, he did change the scoreboard in Vegas’ favor as well. The Kings were a little too focused on Nicolas Roy early in the third period, which allowed Miromanov to sneak into the offensive zone and collect Roy’s feed. He cocked his shot and pulled the trigger, sniping a missile by Los Angeles goalie and former Golden Knight Garret Sparks to trim the deficit to 2-1 at the 4:30 mark of the third.

Positives from the young players

Of note was Dylan Coghlan’s role on the power play. DeBoer has spoken highly of Coghlan all camp, saying he could run the power play of several teams in the league. On Thursday in the absence of Shea Theodore and Alex Pietrangelo in the lineup, Coghlan got that chance at the point on the top unit, and played admirably, even if Vegas did not score.

Another young player who stood out was top prospect Peyton Krebs, who has improved in each of his three preseason games this year. After two games in the bottom-six and with other players fighting for spots, Krebs got a shot alongside two NHL locks, Nolan Patrick and Evgenii Dadonov.

Krebs’ speed is apparent, and though he might not have a spot in the opening night lineup (Mattias Janmark looks slated for the left wing alongside Patrick and Dadonov), he’ll be playing at T-Mobile Arena before long.

Two players leave early

In less positive news, Robin Lehner started the game in goal, but ceded the net to rookie Dylan Ferguson for the third period. DeBoer said earlier in camp his preference is for goalies to play the entire game in the preseason, so Ferguson’s entrance was surprising. DeBoer said after the game it wasn't the plan for him to come out, and that his removal was "precautionary."

Lehner finished with 18 saves on 20 shots, and Ferguson had three saves on four shots.

Another player who may have been hurt was center Nicolas Roy. He left the game late in the third period after appearing to suffer and abdominal strain on a faceoff. He did not return to the game and DeBoer did not offer an update.