Hughes Brothers too much for the Golden Knights

LAS VEGAS — If your name happened to be “Hughes,” Friday was a pretty good day.

At Keeneland in Lexington, Kentucky, a 2-year-old colt named Hughes won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and with it, favoritism status for next year’s Kentucky Derby. At T-Mobile Arena, the Hughes brothers, Jack and Luke, dominated in leading the New Jersey Devils past the Vegas Golden Knights, 5-2.

Jack, who had a pair of goals, probably should have had a hat trick, getting robbed by Adin Hill in the second period. Luke opened the scoring for New Jersey, which had Connor Hellebuyck in net for the second time after trading for the Olympic gold medalist last week in a blockbuster deal with the Winnipeg Jets.

But on a day where Hill was once again very good and at times, spectacular, the guys in front of him were unable to match New Jersey as Arseny Gritsyuk joined the Hughes boys as a hero with a pair of goals. The top line for New Jersey had four goals and five points total.

“We didn’t do a good enough job against them,” said Ivan Barbashev, who had the goal that briefly put Vegas in the lead. “We started turning the puck over and gave them everything they wanted to do. We have to play better.”

The loss, Vegas’ fourth in its last five contests, stifled whatever momentum the team had generated from Tuesday’s 4-1 win over Ottawa. The Knights now head to Boston to face the Bruins Monday to start a four-games-in-seven-days East Coast road trip that includes a back-to-back in Pittsburgh Tuesday night along with games in Detroit next Thursday and concluding in Buffalo a week from Sunday.

“We didn’t help ourselves,” Knights coach Ryan Craig said. New Jersey is a good team and they’re going to capitalize on your mistakes. But it starts with our puck play and turnovers. We didn’t check well enough and we just have to be better.”

The Knights failed to sustain any offensive firepower against New Jersey, a team that is looking to stay within shooting distance of first-place Carolina in the Metropolitan Division. Through two periods, Vegas managed just 15 shots on Hellebuyck, who gave up first-period goals to Mark Stone on the power play and to Barbashev, who put the Knights in the lead 2-1.

But it was short-lived success. Just 53 seconds to be exact as Gritsyuk scored the first of his two goals to tie it 2-2 with 1:09 left in the first period.

Jack Hughes scored the ultimate game winner and it was a beauty. He stole the puck from Jack Eichel, stickhandled around Mark Stone, sized Hill up and rifled the puck past him to make it 3-2. Hill would get revenge, sort of, making a sprawling save with his shoulder to deny Hughes later in the period.

But with the guys in front of him struggling to maintain control of the puck and get enough shots at Hellebuyck at the other end, it didn’t matter what Hill did. The Knights managed just 21 shots total Friday.

“Our execution wasn’t there,” said defenseman Shea Theodore. “Our physicality wasn’t there. We weren’t getting in on the forecheck and we had too many turnovers.”

If there’s a positive to come out of Friday it was Carter Hart was dressed and on the bench to back up Hill after injuring himself in Tuesday’s pregame skate at City National Arena. He was on the ice practicing Thursday and should be available on the upcoming road trip.

Looking for another bright spot from Vegas’ perspective? Defenseman Brayden McNabb played in his 900th NHL game Friday. Given his physical style of play and what he has been doing in his 10 years with the Golden Knights, it was something to acknowledge.

“He’s been a leader here from the start and he plays a good, hard game, so to watch him play, for him to get to 900, it doesn’t go unnoticed,” Theodore said of his longtime blueline partner.

Craig said he believes his team, which currently resides in second place in the Pacific Division, one point behind Edmonton, can get back on track on a trip that will pit them against the Atlantic Division leaders in the Bruins and the bottom two teams in the Red Wings and Sabres along with the Penguins, who are sitting sixth in the Metro.

“We’re creating opportunities. We haven’t finished well,” Craig said his team, which has just 11 goals in its last five contests. “We’re not playing with the lead as much as we had been earlier.

“When we manage the puck and we check, we’re going to create enough opportunities that are going to go in. (Friday), our guys responded from the first one to get two. We just have to stay with it.”