3 takeaways: Knights clamp down, end 4-game losing skid

No team should dominate a game when it doesn’t convert on five power-play chances.

That’s a testament to how good the Golden Knights were at five-on-five, and it resulted in a much-needed effort in what’s been a struggle of a month.

The Knights snapped their four-game losing streak behind a dominant defensive performance, defeating the New Jersey Devils 3-1 on Thursday at Prudential Center in Newark.

Defense hasn’t been the issue for the Knights in recent memory. They held the New York Islanders to 14 shots on Tuesday but still managed to lose 2-1.

The Knights (32-17-6) made sure to take advantage of their opportunities this time, holding the Devils (30-20-6) to nine shots through two periods. The Knights had 17 in the second period alone and jumped out to a 2-0 lead behind goals from Nicolas Roy and Shea Theodore.

“Good effort defensively,” Roy said. “We didn’t give much to a pretty talented team offensively. If we’re going to win games in this league, we’ll have to be dialed in defensively.”

Jack Eichel added his eighth goal in eight games 4:06 into the third period, and Adin Hill made 14 saves for his career-high 20th win of the season for the Knights’ first victory in this four-game road trip.

“Just kind of stay in it, making sure I’m mentally sharp,” Hill said on the low-event hockey through 40 minutes. “Just being ready for when my team needs me.”

The win was only the Knights’ fourth in their past 15 games, running their mark to 4-8-3 since Jan. 9.

It could’ve been more than a two-goal game, though. The Knights had five power-play opportunities, including a high-sticking double minor called on New Jersey center Jack Hughes in the first period, but a man advantage unit that has converted 38 percent of its chances on this slide didn’t convert once.

The Knights made up for it by controlling play at five-on-five, dominating in shot attempts (56-35), scoring chances (27-14) and high-danger chances (12-3).

They were rewarded at 3:09 of the second period when Roy scored on his own rebound for his first goal in 16 games to open the scoring. Theodore made it 2-0 at 11:18 when his shot from the point beat a screened Jake Allen.

“I thought we were the better team from start to finish,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “We did a lot of things well.”

Cassidy said the Knights did a good job putting pressure on New Jersey’s top players, and it showed. Hughes (minus-2) and left wing Jesper Bratt (minus-3) were recipients of that onslaught as the game went on.

Allen made 37 saves and some were crucial to keep New Jersey in the game. The Devils didn’t break through until Ondrej Palat scored a power-play goal with 4:17 left to end Hill’s shutout bid.

“I thought we were really good,” Cassidy said. “All in all, it was a determination of commitment to play a certain way. It was there from the first minute to the last.”

Here are three takeaways from the win:

1. Missed chances early

Puck luck has not been going the Knights’ way during this stretch. Tuesday’s loss on Long Island was evidence of that.

It looked to be heading that way again in the first period when they couldn’t convert on an open net. Pavel Dorofeyev and Noah Hanifin converged on a chance five minutes into the game.

The Knights went on their four-minute power play two minutes later and had just two shots.

The Islanders scored on their third shot of the game Tuesday because the Knights couldn’t take advantage. They were able to avoid that this time.

2. Pearson on IR

The Knights placed left wing Tanner Pearson on injured reserve before the game with an undisclosed injury, which led to the call-up of Jonas Rondbjerg from Henderson.

Pearson suffered the ailment Sunday against the New York Rangers and did not play Tuesday, which forced the Knights to play with 11 forwards and seven defensemen. Going on IR means he will not play Saturday against the Boston Bruins.

Rondbjerg had one shot in 9:38.

3. Holtz’s return

Alexander Holtz didn’t get on the scoresheet, but he looked motivated playing his first game against his former team.

The former seventh overall pick from the Devils in 2020 had two shots in 13:00 while skating with Tomas Hertl and Dorofeyev. The Knights acquired Holtz in a draft-day trade, along with goaltender Akira Schmid, in exchange for left wing Paul Cotter.

Cotter, who has 12 goals in 56 games this season, was a fourth-round pick of the Knights in 2018.

Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.