3 takeaways from Golden Knights’ Game 3 win over Blackhawks

Just a hunch, but Gerard Gallant probably watched the Golden Knights’ game Saturday. If he did, the team’s former coach may have also had a small smile of satisfaction on his face.

The Knights went back to a pair of top-six line combinations first used by Gallant in December and notched a 2-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 3 of the Western Conference quarterfinals in Edmonton, Alberta.

Vegas leads the best-of-seven series 3-0. Game 4 is at 3:30 p.m. Sunday at Rogers Place.

With center Paul Stastny ruled unfit to play and Max Pacioretty back in the lineup after missing Game 2, coach Pete DeBoer bumped Chandler Stephenson to the center spot between Pacioretty and right wing Mark Stone.

Meanwhile, William Karlsson assumed his familiar role at center between left wing Jonathan Marchessault and right wing Reilly Smith.

“They’re not always going to look pretty and perfect, but you got to give our guys credit,” DeBoer said. “We got big performances at the right time and good scoring depth and good goaltending. We’re finding a way to beat a very good hockey team.”

The trio of Pacioretty, Stephenson and Stone was one of the most effective in the NHL after being put together for the first time Dec. 10, ironically against the Blackhawks.

The line had the third-best expected goals share in the NHL at 69.3 percent (minimum 100 minutes), according to MoneyPuck.com, and outscored opponents 20-5 at five-on-five.

However, Pacioretty, Stephenson and Stone were ineffective against the Blackhawks, finishing with a 44.4 percent shot attempts share during five-on-five play. They were outchanced 6-3, and all three were on the ice when Olli Maatta scored Chicago’s goal.

The line of Karlsson, Marchessault and Smith frequently was matched against Chicago’s Jonathan Toews, Dominik Kubalik and Brandon Saad, but posted the top possession metrics for the Knights with a 68.4 percent shot attempts share and 76.2 percent expected goals share at five-on-five.

Marchessault was held scoreless after racking up three straight multipoint games.

“I love our group. I love the commitment of our group,” DeBoer said. “I think every day we’re getting a little bit better. We’re working on our game. There’s a lot of tough obstacles, tough games left to play, but we’re doing the right things to keep advancing here.”

Here are three more takeaways from the win:

1. Pick pocket

What happens when two former vote-getters for the Selke Trophy as the best defensive forward kill a penalty together? About what you’d expect.

When Smith was whistled for slashing about three minutes into the game, DeBoer opted to send Karlsson and Stone over the boards.

The result was Stone stealing the puck from defenseman Duncan Keith, a former Norris Trophy winner, before he flipped a backhand pass to Karlsson to help set up the first goal.

“He kind of slowed down there and gave me space to go,” Karlsson said. “I knew that I had time for a backhand shot, and I’m happy that I put it in. It was a great play.”

2. Walk of shame

Smith couldn’t get off the ice fast enough and appeared angry at himself after he was whistled for tripping with 18.5 seconds remaining in the first period. It was the hockey equivalent of a basketball player knowing he’s guilty of a foul and raising his hand for the scorer’s table.

Smith had two trips to the penalty box in the first period. The only other time in his Knights career that he’s taken two minor penalties in a game was Jan. 16 against Ottawa.

The Knights started the second and third periods short-handed, but went 4-for-4 on the penalty kill and improved to 14-for-18 (77.8 percent) during the postseason.

“It’s the first game we really got into some penalty trouble,” DeBoer said. “I think we took three (in the first period) and really lost any momentum I felt we might have started to build. You put that team on the power play, they’re going to feel good about themselves.”

3. Power play missing

The Knights have more short-handed goals (1) in this series than power-play tallies (0).

After going 0-for-3 against the Blackhawks on Saturday, the Knights haven’t scored in six power-play opportunities over the three games. That unit also gave up a short-handed goal in Game 1.

Overall, the Knights are 3-for-17 (17.6 percent) in the postseason, with two of those goals coming in the win over the St. Louis Blues in the round robin.

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