The Golden Knights did not light up the scoreboard Tuesday night, but they handled the game they had to handle.
Vegas beat the Canucks 2-1 at Rogers Arena, stretching the winning streak to four games and pulling into a three-way tie for first place in the Pacific with the Oilers and Ducks at 88 points. Just as important, the Golden Knights kept pace in a race that now has almost no room for a wasted night.
Slow burn, right result
This one took a while to open up, even though Vegas controlled much of it from the start.
The Golden Knights outshot Vancouver 10-2 in the first period and spent long stretches in the offensive zone. Mitch Marner created several early looks, Pavel Dorofeyev tested Nikita Tolopilo, and Vegas kept winning draws and pushing the puck back up ice. Still, there was nothing to show for it.
Tolopilo turned away everything in the opening 20, and the Canucks managed to drag the game into the kind of lower-event night that can get annoying for a team trying to climb the standings. Then it got worse in the second.
Vancouver grabbed the lead at 12:50 of the middle frame when Max Sasson finished off a rush to make it 1-0. It was one of the few clean looks the Canucks found all night, but it gave them life in a game Vegas had largely controlled.
However, the Golden Knights answered before the period could get away from them. Brayden McNabb tied it at 15:46, snapping home his fifth goal of the season off setup work from Shea Theodore and Brandon Saad. It was an important response in a game that had started to feel a little too sticky for Vegas.
Third period, handled properly
The winner came from the right kind of line, and it fit the way the night was unfolding.
Cole Smith put Vegas ahead for good at 12:13 of the third, finishing Nic Dowd’s feed for his eighth goal of the season. It was not a highlight-reel play. Instead, it was a hard-working goal from a line that has made itself useful by keeping things simple and direct.
The Golden Knights did not need a track meet. They needed a clean third period, and they got one. Vancouver pushed late with the extra skater and a power play in the final two minutes, but Vegas closed it out.
Jeremy Lauzon came up with a pair of late blocks, McNabb helped seal the front, and Carter Hart turned aside the last real look to finish with 10 saves. That number says plenty about the game. Vegas gave up only 11 shots all night and just four over the final period. Meanwhile, the Golden Knights won 58 percent of the faceoffs, outshot Vancouver 28-11 and never let the game get loose.
Pacific race flips again
Now the standings look like this: Vegas, Edmonton and Anaheim are all tied at 88 points. Meanwhile, the Golden Knights have won four straight under John Tortorella after dropping three in a row before the coaching change.
It has not all looked the same. The Calgary and Edmonton wins had more punch, while this one was quieter. Still, it counted the same, and for a team trying to chase down the Pacific while sharpening its game at the same time, that was enough.
Up next
The Golden Knights continue the road trip Thursday night in Seattle, with puck drop set for 7 p.m. Pacific against the Kraken. After that, Vegas closes the swing Saturday in Colorado before returning home for its final two regular-season games, April 13 against Winnipeg and April 15 against Seattle.
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Dice City Sports editor Mark Hebert covers the Vegas Golden Knights, Las Vegas Raiders, Athletics, and UNLV baseball and softball. He has 24 years of journalism experience, is also a senior reporter at Exhibit City News, and previously covered the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers. Follow him on X or connect on LinkedIn.
