Goilkden Knights looking to get on late-season roll

LAS VEGAS — Are we about to witness a late-season heater by the Golden Knights?

Perhaps, in light of Saturday’s 4-0 win over the Chicago Blackhawks at T-Mobile Arena. It’s two wins in a row, which granted is a modest sum. But for a team which had been struggling since returning from the Olympic break and is trying to find itself, winning two straight is the kind of thing that can ignite a club to bigger and better things.

Saturday’s win, combined with Anaheim’s loss in Ottawa earlier in the day, catapulted the Knights back into first place in the Pacific Division with 76 points, one point ahead of the Ducks. And halfway through this critical four-game homestand which still has a hot Buffalo team coming to town Tuesday and always pesky Utah on Thursday, the Knights are showing signs of getting back to their game at the right time.

“Our bottom six is getting involved, and I’ve said it before, it’s good for our team when we get dragged into the fight like that,” coach Bruce Cassidy said of his team playing with a bit of a chip on its shoulder and showing a willingness to engage with the other team while doing it smart. “Our group has always stuck together. We’re winning those slot battles because we’re a big team and if that’s what we need to get us going, then great.”

A three-goal first period against Chicago set the tone for a fruitful evening. Adin Hill started his fourth straight game in the Vegas net and he looks like he’s developing a rhythm to his play. Even a gaffe in the second period where he lost control of the puck only to be bailed out by Tomas Hertl who got his stick on what would have been a sure-goal for the Blackhawks, did not set him back.

He would stop all 21 shots he faced in gaining his first shutout of the season.

“We’ve had a couple of wins now, a couple of good first periods,” Cassidy said. “Adin Hill’s found his rhythm. I think our guys have been good defending the middle. Our issue has been pluck management.”

Yes, the return of Mark Stone, who had a pair of assists Saturday, accounts for a lot of the Vegas revival. And certainly getting Mitch Marner back on the wing is working. The VGK power play was good, registering a pair of goals from Pavel Dorofeyev, who now has 34 goals this year, in five extra-man opportunities.

The newest Knights, and I’ll include Rasmus Andersson in this, as well as Nic Dowd and Cole Smith, are fitting in and starting to contribute. Andersson in particular, looks like he’s finally comfortable with his new team. He scored 8:25 into the contest from inside the right circle to make it 2-0. Twenty-six seconds later, Keegan Kolesar’s hard work paid off as he won a puck battle, then beat Spencer Knight to make it 3-0.

Obviously, it’s an easier game to play when you’re not chasing it and given this is as healthy as the Knights have been in a while and figure to be the rest of the way barring any more injuries, we’re starting to see some continuity in the lines Cassidy rolls out along with the defense pairings.  Remember, this team was without Brayden McNabb, its best defensive defenseman, for quite a while and just got him back after the Olympic break. He was sorely missed.

And there may be a little puck luck working its way into the scheme of things. Chicago appeared to have scored early in the third period but the goal was wiped out after the Knights challenged that there was a hand pass prior to the goal. Sure enough, the hunch was right.

But when you play the game the right way, as the Knights are starting to do, you create your own luck. With 15 games remaining, momentum becomes an important element for Vegas. Not just to guarantee a spot in the playoffs, but to be playing well once the postseason begins.

“Some of those things are going our way now,” Cassidy said. “They tend to even out a little bit. But we should be able to put out fires when things break down.”