Golden Knights’ first line enjoys unique chemistry

Less than one minute into the second period of the Golden Knights’ preseason opener on Sept. 16, William Karlsson parked himself a few feet outside the trapezoid behind Arizona’s net and prepared to stop the puck as it rimmed around the boards.

A moment before the puck arrived on Karlsson’s backhand, the Knights’ center peeked over his left shoulder and spotted linemate Jonathan Marchessault streaking from the corner toward the front of the net.

With his back to the play, Karlsson sent a no-look pass to Marchessault, who slipped in his second goal of the game.

“I’m living the dream playing with them,” Karlsson said.

Four days later in Los Angeles, the duo was at it again.

Marchessault spotted Karlsson alone at the back post on a first-period power play, but Los Angeles defenseman Drew Doughty slid along the ice to take away that passing lane.

Undeterred, Marchessault lifted a cross-ice pass over Doughty that landed flat in front of Karlsson, allowing him to one-time a shot over Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick into the roof of the net.

By the end of the night, Karlsson, Marchessault and fellow first-liner Reilly Smith shredded the Kings with a combined four goals and 11 points.

They’re a good line. They weren’t fluky. They weren’t lucky. They played well, and they had an unbelievable playoff, too.

Coach Gerard Gallant, on the Golden Knights' first line

Even after a summer apart, their connection remains.

“You watch these guys, and they just blend so perfectly together,” said teammate Max Pacioretty, who faced the line twice last season with Montreal. “All three of them carry their weight. It’s like they know where each other are on the ice at all times. Every time they’re on the ice, they’re dangerous, and I credit a lot of that to chemistry.”

The Knights’ top line features three divergent personalities from two countries with one view on how to play.

Formed from a bit of serendipity, Karlsson, Marchessault and Smith terrorized teams during 5-on-5 play and were integral in the Knights reaching the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season.

Now that they’ve reached elite status, the spotlight falls on the trio to lead what should be a potent Knights offense.

“We’re a team that wants to play fast, and you don’t see one of us three gliding so much in the neutral zone,” Marchessault said. “We’re always go, go, go and supporting each other close. Some nights it’s going to be Karly that gets rewarded; some nights it’s going to be me or Smitty.

“I think we’re unselfish guys. We’re just pretty happy to be there for each other. I think we have a really good friendship together and it’s been great.”

Knights coach Gerard Gallant originally penciled in Vadim Shipachyov as the No. 1 center with Marchessault and Smith during training camp, but that group never clicked.

When Shipachyov was demoted in late October and ultimately shipped back to Russia, Karlsson was moved off the wing and handed an opportunity.

“I think we’re a unique line just because I think we’re pretty interchangeable,” Smith said. “All three of us cover for each other, and we all try to make plays. And some games, the puck’s going to hit people’s skates and passes aren’t going to go through. But I think one thing that made our line so successful in a plus-minus category was just that we covered for each other very well.”

All the ingredients for a successful line are there: the goal scorer (Karlsson), the creative playmaker (Marchessault) and the blue-collar talent (Smith). The only thing missing, it seems, is a catchy nickname.

Karlsson was third in the league with 43 goals and topped the Knights with 78 points. Marchessault added 48 assists and 75 points, both career highs, and Smith reached the 60-point mark for the first time in his career (22 goals, 38 assists).

The unit was second in the league with 46 goals at even strength, according to Corsica.Hockey, one behind Colorado’s top line of Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen.

Their ability to drive play also was reflected in the plus-minus rating (a statistic that shows the difference between goals scored by his team or opponents while he is on the ice). Karlsson led the league in that category, while Marchessault was second and Smith tied for seventh.

“We think the same type of game we want to play,” Karlsson said. “We try to keep the puck within ourselves. We’re not afraid to make plays. Sometimes we fail, but more often than not, I think it’s good plays and we create scoring chances off that.”

The Knights added Pacioretty, a five-time 30-goal scorer, and veteran point producer Paul Stastny to help shoulder the scoring load on the second line.

But Karlsson, Marchessault and Smith agree it will be tougher this season as they will be matched against opposing teams’ top forwards and defensemen every time out.

“After 20 games, everybody knew they were one of the top lines in the league. They’ll play the same way. Nothing’s going to change with them,” Gallant said. “They’re a good line. They weren’t fluky. They weren’t lucky. They played well, and they had an unbelievable playoff, too.

“To me, they were as good as any line in the NHL last year. I’d be happy if they did the same as they did last year. Real happy.”

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Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.