Give any team back their captain and starting goalie, and things will start to improve. That's particularly true for the Golden Knights, who welcomed back Mark Stone and Robin Lehner for the first time since before Christmas and received solid contributions from both.
Stone scored what held up as the game-winning goal and Lehner allowed just one goal on 19 shots, while Jonathan Marchessault scored twice to help the Golden Knights take down the New York Rangers, 5-1 at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday.
Marchessault put the Golden Knights on top in the first period with a power-play goal, which New York answered with a Chris Kreider tally in the first minute of the second period. It was 1-1 then, which was also when the game opened up.
The Golden Knights failed to generate much at 5-on-5 in the opening 20 minutes, but in the second period things started to flow a little freer. Chandler Stephenson helped spring Stone and Evgenii Dadonov for a scoring chance, one which Stone, playing in first game since Dec. 21, redirected off his skate for a goal.
Ben Hutton and Keegan Kolesar helped set up Mattias Janmark for the next one in the second period, and a nice drop pass from Nolan Patrick allowed Brett Howden to score his second goal in as many games against his old team in the third. Marchessault fired home his second of the game on a 2-on-1 with 7:01 to go to cap the scoring.
Lehner picked up his 15th victory of the season in his first appearance since Dec. 19.
The Golden Knights led in final shots 35-19, the fourth game in a row and fifth in their last five where they had at least that many shots.
Golden Knights extend lead over Rangers in fast-paced second period
Play opened up quite a bit in the second period, and the goals followed. The New York Rangers got on the board for the first time, and the Golden Knights answered with two of their own to grab a 3-1 lead after 40 minutes at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday.
It took the Rangers just 51 seconds to tie the game on a shot Vegas goalie Robin Lehner would like to have back. Chris Kreider came down the wing and offered up a shot that looked like it should be a routine save, but Lehner was slow getting his glove up to the shot, and the puck bounced off his glove and into the net.
The Golden Knights restored their lead at 8:14 thanks to some nice passing between Mark Stone and Evgenii Dadonov. Stone got the puck to his teammate in prime shooting position and drew goalie Alexandar Georgiev to him, but instead Dadonov sent the puck back to Stone where Georgiev had no chance to get back to it. Stone directed it off his skate for his seventh of the season and a 2-1 Vegas lead.
Then Mattias Janmark stayed hot to extend the Golden Knights' advantage to 3-1. Ben Hutton started the play with a deep outlet pass off the boards which Keegan Kolesar touched over to Janmark to set it up. Janmark showed off some nifty stickwork to fight off the New York defender and beat Georgiev high for his fifth goal in his last five games at 13:08.
Vegas looked like the better team in the period and the score reflected it. The Golden Knights started to tilt the ice, and adjusted to New York's forechecking pressure from the first period to spread the ice in the second — both goals came off the rush.
The Golden Knights led 25-16 in shots on goal through two periods.
Golden Knights lead Rangers after first period
The Golden Knights and New York Rangers each had a good-looking power play in the first period. The difference in the game was that Vegas scored.
Jonathan Marchessault scored the only goal of the period, and the Golden Knights led 1-0 after a period at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday.
The game started fast and made sure both goalies were on their game. Robin Lehner made the first big stop of the contest, denying New York leading scorer Chris Kreider on a shot in close from the slot. Alexandar Georgiev was next, stopping Mark Stone on a 2-on-1 attempt and then Alex Pietrangelo's follow-up chance on the rebound.
The Golden Knights flirted with danger later in the period, when a Shea Theodore hooking minor set an effective Rangers power play to work. New York kept the Vegas zone for the full two minutes, and even hit the post once. It didn't hurt the Golden Knights in the end, and set up a more successful power play of their own.
Once Vegas got on the man advantage, it didn't miss its chance. Gerogiev made the first save, then a second, but when Marchessault jumped in and elevated the puck on his backhand, Georgiev couldn't stop it. Marchessault's team-best 17th of the season put Vegas up 1-0 with 1:25 to play in the first.
The Golden Knights led 11-8 in shots on goal.
Golden Knights welcome back Gallant, Reaves for clash with Rangers
The Golden Knights have already played their old coach and former bruising winger once this season, a shootout victory over the New York Rangers last month. Tonight will be different. Tonight will be the return of Gerard Gallant and Ryan Reaves to Las Vegas.
Both are sure to receive tribute videos and rousing ovations from the T-Mobile Arena crowd during the 7 p.m. game, as both were beloved during their tenures with the Golden Knights.
"I'm sure the fans will be excited to see them," forward Reilly Smith said. "We had a lot of success with those two guys, and they're definitely pretty special to this organization and how this organization started with such a successful first year. So I'm sure they've had this game circled on their calendars."
Gallant won the Jack Adams Award as league coach of the year in 2017-18 after guiding the expansion Golden Knights to a Pacific Division title and a Stanley Cup Final appearance. He coached two full seasons and parts of a third before he was dismissed in January of 2020, finishing with a 213-118-75 record. He did not coach last year, and was named Rangers head coach before this season.
Reaves didn't start the inaugural season with the Golden Knights but was traded to Vegas during the season. Fans quickly gravitated to his gregarious personality and physical style of play. He secured his place in team history with the game-winning and series-clinching goal in the Western Conference Final against Winnipeg in 2018. He played 209 games over four seasons with the Golden Knights before he was traded this offseason.
Vegas has established a tradition of honoring former players with a video on the big screen during the first period, and Reaves is sure to get one. The Golden Knights may not have welcomed back a former coach before, but Gallant is equally sure to receive acknowledgement.
"I bet they get a big ovation," defenseman Brayden McNabb said. "They're a big part of this franchise and the start of the franchise."
The game figures to be a good one. The Rangers lead the Metropolitan Division with a 22-8-4 record that surpasses even that of the Golden Knights' Pacific-leading 22-13-1.
New York has missed the 16-team playoffs the last five seasons (it reached the qualifying round in the 2020 bubble postseason) but looks to be on the right track with Gallant at the helm. The Rangers have also received stellar play from stars at all three position groups: goalie Igor Shesterkin, forward Artemi Panarin (who will not play tonight) and defending Norris Trophy winner Adam Fox all figure to be in the running for All-Star nods this season.
There's only so much a coach can do when facing his old team, but the Golden Knights seem excited about the thought of facing Reaves again, even if they admit they needed to keep their heads up to avoid being on the wrong end of one of his trademark hits. McNabb joked that even he, who has earned headlines for his massive hits this season, doesn't want to meet Reaves in open ice.
"I don't know, he's a big boy, probably a little stronger than I am," McNabb said jokingly. "I might have to give him the benefit of the doubt, but maybe if I got him unbalanced, maybe I'd win it."
TV: AT&T SportsNet (DirecTV 684, Cox 1313, CenturyLink 1760)
Radio: Fox Sports 1340 AM and 98.9 FM
Betting line: Golden Knights minus-150, Rangers plus-130; over/under: 6 (minus-110, minus-110)
Golden Knights (22-13-1, 45 points; 1st place, Pacific Division)
Coach: Pete DeBoer (third season)
Points leaders: Chandler Stephenson (34)
Goals leader: Jonathan Marchessault (16)
Assists leader: Chandler Stephenson (24)
Expected goalie: Logan Thompson (3.23 GAA, .885 save percentage)
Rangers (22-8-4, 48 points; 1st place, Metropolitan Division)
Coach: Gerard Gallant (first season)
Points leader: Adam Fox (35)
Goals leader: Chris Kreider (20)
Assists leader: Adam Fox (30)
Expected goalie: Igor Shesterkin (2.09 GAA, .936 save percentage)
Golden Knights projected lineup
Forwards
William Carrier—Chandler Stephenson—Evgenii Dadonov
Jonathan Marchessault—William Karlsson—Reilly Smith
Mattias Janmark—Nicolas Roy—Keegan Kolesar
Michael Amadio—Nolan Patrick—Brett Howden
Defensemen
Ben Hutton—Alex Pietrangelo
Shea Theodore—Zach Whitecloud
Brayden McNabb—Dylan Coghlan
Goalies
Robin Lehner, Logan Thompson
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