On Monday, the Vegas Golden Knights snapped a three-game losing skid with a 4-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks.
Neither team looked particularly motivated in the first period. The Golden Knights outshot the Canucks 10-7, but Vancouver generated more scoring chances.
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The Canucks broke the ice at 12:19 in the first. Jeremy Lauzon pinched, but couldn’t corral the fluttering puck; Jake DeBrusk took it back the other way on a 2-on-1 against Rasmus Andersson. DeBrusk got the pass across, and Evander Kane went forehand-backhand to score in his 1000th NHL game.
“We looked nervous in the first period,” said head coach John Tortorella following the 4-2 win. “We were slow. The second period was night and day.”
In the second period, the Golden Knights cleaned things up and took control of the game. They outshot the Canucks 15-10, and generated 20 scoring chances while holding Vancouver to just five. This manifested in a three-goal period.
The Golden Knights found the equalizer at 7:48 in the second after a hardworking shift by the third line. Kevin Lankinen made the save on Noah Hanifin, but Tomáš Hertl made a strong play on the rebound. Hertl found Rasmus Andersson driving the net, and Andersson had an empty net to shoot into.
The Canucks took the lead once more on the power play at 12:17 in the second. Filip Hronek fired a shot from the point, and Brock Boeser tipped it home from the high slot.
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The Golden Knights answered back five minutes later. Ivan Barbashev won a battle along the boards and found Shea Theodore all alone in the slot. Theodore picked his corner and beat Kevin Lankinen blocker-side for his ninth goal of the season.
The Golden Knights took their first lead of the night at 18:34 in the second. Brayden McNabb fired a shot-pass and found Reilly Smith backdoor, and Smith was able to elevate the shot over Kevin Lankinen’s outstretched glove.
The third period dragged on with very little action. Both teams generated just two high-danger scoring chances.
The Canucks, who were eliminated from playoff contention over a week ago, had very little to play for, and it showed. They pulled Kevin Lankinen for the extra attacker, but Cole Smith beat out an icing before scoring his first goal as a Golden Knight into the empty net.
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It wasn’t perfect. But tonight, the Golden Knights didn’t need perfection– they just needed a win.
1. John Tortorella began his tenure in Vegas with the lines the Golden Knights had used for the past five games. That didn’t last long. Before the end of the first period, the top six had a very different look.
“I switched the centers,” said Tortorella postgame. “I thought we looked stale offensively… We just looked tentative. I liked the way the lines progressed as we went through the game. I thought there was some chemistry there, and I thought everybody chipped in.
Tortorella singled out Mitch Marner as a player he wanted to continue experimenting with.
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“ I like Mitchy; I move Mitchy around quite a bit onto different lines. I think that’s something I may try a little bit more and bounce him around on different lines.”
2. All eyes in the hockey world are upon John Tortorella, who replaced Bruce Cassidy as head coach with just eight games remaining in the regular season. Tonight, he gave the people what they wanted, becoming the fourth head coach in franchise history to win his first game as head coach. It was his first time behind the bench as an NHL head coach since March 25th, 2025.
“There was some rust,” Tortorella said postgame. “I think, for half the game— and the boys let me do it— I was calling Dowd by a different name. I didn’t realize I was doing this. I’m sure you’ll hear about that eventually from these guys. But, yeah, it wasn’t too bad once I got a good feel for the lines… I’ve leaned on the coaching staff quite a bit. They’ve been great for me.”
3. The Golden Knights’ power play went 0-for-2 tonight against the 32nd-ranked penalty kill in the league. That in and of itself isn’t a major concern– nights like that happen over an 82-game season. However, in their last eight games, the Golden Knights are 4-for-26 on the power play. Three of those four goals came from the second power play unit.
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Their power play was their biggest strength earlier this season, and they’re still tied for 5th in the NHL. Five of their seven remaining games are against playoff hopefuls. The Golden Knights need their power play to return to form if they want to keep their foot on the gas heading down the stretch.
