What Jack Dugan needs to do to play for the Golden Knights

The Silver Knights are one victory away from playing for the American Hockey League’s Pacific Division championship, and Jack Dugan is a huge reason why.

The first-year forward had a hat trick in his first career playoff game Friday to help the Knights knock off San Jose 4-1 in the opening game of their best-of-three semifinal series. He is the first rookie to score three goals in an AHL playoff game since Tyler Bertuzzi in 2016.

Two of those goals came with San Jose’s net empty, which speaks to the trust the Knights coaching staff has developed in the 23-year-old.

Dugan was on the ice late in the third period while the Knights were nursing a one-goal lead when he notched his first empty-netter with 1:28 remaining.

“He’s a pretty dynamic offensive player,” coach Manny Viveiros said. “For Jack to get to the next level and play for the VGK, he’s going to have to improve his whole 200-foot game. He has to play like he did (Friday). Probably more than anything, I was impressed with the way he was skating.”

Dugan was second on the Knights with 33 points (10 goals, 23 assists) and produced consistently in his first pro season. His longest streak without a point was two games.

If the Silver Knights advance to the championship series, their season will conclude no later than Saturday. At that point, Dugan could be called up as one of the reserves for the Golden Knights if they are still competing in the NHL playoffs.

“That’s something we talked about this week … for him to make that next step and for him to be at times dominant, which he can be, he has to bring his physicality and also move his feet,” Viveiros said. “He responded in a really good way for us.”

Loewen suspended

Silver Knights forward Jermaine Loewen was suspended four games by the AHL for his two-handed slash to Bakersfield’s Vincent Desharnais on May 16.

Loewen’s punishment started Friday with Game 1 of the Pacific Division semifinal series. If the Silver Knights’ season ends before his suspension is completed, the remaining games will carry over to the next time Loewen is active on an AHL club roster.

Viveiros said Loewen let his emotions get the best of him and added that there was nothing Desharnais said or did to precipitate the incident.

“That type of action is certainly not condoned in any way whatsoever, for any reason,” Viveiros said. “Jermaine is a hard player. He’s a tough player, and he’s a fair player. It caught us all off-guard. It caught himself off-guard. I’m not making any type of excuses, but I can certainly guarantee you with a young man like him that will just be a one-off.”

Final stats

Danny O’Regan finished the regular season second in the AHL scoring race with 37 points in 37 games. His 16 goals ranked fourth in the league.

Ryan Murphy led all defensemen with 27 points (five goals, 22 assists), while Dugan was second in rookie scoring.

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