Vegas Golden Knights: Brandon Pirri ticking all the boxes early

Brandon Pirri knows the task he has ahead of him and he showed in his preseason debut that he’s more than up for the fight when it comes to cracking the opening night roster for the Vegas Golden Knights.

With Nikita Gusev now a member of the New Jersey Devils (and already tearing it up) and Erik Haula a member of the Carolina Hurricanes, there is a vacant spot on the third line and the Vegas Golden Knights are looking for someone to step up and provide secondary scoring in 2019-20.

Pirri, who has endured a chequered past in the NHL in terms of his consistency or lack thereof, played like a man possessed against the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night as the Golden Knights cruised to a 5-0 win to improve to 2-0 in the preseason.

Although the Avalanche didn’t have any of their big guns out on the ice, Pirri played with a real swagger to his game and was a physical presence too. He knows full well that his destiny is in his own hands and it will be up to him whether or not he’s on the opening night roster.

Playing on a second line featuring Valentin Zykov and Tomas Nosek, Pirri went off against the Avalanche and finished the night with two goals and an assist for three points, in addition to a plus/minus rating of +2. Not only that, but the wing also logged 14:45 minutes of ice time, including 3:10 on the power play.

Pirri’s two goals also epitomised what his game is all about, a boatload of skill combined with a wicked release and deadly accuracy.

The only downside to Pirri’s night was the fact that his linemates in Zykov and Nosek were also outstanding and both are battling for the left wing role on the third line. Zykov tallied a goal and an assist for two points, flashing his sublime puck handling skills and his body strength to shield and hold onto the puck for longer periods of time.

Nosek also had himself a night with two assists and he was used on both the power play and on the penalty kill, while he stayed true to himself by playing a physical game including dishing out two hits. In truth, Nosek is probably best suited to a role on the fourth line as a center alongside Ryan Reaves and William Carrier, leaving Pirri and Zykov to slug it out for the third line spot.

Zykov is a fascinating case study and it is clear to see that there is potential there, but Pirri is tried and tested in the NHL with only a lack of consistency hindering his career in the big leagues. However, he is trusted by the coaching staff and he actually flourished under Vegas Head Coach Gerard Gallant when the pair were at the Florida Panthers, tallying 24 points in consecutive years.

It is Pirri’s job to lose at this stage and, while he will know what is at stake here, he also took time to heap praise on Zykov following what was an outstanding night by the Golden Knights’ third line against Colorado.

"“The three of us have NHL games and they had a younger lineup, so we should dominate. I thought we had the puck a lot of the time but, at the same time, there is stuff we need to clean up for sure in the regular season. His (Zykov) talents, you can’t deny it, right, and when he holds onto the puck he has the confidence to make plays and I know what I am, so I try to get guys like that the puck and get to the net. It was a pretty special play he made to me on that last play and he’s capable of that.”"

Last night provided us with a tantalizing glimpse of what Pirri could become if he irons out certain kinks in his game. He’s got the potential to be a deadly scorer in the NHL and, just heading into his prime, the stage is now set for the forward to elevate his game to another level and become the potent weapon on the third line the Vegas Golden Knights crave.

And, if he can reproduce what he did on Tuesday for the rest of the preseason then it would be worth a wager that Brandon Pirri will be lining up on the left side of that third line come 2019-20 opening night on Oct, 2.