Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024 | 11:20 p.m.
Almost immediately, as Brett Howden jumped onto the ice in overtime, defenseman Noah Hanifin knew he needed to get him the puck.
Deadlocked at three goals a piece with the Utah Hockey Club on Saturday night, Hanifin was looking to cap off one of his best performances as a Golden Knight with a win.
Hanifin quickly slid a pass to Howden and he did the rest, giving the Golden Knights a 4-3 victory over Utah. With a goal and two assists, Saturday was a game that Hanifin needed all season.
“That’s the game I’ve been trying to get to for a while,” Hanifin said. “Just getting up in the play, using my feet and skating ability. When I do that, I can try to open up some other things for other players.”
A lot of Hanifin’s game is based on his abilities to skate with the puck and create scoring chances. However, he’s struggled to get that part of his game going in the early season.
Coming into Saturday’s matchup, he had just three points in 11 games. In comparison, other defensemen like Alex Pietrangelo (12 points) and Shea Theodore (nine points) have quickly found a rhythm in complimenting the Golden Knights’ offense.
Hanfin hit his stride at the perfect time. In the dying seconds of the second period, Hanifin glided to Utah goalie Connor Ingram’s weak side. With less than a second left, Hanifin got his stick on a shot from Nicolas Roy and tipped it into the net to tie the game.
It was Hanifin’s first goal of the season and the spark he needed to open up his offensive game.
“Anytime something like that happens, you get balanced and get into the flow of the game,” Hanifin said.
Five minutes into the third period, he found William Karlsson wide open in space for the Golden Knights’ first lead of the night and assisted the eventual game-winner in overtime.
Hanifin’s offense is a critical part of his game and getting that going was important for not only him but also the entire team.
“That’s something he (Hanifin) counts on, expects to bring to the team and feels like he’s letting the team down if he doesn’t,” Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. “We know it’s there. We saw it last year. You’ve seen it (when Hanifin was) in Calgary and Carolina. It’s going to come, and sure enough, you’ve started seeing it a little lately.”
Having the Golden Knights defenseman be offensively involved is a vital part of Cassidy’s system. 12 games in, Pietrangelo has embodied that the most with a goal and 11 assists. Shea Theodore has followed with one goal and eight assists.
Seeing Hanifin double his season point total in one game puts him back where he needs to be.
“We need our D to be threats offensively,” Cassidy said. “All four lines are kind of humming in that regard. We’ve seen it from Petro (Pietrangelo) and Theo (Theodore). Let’s get Hanny in the mix.”
“The other three guys are going to bring offense, but not at the level the other guys are and hopefully they can grow that part of the game.”
In a game where a defenseman led the team in individual points, that is what the Golden Knights are looking for, especially going into the month with nine road games.
Vegas is still looking for its first road win of the year and will get another chance to accomplish that this week against the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday or the Seattle Kraken on Friday.
“We don’t want to be defending too much, so we’ve just got to keep building off this game,” Hanifin said.