Vegas Golden Knights right wing Jonathan Marchessault (81) celebrates after scoring past Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) during the first period of an NHL hockey game at T-Mobile Arena Saturday, Feb. 18, 2023. Vegas Golden Knights right wing Reilly Smith (19) is at center.
Published Saturday, Feb. 18, 2023 | 10:11 p.m.
Updated Saturday, Feb. 18, 2023 | 11:45 p.m.
Jonathan Marchessault isn’t going to get many high-stick deflections to go his way with nearly everyone taller than the 5-foot-9 forward.
Though he was confident that his second goal against his former team was going to count, it might have helped to have a slight growth spurt over the past seven years.
“Just got a little taller since the last time I was in Tampa,” Marchessault said.
It was that kind of night for Marchessault, who scored twice to end a drought that dated back to early January to help the Golden Knights pick up their fifth straight win, 5-4 over the Tampa Bay Lightning at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday.
Marchessault, who was a member of the Lightning organization from 2014-16, recorded his third multigoal game of the season — first since Dec. 13 — when he deflected teammate Shea Theodore’s shot with his stick that looked too high above the crossbar. Marchessault gathered the puck after bringing it down and tucked it past Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy.
A lengthy review from the NHL’s Situation Room in Toronto confirmed that Marchessault’s stick “was not above the normal height of his shoulders when he contacted the puck.”
“I thought my stick was around my shoulders and it hit the bottom part of it,” he said.
That goal, controversial or not, was the perfect way to cap off a wild first period that propelled the Golden Knights (34-18-4) to their fifth straight win out of the All-Star break. Without question, it’s their most impressive of this run.
Theodore had a goal and two assists in that opening 20 minutes that featured six total goals, and Brett Howden scored for Vegas. Adin Hill made 20 saves to win his fourth straight start.
“I think we’re more resilient. We’ve played a full 60 minutes instead of a sloppy area of our game for half a period,” Marchessault said. “Our effort has been better and our support has been better as a unit of five out there.”
Breakthroughs have been the theme for the Golden Knights since coming back from the All-Star break. Jack Eichel (nine games) and Reilly Smith (13 games) have both found the back of the net in recent games, to name a few examples.
Marchessault didn’t seem frustrated when asked earlier in the week if he felt pressure to end his 13-game drought. He just felt like it would come sooner or later.
His first goal was the product of that confidence. He had two shots on Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy; the first one bounced off his mask. After the Golden Knights reloaded near the blue line, Marchessault found a soft spot at the left faceoff circle and his wrist shot beat Vasilevskiy to tie it 2-2.
In the narrow view, that goal tied the game. But it was the second time the Golden Knights tied the game in a span of 2:07. Tampa Bay opened the scoring at 6:10 on a deflection from Vlad Namestnikov, only to be answered seven seconds later from Brett Howden to tie it.
Just 40 seconds later, Lightning captain Steven Stamkos scored a one-timer on the power play to restore the Tampa lead, to which Marchessault answered immediately.
“Whenever you can respond like that, you’ll take it,” defenseman Brayden McNabb said. “The guys in front did a good job.”
Theodore gave Vegas the lead for good at 14:20 of the first which was capped off by a nifty passing effort between the defenseman, Reilly Smith and William Karlsson. Marchessault added his second goal three minutes later.
While the Golden Knights appeared to turn a corner with these four wins, they weren’t the most impressive victories; defeating a struggling Nashville team, Minnesota on a back-to-back, along with bottom-of-the-division Anaheim and San Jose.
“This is the time of the year that we’ve got to step up,” Marchessault said. “There’s no easy game this time of the year. Good teams find a way to win hockey games. Right now, we’re doing it.”
This was the measuring-stick game the Golden Knights needed to have. It wasn’t going to be the cleanest game defensively against one of the best offenses in the league, but Vegas blocked 19 shots, four of them from McNabb.
After giving up the goal to Stamkos, the Golden Knights’ penalty kill responded with two impressive kills in the second and third periods to keep Tampa Bay off the board.
Having played in three straight Stanley Cup Finals, the Lightning have played plenty of hockey the past three seasons. There are bound to be lulls in their game this time of year before the playoffs start. Look no further than Tampa’s 1-0 shootout loss in Arizona on Wednesday.
But given where the Golden Knights were going into the break, and where they are five games out of it, getting this win was not lost on them. It had the big-fight energy on a Saturday night on the Strip that brought feelings of yesteryear.
No matter how many punches the Lightning threw, the Golden Knights came back with their own haymakers.
“Going into the break, it was a tough stretch. There were games where we played well and liked our game but didn’t score or find ways to win,” said McNabb about Vegas going 1-5-2 before the bye week. “Now we are finding ways to win. (Tampa) is a good team. For us to get a win, a big win, and play well in the third, it speaks well for our confidence.”
Danny Webster can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Danny on Twitter at twitter.com/DannyWebster21.
