Robin Lehner, Golden Knights blank Canucks for 2-1 series lead

For two days, the Golden Knights set aside their differences with the Vancouver Canucks and stood shoulder to shoulder in protest along with other NHL players.

When hockey resumed Saturday, the Knights were laser-focused and gained control of their Western Conference semifinal series.

Goalie Robin Lehner pitched his second shutout in the past week, and the Knights rolled to a 3-0 victory in Game 3 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta.

The Knights have a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series, which continues Sunday. When a series is tied, the winner of Game 3 has gone on to win the series 67.1 percent of the time, according to NHL public relations.

The Knights set an NHL record by reaching 25 postseason victories faster than any other franchise in history (38 games), beating the previous low of 43 shared by the New York Islanders and Edmonton Oilers.

“We were a lot better tonight. I thought we fixed some of the things that ailed us in Game 2,” coach Pete DeBoer said. “I thought we supported each other a lot better. We were a little heavier, a little harder. … I thought our penalty killing and our goalie was great early.”

Lehner made DeBoer’s decision in net tougher for the second game of the back to back, as he bounced back from a loss in Game 2 on Tuesday with 31 saves.

He made 16 of those stops in the first period and helped the Knights kill off a five-on-three disadvantage with a point-blank save against Bo Horvat, the NHL’s leading goal scorer in the postseason.

Lehner improved to 7-2 with a 2.08 goals-against average and .921 save percentage in the postseason.

“In series like this, it’s really important to get the first goal and not fall behind and chase the game,” Lehner said. “I thought everyone did a great job of pitching in and working hard and blocking shots, doing all the right things. It was really important for the momentum of the game to try to get out ahead and not chase the game.”

Forward Alex Tuch and defenseman Zach Whitecloud scored in the opening 5:28 of the first period.

The game was originally scheduled for Thursday but was postponed when NHL players chose not to participate in protest of systemic racism.

“I knew our team was going to come out and play really hard from the drop of the puck,” Tuch said. “We were ready two days ago; we were ready today. With everything that happened, I think it brought our team closer together. Being able to come together under such an interesting time was huge for our team. We wanted to continue that on the hockey part of it, too.”

The Knights returned to the formula that worked in Game 1, pushing around Vancouver in the final two periods and winning the special teams battle.

The Knights killed all five Vancouver power plays, and Mark Stone tallied his sixth goal of the postseason on a power play early in the third period for a 3-0 lead.

“This group has a lot of belief,” Lehner said. “It’s a very complete team, a very good group. I knew before the game we were going to come out and have a good game. They had a little bit of a push in the first period, but I thought we took over the game after that.”

The Knights leaned on Lehner for much of the first period after scoring on two of their first three shots against Canucks goaltender Jacob Markstrom (31 saves).

Tuch split the Vancouver defense, settled a saucer pass from center Nicolas Roy and went high over Markstrom’s glove at 4:05 for his team-leading seventh goal in 11 postseason games. He had eight goals in 42 games during the regular season.

Tuch is the second player in team history with a four-game playoff goal streak, according to NHL public relations, joining Jonathan Marchessault in 2019.

“Every time I see Alex with a lot of speed, of course I want to get it to him,” Roy said. “He’s got a hot hand right now, so try to find him, and it’s been working pretty well.”

Whitecould notched his second career postseason goal at 5:28 of the first period when he pinched in from the right point after the Knights forced a turnover and found a hole over Markstrom’s shoulder.

“I think part of the confidence side for a younger guy is when you do get those opportunities, you want to go out and execute,” Whitecloud said. “Not only for yourself, you want to execute for the boys.”

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