Smith the hero in OT as Vegas Golden Knights take Game 2

It wasn’t always plain-sailing but the Vegas Golden Knights got the job done in Game 2.

Reilly Smith scored the game-winner at 7:13 in Overtime to help the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 and take a two-nothing series lead.

It all went according to plan at first for the Golden Knights after Paul Stastny one-timed a feed from Jonathan Marchessault past Corey Crawford midway through the first period.

Tomas Nosek made it a two-goal game soon after with a wrister, although the fourth-line grinder left the game late in the second period and never returned.

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As was expected, though, the Blackhawks displayed a lot of fight and rookie Kirby Dach recorded his first postseason goal early in the second period to make it a one-goal game.

It was then a tied game thanks to Calder Trophy finalist Dominik Kubalik, who beat Robin Lehner with a high wrister on the power play.

Mark Stone recorded his fourth goal of the postseason late in the middle frame, but it was a tied game once again after Dylan Strome lit the lamp late in what was a wild second period.

Both netminders came up big in the final period to set up Overtime, and it was Vegas’ points leader in The Bubble that came up with the goods with Reilly Smith putting home Paul Stastny’s centring pass at 7:13.

It was a huge win for the Golden Knights who could close out the series this weekend if they are able to win both games of a back-to-back.

Let’s break the game down period-by-period…

First Period

As was the case in Game 1 Vegas controlled play in the opening stages and they were soon rewarded for their dominance.

The second-line, which has been the Golden Knights’ best line so far in The Bubble, was at it again as Reilly Smith and Jonathan Marchessault combined to feed Paul Stastny who beat Corey Crawford with a one-timer at 10:44.

It was then a two-goal game after Tomas Nosek carried the puck in on the rush before firing a wrister under Crawford’s blocker.

Crawford was being kept busy by the dynamic duo of Smith and Marchessault alone, while Patrick Kane hit the post with Chicago on the power play late in the first period.

Both teams had seven shots on goal after the opening 20.

Second Period

Chicago came out fighting in the middle frame and they got on the board for the first time in the game at 3:17.

After both Patrick Kane and Calvin de Haan had shots blocked, the puck fell to Kirby Dach at the side of the net and the rookie was able to jam home the puck for his first goal in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

With Nick Holden in the box for interference, the Blackhawks went to work on the power play and they made it a tied game at 12:07 as Dominik Kubalik took a pass from Kane before going high to beat Robin Lehner with a wrister.

Looking to halt Chicago’s momentum, Vegas Head Coach Peter DeBoer threw Mark Stone on a line with Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith and it paid dividends.

Vegas did a good job of keeping the puck in the zone and Alec Martinez fired the puck towards the net, where Stone was able to take the rebound off his body before jamming the puck home.

However, it was soon a tied game again as Dylan Strome buried a pass from Patrick Kane on the rush.

Third Period

Vegas had outscored opponents 10-1 in the final period of games since the restart, but they started the third period without Tomas Nosek who had left the game in the second.

The Golden Knights had controlled play, outshooting the Hawks by a margin of 16-6 but the Hockey Gods decided that Overtime would decide Game 2.

OT

While we have seen other games go the distance and then some in Overtime, hello Tampa and Columbus, this wasn’t the case.

With just 7:13 played, Nick Cousins battled hard along the boards to dish the puck to Paul Stastny who then sent a centering pass over to Reilly Smith who beat Crawford to win it for the Golden Knights.

Let’s go over some notes & stats…

Notes & Stats

Here are some key stats from the game…

• SOG – CHI: 25 – VGK: 39
• FO% – CHI: 52% – VGK: 48%
• PP – CHI: 1/2 – VGK: 0/1
• PIM – CHI: 2 – VGK: 4
• HITS – CHI: 32 – VGK: 38
• BLKS – CHI: 20 – VGK: 27
• GVA – CHI: 12 – VGK: 18

Here was the Official Scoring Summary from the game:

• Paul Stastny (1) – Marchessault (3), Smith (4) – 10:44 / 1st
• Tomas Nosek (1) – Carrier (1) – 15:35 / 1st
• Kirby Dach (1) – de Haan (1), Kane (4) – 3:17 / 2nd
• Dominik Kubalik (4) – PPG – Kane (5), Toews (4) – 12:07 / 2nd
• Mark Stone (3) – Martinez (2), Marchessault (4) – 17:20 / 2nd
• Dylan Strome (2) – Kane (6), DeBrincat (4) – 19:46 / 2nd
• Reilly Smith (3) – Stastny (1), Cousins (4) – 7:13 / OT

Let’s go over some notes from Game 2:

• The Vegas Golden Knights now lead 2-0 in the series and Games 3 & 4 will be part of a back-to-back on Saturday and Sunday.
• It will be a huge weekend for the Golden Knights who could close out the series but, as we saw in the second period, Chicago won’t lie down easily and this series isn’t over just yet.
• Robin Lehner stopped 22 of the 25 shots he faced and he’s now 7-0-0 since being acquired by the Golden Knights at the NHL Trade Deadline.
• It has been 161 days since Vegas’ last loss, which is just incredible. Can they be stopped this year?!
• Max Pacioretty was declared “Unfit to Play” moments before puck drop in Game 2, while Tomas Nosek didn’t return after tangling with Jonathan Toews at the end of the second period. The Golden Knights will be hoping that both players are able to return soon, or the Taxi Squad will be coming into use.
• We mentioned in our Keys to the Game that keeping Patrick Kane quiet would be huge, but the superstar really came alive in this game. He had three assists for three points and was all over the ice, logging 24:06 minutes of total ice time.
• With a back-to-back over the weekend, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Marc-Andre Fleury got a start, maybe in Game 3.
• Reilly Smith is playing at an MVP level right now and the forward had another two-point night, including the OT winner. Smith now leads the Golden Knights in Stanley Cup points with seven (3 G, 4 A).
• Speaking of Smith, want to know a cool stat? Since being traded by the Florida Panthers in 2017, Smith has eight Playoff goals while the Panthers have just seven as a team. Just incredible.
• Nick Cousins and Nicolas Roy were massive in the buildup to Smith’s OT winner, and the Golden Knights really are getting contributions from up and down the lineup.
• Paul Stastny, who has been part of that monster second-line with Smith and Jonathan Marchessault, recorded his first points of the postseason with a goal and an assist, including the primary helper on Smith’s winner in OT.
• Tomas Nosek lit the lamp for the first time in the Playoffs this year thanks to a dish from William Carrier, but Nosek later left the game after tangling with Jonathan Toews.
• Marchessault had another two point night with two helpers, while Mark Stone recorded his fourth goal of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and his first of this series.
• The Golden Knights are as close as you can get to a perfect hockey team in the way they are constructed, and they are playing at the peak of their powers right now.
• However, how they approach the back-to-back this weekend will go a long way to deciding how quickly this series is determined.
• Kirby Dach recorded his first postseason goal and I really like this player, he’s a ready-made replacement for Jonathan Toews.
• Alec Martinez, who tallied a primary helper on Mark Stone’s goal, is going to be huge for the Golden Knights with his wealth of postseason experience and he led all Vegas skaters in total ice time with 26:50.
• Vegas again outshot the Hawks 39-25 but they lost out in the faceoff battle 52%-48%, and that is an area they will need to improve in.
• Another area of concern is the power play. Although they only had one opportunity, the Golden Knights went 0/1 on the man advantage and they have yet to record a PP goal this series. That will need to change.
• The Official Three Stars of the Game were: 1. Reilly Smith 2. Jonathan Marchessault 3. Patrick Kane.

Let’s look at our Three Stars of the Game…