Golden Knights make the Pacific Division much more interesting
Derek Hegna
Host · Writer
When the Vegas Golden Knights hired John Tortorella amidst a challenging stretch of play, many fans and pundits expressed curiosity and a dash of skepticism about if the change was going to awaken the sleeping giant.
Three games into the Tortorella era, however, and the team now finds themselves just one point away from another Pacific Division crown.
On Saturday, the Golden Knights got their final road trip of the regular season started in emphatic fashion, leaving the Edmonton Oilers in the dust with a 5-1 victory.
The Golden Knights needed to be at their best early on, and they responded with one of the best first periods in recent memory. They were eventually rewarded for their efforts thanks to the play of Jack Eichel, who beat Jake Walman in the defensive zone with a pass to himself off the wall to get a clear lane to the net. After his shot deflected off of Oilers goaltender Connor Ingram, Brett Howden picked up the rebound to get the Golden Knights the first goal of the game, as well giving himself scores in back-to-back games.
Eichel’s assist on the goal is his 80th point this season, marking the first time a Golden Knight had crossed the 80-point threshold in consecutive seasons.
The second period would see the Golden Knights continue to roll, starting with Mitch Marner driving play once again. After trying to move the puck towards the slot, Marner was finally able to weave a pass through an Oilers defenseman to find Colton Sissons all alone. The veteran forward was able to get an easy tap-in off of the backhand to double the lead for Vegas.
Just two and a half minutes later, Jeremy Lauzon was finally able to find the scoresheet for the Golden Knights. After Jack Eichel drifted to the right to lure the Oilers defenders towards him, he found Lauzon near the opposite side faceoff circle. The defenseman was able to use a screen to fire a puck that Ingram was not prepared for, and he finally got his first tally as a Golden Knight, as well as his first in 113 games.
It was not all sunshine and roses for Vegas, however, as Evan Bouchard would take advantage of a failed clear to cut the lead to two before the end of the middle frame.
While the Oilers would get an early power play to start the third period, it would be the Golden Knights shifting the momentum after another strong penalty kill effort. They would quickly get the puck into the offensive zone, ending with Ivan Barbashev finding Mark Stone for a deflection to beat Ingram and restore the three-goal lead.
In a fitting end, former Calgary Flame Rasmus Andersson was the one to put the final dagger into Edmonton with a late power-play point shot to secure the 5-1 win.
Carter Hart was excellent in his second start since returning from injury, only allowing one goal on 32 shots.
The Golden Knights will hope to keep their winning ways intact when they head to the next leg of the road trip on Tuesday against the Vancouver Canucks.
