Friday, Dec. 20, 2024 | 2 a.m.
There were only three penalties in Thursday’s game between the Vegas Golden Knights and Vancouver Canucks, two of which were in Vegas.
In the top 10 as one of the best power-play teams in the league, the Canucks are a threat whenever they have the man advantage. However, Vegas gave them little to no chance to get going.
While the Golden Knights may not have the best penalty kill in the league — ranked 17th out of 32 teams — their special teams eliminated Vancouver’s chance of finding the back of the net.
The effort was key in Vegas’ 3-1 win over the Canucks.
“It was good that we only took two (penalties). That allows you to stay fresh, and we got clears,” Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. “We’re able to get the puck down the ice whenever we have a handle on it.”
A lot of attention was paid to removing defenseman Quinn Hughes from the game. He was limited to just two shots and no points. The defending Norris Trophy winner is second in defenseman points, trailing Colorado’s Cale Makar by three points.
The Golden Knights took away Hughes’ space, not giving him much time to set up the Canucks power play.
“We did a good job on limiting their opportunities,” Brett Howden said. “We kept them to the outside pretty good and on a lethal power play. They have some pretty good guys in there.”
There wasn’t much ice for either team to take advantage of, and two of the Golden Knights’ goals were off plays in tight spaces or quick shots.
Alex Pietrangelo scored off a slap shot from the point and William Karlsson found the back of the net off his own rebound right in front Canucks goalie Kevin Lankinen.
“That’s a good hockey team. They (Vegas) didn’t give us much and we didn’t give them much,” Canucks coach Rick Tocchet said. “They capitalized and got the empty net goal.”
“You’re hoping for someone to get something going there (power play). They’re (Vegas) taking Quinn (Hughes) away a lot, so he’s trying to dish it to some other guys.”
Thursday was also another testament to the Golden Knights’ depth. They stayed level after going down 1-0 and taking two “bad” penalties. Both Alexander Holtz and Pavel Dorofeyev were called for high sticking.
It was technically their 12th come-from-behind victory of the season.
“You’ve got a lot of Stanley Cup champions in there (locker room), so they know what it’s like,” Cassidy said. “They’ve been through this at different parts of the year throughout their careers, and more important parts in December. They understand the value in it.”
Vegas will have an edge in its next two games, taking on Pacific Division bottom dwellers Seattle (Saturday) and Anaheim (Monday).
The Kraken has lost four of its last five, including to Chicago, who is ranked 31st out of 32 teams. The Ducks have won back-to-back games but are two games under .500.