Defense, Quick shut the door on Canes

Coming off the big win against the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Vegas Golden Knights were looking to make a statement against the Carolina Hurricanes. As a result, the Golden Knights came away with a 4-0 shutout win in Raleigh, sweeping the season series following their epic win against them in Vegas. The win gives Vegas a total of 86 points on the season and puts them a point ahead of the Los Angeles Kings for first in the Pacific Division.

Marchessault gets #20 to give Vegas the lead

The Carolina Hurricanes started the game off by trying to get a fast goal on the Golden Knights as Stefan Noesen, Jesse Puljujarvi, Martin Necas and Sebastian Aho got shots off within the the first two minutes of the game. After an icing call with 16:52 left in the opening frame, Brett Howden would give the Golden Knights their first shot of the game. Off a face off 20 seconds later, Jack Eichel would fire off a shot while van Barbashev would recover the Frederik Andersen save,

The Golden Knights would maintain possession of the puck and then with 15:57 left in the period, Jonathan Marchessault would get the first goal of the game via an assist from Alex Pietrangelo. The goal would be Marchessault’s 20th of the season. After the goal, Keegan Kolesar and Teddy Blueger would get off a pair of shots before an icing call. Brady Skjei, Aho and Noesen would get their opportunities against Quick with about 10 minutes remaining in the period but Quick was there to make the stop.  Later in the period, Paul Cotter and William Karlsson would get into the act but Andersen was there to make the save.

Golden Knights 1, Hurricanes 0 – 1st Intermission

The Breakdown….

Overall, a very good start for the Golden Knights. While they did give the Hurricanes some good opportunities, Jonathan Quick seems to be very motivated in between the pipes. The Golden Knights are playing against one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference and the way they are playing is going to go a long way towards a deep playoff run.

Smith adds to lead with 22nd goal

After the first three minutes of back rotating possessions, the Carolina Hurricanes attempted to even the score as Shayne Gotisbehere, Noesen and Calvin de Haan would get shots on Quick, but Quick was there to make the sabe in each instance. Moments later, Phil Kessel with 16:14 left, gave the Golden Knights their first shot of the period but Andersen was there to make the stop.

With 12:46, Jacob Slavin would give the Hurricanes their best opportunity to tie it up on a deflected shot that was saved by Quick. A minute and change later, Howden was called for hooking on Aho, giving Carolina the first power play of the game with 11:19 left in the period. Necas, Svechikov and Aho had opportunities, but Quick, once again was there to keep the Canes off the board. Pietrangelo, Brayden McNabb and Reilly Smith all got opportunities but Andersen was there.

Barbashev got a great chance with 6:53 remaining in the second but was stopped short by Andersen. Aho a couple of seconds later would get called for hooking on Eichel giving the Golden Knights their first power play of the game. Outside of a Theodore shot that went wide, Vegas was not able to capitalize on the man advantage. A couple minutes after the power play, the Golden Knights would get a gift as Reilly Smith would put the Golden Knights up two goals. It was Smith’s 22nd goal of the season and Karlsson’s 30th assist on the year.

Golden Knights 2, Hurricanes 0 – 2nd Intermission

The Breakdown…

Putting together two solid periods is all well and good to this point. Keeping the Hurricanes at bay and making sure they stay off the scoreboard is exactly what the Golden Knights need at this point. We could get used to the way Quick has played in between the pipes. It has been nothing short of spectacular.

Defense, Quick shut the door on Canes

The third period began with Carolina getting a pair of shots off from Puljujarvi and Pesce but  Quick was there to make the save. The Golden Knights would have to wait until just over the four minute mark to see any signs of life in the period. Shea Theodore would get a shot off that went over the net, then  William Karlsson would get another chance seconds later but Frederik Anderson was there to make the save.

After an Andrei Svechnikov shot was saved by Quick with 12:46 remaining, Brady Skjei hit the goalpost right off a faceoff. The Golden Knights defense continued to be stellar as Chandler Stephenson and Nic Hague would block a pair of shots in the Carolina offensive end with just over 10 minutes remaining. Quick would continue to make several solid saves.

With 7:00 minutes remaining, an Alec Martinez shot was blocked by Jordan Martinook, then recovered by Kessel, who passed it off to Stephenson and then to Pietrangelo before it hits Cotter’s stick and into the net with a three on one rush. The goal by Cotter, which is his 12th of the season, would increase the score by three with 6:50 left to go.

The Golden Knights defense and Quick in net would ultimately hang on for a 4-0 win over the Hurricanes. The fourth and final goal came with 1:24 left off the stick of Howden via a Teddy Blueger pass.

Golden Knights 4, Hurricanes 0 – Final

Game Notes

• With the win, the Golden Knights become the first Western Conference team to reach the 40 win mark. Their record stands at 40-20-6 on the year with 86 points.
• Jonathan Quick made 33 saves against the Hurricanes and it is his first shutout since November 8 when the Los Angeles Kings shutout the Minnesota Wild 1-0. It is Quick’s third win as a Golden Knight.
• The Golden Knights will face the St. Louis Blues on Sunday evening at 7:00p ET/4:00p PT from St. Louis. The Blues are 29-31-5 on the year with 63 points.
• If the season ended today, the Golden Knights would get the Winnipeg Jets in the first round of the playoffs, The Dallas Stars would get the Edmonton Oilers in the first round. The Golden Knights are one point ahead of Dallas for the overall Western Conference lead and are also one point ahead of the Kings in the Pacific Division standings. Third place Seattle have 81 points.

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