Golden Knights erupt in 3rd period to complete sweep of Blues
The Golden Knights could have been forgiven for packing it in and clinging desperately to a 1-0 lead when the third period started Saturday.
The Knights were playing on back-to-back days and for the fourth time in six days to wrap up a season-long, six-game road swing. Losing their legs was to be expected.
But the Knights instead came up with one of their best periods of the season. They scored four goals for the first time in a period and headed home after a 5-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center.
“It’s been a lot of hockey as of late,” left wing Max Pacioretty said. “We did a good job of giving whatever energy we had left in the tank and emptying it out there.”
The Knights (18-6-1) finished the trip 4-2 after sweeping the Blues (14-9-5) in the two-game series.
Mark Stone scored two goals and Pacioretty had a goal and two assists. Defenseman Shea Theodore added a goal and an assist and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury made 33 saves in his second start in two days.
Theodore opened the scoring 4:01 into the first period with his first goal since Jan. 22. Left wing Jonathan Marchessault received the primary assist to make him the first Knights player to reach 200 points with the team.
Things tightened from there. Scoring chances were slim in the second period, and it looked as if the Knights would have to keep locking it down in the third to emerge with a victory.
But they decided to take a different approach. Stone scored 1:32 into the period to give him at least one point in his past seven games. The Blues responded with a goal from forward Sammy Blais to cut their deficit to 2-1, but Pacioretty restored the two-goal cushion with a wrist shot that beat St. Louis backup goalie Ville Husso.
Fleury took over from there. St. Louis had a five-on-three power play for 53 seconds 9:30 into the third, but he stopped all six shots during the two penalty kills. The Blues did a good job passing the puck across the zone and forcing Fleury to move laterally to make saves.
He made it to the other side of his crease every time.
“Even though sometimes when you know that’s what they’re trying to do, it’s still coming fast,” said Fleury, who started for the 15th time in 16 games. “The big thing for that kill, too, was our guys in front. Our defenders blocked out the shots and helped me out a lot in front of the net.”
The power plays were St. Louis’ final chance to get into the game. Stone scored his second goal on a wraparound 39 seconds after the last penalty expired for a 4-1 lead.
Left wing Alex Tuch sealed the Knights’ first regulation win over the Blues in 12 all-time meetings with an empty-net goal. Despite the obstacles the team faced on the trip — including a hotel change, injuries to Stone and defenseman Alex Pietrangelo and a false positive COVID-19 test for Fleury — it finished on a high note.
“It was a gutsy effort and a real gritty win,” coach Pete DeBoer said. “To end up at the end of this trip 4-2 in some tough buildings is a great road trip. That was our goal today, and I thought the guys dug deep to have an effort to make sure they got that done.”
Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.
