Vegas Golden Knights delivering when it matters most

What a difference a few games make. The Vegas Golden Knights are rolling right now and they are showing signs that they are hitting their stride at just the right time.

Prior to the start of this five-game homestand, the Vegas Golden Knights were slumping badly with a 2-2-1 record to begin the month of February.

They couldn’t get out of their own way and they were lurching from one disaster to the next in a year that hasn’t lived up to lofty expectations yet.

However, a return to home ice has sparked an upturn in fortunes with the Knights having now won three consecutive games.

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Vegas began the homestand by stunning the St. Louis Blues in a wild but error-laden 6-5 overtime win, before showing a different side to their game by grinding out a 1-0 shutout win over the New York Islanders.

And, on Presidents’ Day, the Golden Knights pulled off another statement win by beating the slumping Washington Capitals.

Nick Holden, Reilly Smith and Max Pacioretty all lit the lamp as Vegas raced into a three-goal lead, while Marc-Andre Fleury came up big as the Capitals attempted a third period fightback.

Furthermore, the Knights also stifled Alex Ovechkin and prevented the Great Eight from becoming only the eighth player in NHL history to record 700 goals for the fifth straight game.

While it wasn’t pretty, it was another example of the Golden Knights showing the mental fortitude to find a way to win and that is the hallmark of any elite team.

They suffocated the Capitals in the first two periods and went for the jugular, ensuring their dominance paid off.

As expected, Washington did fight back thanks to two goals from T.J. Oshie, but the Golden Knights weathered the storm and survived an onslaught.

That is a surefire hallmark of a contender and the Golden Knights played a real gritty game, the type of game that is more associated with playoff hockey.

But, entrenched in a Pacific Division that no team seems to want to win, the Vegas Golden Knights need to play playoff hockey every game and they have finally accepted that, stepping up to the plate emphatically in their last three outings.

You also have to beat the best in order to be the best and, in the span of less than a week, the Golden Knights have now beaten the last two Stanley Cup champions.

And, given the type of season the Capitals are enjoying, you could argue that Monday’s win was the most impressive of the bunch.

The Capitals are built to win another championship and the Golden Knights showed on Monday that they will have something to say about that.

Although a three-game sample size isn’t big enough to be totally convinced that the tide has turned, the Vegas Golden Knights are starting to deliver when it matters most and that’s what really counts.