On Monday, the Vegas Golden Knights snapped a three-game losing skid with a 4-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks.<\/p>\n
Neither team looked particularly motivated in the first period. The Golden Knights outshot the Canucks 10-7, but Vancouver generated more scoring chances.<\/p>\n
Advertisement<\/p>\n
The Canucks broke the ice at 12:19 in the first. Jeremy Lauzon pinched, but couldn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe looked nervous in the first period,\u201d said head coach John Tortorella following the 4-2 win. \u201cWe were slow. The second period was night and day.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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 Tom\u00e1\u0161 Hertl made a strong play on the rebound. Hertl found Rasmus Andersson driving the net, and Andersson had an empty net to shoot into.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Advertisement<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s outstretched glove.<\/p>\n
The third period dragged on with very little action. Both teams generated just two high-danger scoring chances.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Advertisement<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t perfect. But tonight, the Golden Knights didn\u2019t need perfection\u2013 they just needed a win.<\/p>\n
1. John Tortorella began his tenure in Vegas with the lines the Golden Knights had used for the past five games. That didn\u2019t last long. Before the end of the first period, the top six had a very different look.<\/p>\n
\u201cI switched the centers,\u201d said Tortorella postgame. \u201cI thought we looked stale offensively\u2026 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.<\/p>\n
Tortorella singled out Mitch Marner as a player he wanted to continue experimenting with.<\/p>\n
Advertisement<\/p>\n
\u201c I like Mitchy; I move Mitchy around quite a bit onto different lines. I think that\u2019s something I may try a little bit more and bounce him around on different lines.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was some rust,\u201d Tortorella said postgame. \u201cI think, for half the game\u2014 and the boys let me do it\u2014 I was calling Dowd by a different name. I didn\u2019t realize I was doing this. I\u2019m sure you\u2019ll hear about that eventually from these guys. But, yeah, it wasn\u2019t too bad once I got a good feel for the lines\u2026 I\u2019ve leaned on the coaching staff quite a bit. They\u2019ve been great for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
3. The Golden Knights\u2019 power play went 0-for-2 tonight against the 32nd-ranked penalty kill in the league. That in and of itself isn\u2019t a major concern\u2013 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.<\/p>\n
Advertisement<\/p>\n