LAS VEGAS — Ever watch one of those old movies from the 1940s where a lumberjack takes his axe and starts swinging at a tree?

It takes a while. But eventually, it’s “Timberrr” and the tree falls.

That’s what Saturday at T-Mobile Arena seemed like. The Golden Knights were swinging away at Justus Annunen, trying to get the puck past the Nashville Predators’ goaltender who was standing as tall as a California Redwood. It took nearly two periods, but Vegas eventually broke through and it would result in seven unanswered goals and turned a nail-biter into a laugher as the Knights won their seventh straight, beating the Preds 7-2.

“We’re winning right now and I think  there’s good positive energy,” Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said of the current successful run his team is on. “There was a stretch right before this where things were not going well. But now it feels like we’ve turned the corner here. A lot of that probably has to do with the puck going in the net.”

At one point, Annunen had stopped 22 straight shots and looked like he would get the better of Akira Schmid, who had allowed a Luke Evangelista first-period goal off a deflection. But Alexander Holtz got his own deflection to go in to tie it and shortly thereafter, Shea Theodore put the Knights up 2-1.

Then came the third-period siege with saw Pavel Dorofeyev, Mark Stone, Cole Reinhardt, Mitch Marner and Keegan Kolesar all score in less than 10 minutes to secure the win.

And while the Knights continue to get contributions from their top guys — Jack Eichel, Stone, Dorofeyev, Marner and Tomas Hertl — they are also getting points from their bottom six forwards. Saturday, Vegas got goals from Holtz, Reinhart and Kolesar and it has seen Braeden Bowman score as well earlier in the week in the overtime win over the Kings. It’s why the team has gone on a January heater and why Cassidy can maintain his lines without having to hit the blender button. And when you have continuity with your lines, it leads to comfortability.

“It’s great for the players’ confidence,” Cassidy said. “It’s important for the individual from where he is in his career. He has to adjust his game to help the team win. I was happy for Alex and  for the entire line. It got us going.

“We told Alex if you want to be a regular in the NHL, it’s 82 times a year. Enjoy this one, then prepare well for Monday’s game (vs. Philadelphia) and be consistent every night.”

Kolesar said that it changes the dynamic when the bottom six are contributing offensively.

“It takes some of the burden off the top guys,” he said. “You see it at the end of games. Guys get to play a little more and it keeps the top guys from having to play long minutes night in and night out.”

Saturday saw the return to action of former Golden Knight Jonathan Marchessault, who had missed 14 games for Nashville with a lower-body injury. He was rudely welcomed back in the second period when Jeremy Lauzon tried to launch him into the Nashville bench with a heavy hit. Marchessault didn’t appreciate it and swung his stick at Lauzon, his former teammate. Later, Nic Roy, who was with Marchessaut in Vegas and now in Nashville, went after Lauzon, but not much came of it.  

And with Schmid looking sharp in net — he gave up a late goal with 22 seconds left but finished with 27 saves — he kept his team in it until it solved Annunen.

“I’ve been working on competing for pucks, competing on rebounds,” said Schmid, who improved to 15-4-5. “I’m trying to be set for shots and give myself the best chance I can to make the save.

“Things are starting to click. We were in a little funk there but we worked hard in practice and at the end of the day, we have great players and they’re going to get back on track.”