The Vegas Golden Knights have piled on the wins this season, finding unique ways to come out on top and did so on Friday against the San Jose Sharks.
Heading into the third period trailing by a goal and finding it difficult to slow down the young but high-flying Sharks, the Golden Knights were in search of a spark to change the game.
A penalty was called, but not in favour of the Golden Knights, but they used the penalty to flip the script. Alexander Holtz was called for a tripping minor just 50 seconds into the third period, but shorthanded goals from Brayden McNabb and Jack Eichel helped tie the game and take the lead.
McNabb’s goal started at 4-on-4 with the Sharks’ penalty, which carried over from the second period expiring. Eichel won the draw, which kickstarted the breakout. The puck found its way back to McNabb thanks to a pass from Eichel, and he pulled off the curl and drag shot that he has used successfully on multiple occasions.
“He’s just such a glue guy on the team,” said Alex Pietrangelo. “You love seeing a guy like that have success.”
Just 23 seconds after they tied the game, Mark Stone found a streaking Eichel who beat Alexander Wennberg up the ice setting himself up on a breakaway. The 28-year-old centre out waited Alexandar Georgiev to give the Golden Knights a 4-3 advantage.
Pavel Dorofeyev bumped his 11-game goalless drought to give the Golden Knights insurance with just over 14 minutes remaining in the third period. Dorofeyev wasn’t the only Golden Knight to end a drought. Eichel’s goal was his first in six games and McNabb’s was his first since Oct. 17 which was the fifth game of the season.
The Golden Knights have repeatedly shown that they can win games in a multitude of ways. They’ve shown the ability to shut teams down and win defensive battles, they’ve outscored their opponents in highly offensive games and have used to their special teams to alter games when they are struggling to grasp it. Their power play ranks sixth in the NHL and they have scored the second most short handed goals.
Experienced teams with a winning mindset know that each and every game is different. The gameplan they entered the game with could be executed to perfection or could blow up in their face but the Golden Knights have the mentality of staying calm and collected and finding a way to work as a team to win games.
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