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Jonathan Marchessault walks the walk for Golden Knights

Updated March 31, 2022 - 5:28 pm

Jonathan Marchessault hasn’t shied away from the big moments with the Golden Knights.

Whether it was backing up his bold words after Game 1 of the Western Conference Final in 2018 or his myriad contributions in the regular season the previous four seasons, the fiery winger has stepped up when it was needed most.

With the Knights battling to reach the postseason, Marchessault again is leading the offensive charge at a crucial time. He had a goal and an assist in Wednesday’s victory over Seattle and enters Friday’s rematch against the Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena with three straight multipoint efforts.

“We have to take a lot of pride in whoever gets out there, and every night we have to find a way to win a game. That’s what good teams do at that time of the year,” Marchessault said last week. “We’ve got to carry on a few wins here because we don’t want to put ourselves in a situation where we’re waiting on other teams to lose or anything like that. Let’s just do our job, win some games and take it one game at a time, and we’ll see what that brings us.”

Marchessault was the Knights’ most dangerous player in the 3-0 win over the Kraken, finishing with a team-leading five high-danger chances, according to NaturalStatTrick.com. Nicolas Roy, with six, was the only player to generate more scoring chances at all strengths than Marchessault.

Along with his empty-net goal, Marchessault topped the Knights with six shots on goal and 10 attempts in his 19:57 of ice time.

After playing in his first All-Star Game in February, Marchessault leads the team with 26 goals and 55 points in 63 games and also has been their top performer on the power play.

Marchessault’s 19 points with the man advantage are nearly double his next-closest teammates — Chandler Stephenson and Shea Theodore with 11.

During the current three-game winning streak, Marchessault has seven points (one goal, six assists) to help the Knights break out of their offensive slump. It’s the third time in his career he’s posted multiple points in three consecutive games.

Marchessault, the franchise’s all-time leader in goals (118), assists (162) and points (280), has a habit of peaking late in the regular season when the games matter most.

Last season, he posted a seven-game point streak (6-5-11) during the final three weeks as the Knights tried to fend off Colorado for the NHL’s best overall record. In 2018-19, he closed with five goals and 12 points in the final 11 games as the Knights solidified their playoff position.

The Knights had Thursday off in Seattle, and there was no update on the status of forward Keegan Kolesar, who was wobbled after a collision late in the first period and did not return.

They can’t afford any more injuries as they battle Dallas, Los Angeles and Winnipeg for playoff spots.

Goalie Jiri Patera and defenseman Daniil Miromanov were reassigned to the Silver Knights on Thursday.

“It will be another test for us,” forward Michael Amadio said of Friday’s matchup with the Kraken. “I know every game is important for us going down this road here.”

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

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