The hope when you acquire a new player is that he jumps right into his new team and starts contributing right away. So the Golden Knights have to be pleased with what they've received from goalie Robin Lehner.
Making his second start with his new team, Lehner recorded his first shutout of the season, turning away all 27 shots from the New Jersey Devils and guiding Vegas to a 3-0 win on Tuesday at T-Mobile Arena.
After stopping 32 of 34 shots in first start last Friday, Lehner's save percentage with Vegas rose to .967.
Going into the third period the Golden Knights led by just a goal. You'd rather have a lead than be trailing, of course, but it seemed like Vegas was letting the Devils hang a little close, especially after the strong second period that New Jersey had.
So William Karlsson took care of that. He scored 37 seconds into the period to give the Golden Knights the 2-0 lead. The goal was the 100th of his career, with assists to Max Pacioretty and Nicolas Roy. That line contributed Vegas' first goals and its first five points.
It was also the second period in a row that line scored on the first shift. In the second period, Pacioretty sniped one 45 seconds in, thanks to an assist from Karlsson, the first points in a two-point night for both.
The Karlsson goal put the Golden Knights up by two, but they weren't quite done. Near the nine-minute mark of the third, a scrum developed in front of the net, and Ryan Reaves was there to finish the job. No one quite knew where the puck was except Reaves, who jumped in and jammed home his eighth of the season at 8:49 to put Vegas up 3-0.
The Golden Knights led in shots on goal for the game 32-27.
Golden Knights score first, grab lead over Devils
The Golden Knights saw more pressure come their way in the second period, but they were the one that scored the goal. Vegas was outshot 11-8 in the middle period on Tuesday at T-Mobile Arena, but led the New Jersey Devils 1-0.
William Karlsson started the game's lone scoring play, breaking out of the Vegas zone with a pretty backhanded pass that hit Max Pacioretty's stick in stride, and Pacioretty did the rest.
Pacioretty walked in on Mackenzie Blackwood and took a shot that for most players is just the typical "getting pucks on net." Pacioretty though, has made a career of making those kind of shots go in. His wrister beat Blackwood high to the short side with no benefit of a screen or deflection, and the Golden Knights led 1-0 at the 45-second mark of the second.
The Devils had a power play later in the period when they brought their first sustained pressure of the game. It took a couple of big saves by Robin Lehner and the fortunate placement of a post to keep New Jersey off the board, but none of its 12 shot attempts in a five-minute span lit the lamp.
The Devils' second power play was less dangerous, generating one shot on goal.
Pacioretty had another grade-A chance late the period, taking a behind-the-net pass from Nicolas Roy and firing an open look from the slot. It was swallowed this time, but Pacioretty had a strong offensive period from bell to bell.
The Devils took over the game's lead in shots on goal, 20-19.
Golden Knights, Devils scoreless after one period
If the first period was a football game, the Golden Knights spent it establishing the run to set up the deep pass later. Vegas was the better team in the opening 20 minutes, but did not pot one and the score with the New Jersey Devils remained 0-0 at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday.
The third line generated a strong shift a third of the way through period, and Chandler Stephenson was at the middle of both. He was down low near the net on the first attempt and couldn't get a shot off and on the second he dinged the post. Brandon Pirri forced a turnover to get the second try, and Stephenson beat Mackenzie Blackwood on the breakaway but hit iron.
The first line then responded with the best shift of the game. It was another turnover that kicked things off with Jonathan Marchessault playing the role of playmaker, and with him as a screen on Mackenzie, Nick Holden had a strong point shot that Paul Stastny almost rebounded into the net.
The Golden Knights had a power play late in the period and did not score despite generating a few chances. It was a strong period for Vegas, which spent a majority of the time in the New Jersey end.
Vegas caught a break with the end of the period, as the horn sounded just as former Golden Knight Nikita Gusev forced a takeaway and raced down the ice for a breakaway.
The Golden Knights led in shots on goal 12-8 in the first, and 23-12 in attempts.
Golden Knights wrap up long home stretch against Devils
The Golden Knights have turned their home fortunes around.
A Sunday night loss to the Kings notwithstanding, the Golden Knights have put together a string of wins at T-Mobile Arena. After starting the year just 14-10-4 in Las Vegas, they won seven in a row at home.
But they're not going to have the home-ice advantage much the rest of the season. After tonight, the Golden Knights will play only four of their remaining 14 games at home, which shows the importance of picking up another home victory when the New Jersey Devils come to town at 7 p.m.
"Every time you get a chance to play in front of the fans at T-Mobile, you want do your best for them and obviously keep what we have going moving forward," Vegas defenseman Zach Whitecloud said.
Tonight's game closes out a four-game homestand for Vegas and is the final game in a stretch that included nine of 10 games at home.
The Devils may be well out of a playoff spot, but they're not going to be an easy out. They have won four of their last six games and haven't lost in regulation in two weeks. They sit in last place in the Atlantic Division and are looking at another season in the draft lottery.
After losing to the bottom team in the Pacific in the Kings two nights ago, the Golden Knights know not to take it easy.
"Real similar (to the Kings) — nothing-to-lose attitude, lot of speed, lot of skill, they're getting great goaltending, their special teams have been real good lately," Golden Knights coach Peter DeBoer said. "This is another real tough game for us that we can't take lightly."
"I don't think we took (Los Angeles) lightly, I just think that it was one of those games that we got behind and pushed hard but couldn't get back in," DeBoer said. "Hopefully we can fix the 'get behind' thing tonight."
The Golden Knights have allowed a goal on the opponents' first shot in the last two games and have surrendered the first goal in six of their last nine games.
Tonight's game will feature former Golden Knight Nikita Gusev playing for New Jersey. Gusev signed an entry-level deal with Vegas during the playoffs last year and despite being eligible, he never appeared in a game. He was then traded to New Jersey in the summer for a pair of draft picks.
After a shaky start to the year, Gusev leads the Devils in assists (30) and is second in points (42). He is riding a six-game point streak on which he has nine points.
He's not the only Devil coming in hot. Goaltending was an issue for the Devils for most of the season, but they appear to have found some stability in 23-year-old Mackenzie Blackwood. He gave up four goals on 30 shots to the Golden Knights in December, dropping his save percentage to .896 for the season. In the 24 games since, he has a .932 save percentage and is expected to start against the Golden Knights tonight.
DeBoer spent four seasons as Devils head coach from 2011-15, which included an Eastern Conference title in 2012. Tonight will be the ninth time he has faced his old team.
The Golden Knights are 3-1-1 all-time against the Devils, including a 4-3 win on Dec. 3 in New Jersey. They are 1-1 against the Devils at home.
TV: AT&T Sports Net (DirecTV 684, Cox 1313, CenturyLink 1760)
Radio: Fox Sports 1340 AM and 98.9 FM
Betting line: Golden Knights minus-300, Devils plus-220; over/under: 6 (minus-105, minus-115)
Golden Knights (36-23-8, 80 points) (21-11-4 home), first place, Pacific Division
Coach: Peter DeBoer (first season)
Points leader: Max Pacioretty, Mark Stone (63)
Goals leader: Max Pacioretty (30)
Assists leader: Mark Stone (42)
Expected goalie: Robin Lehner (2.98 GAA, .919 save percentage)
Devils (26-27-12, 64 points) (14-17-2 road), eighth place, Metropolitan Division; eighth place, Wild Card
Interim coach: Alain Nasreddine (first season)
Points leader: Kyle Palmieri (23)
Goals leader: Nikita Gusev (30)
Assists leader: Kyle Palmieri (43)
Expected goalie: Mackenzie Blackwood (2.71 GAA, .916 save percentage)
Golden Knights projected lineup
Forwards
Jonathan Marchessault—Paul Stastny—Reilly Smith
Max Pacioretty—William Karlsson—Nicolas Roy
Brandon Pirri—Chandler Stephenson—Nick Cousins
William Carrier—Tomas Nosek—Ryan Reaves
Defensemen
Brayden McNabb—Nate Schmidt
Alec Martinez—Shea Theodore
Nick Holden—Zach Whitecloud
Goalies
Robin Lehner, Marc-Andre Fleury
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