One thing the Vegas Golden Knights do better than any other team is staying out of the penalty box.
Teams have either played 333 or 334 regular-season games dating back to 2022-23. The Knights, since the year they won the Stanley Cup, have taken 960 penalties in that time.
They’re the only team in the NHL since that time that hasn’t hit 1,000 penalties taken. Pretty remarkable for a team that doesn’t get beat often in the special teams battle that way.
The Knights gave the Los Angeles Kings three power plays Saturday. Two of them came within 29 seconds of each other eight minutes into the game, giving the Kings a 5-on-3 for 1:31. They killed it off.
“It energized us,” coach Ryan Craig said.
The Knights didn’t have a perfect day on the penalty kill, going 2-for-3, but they still won the special teams battle with two power play goals in the 2-1 overtime win over the Kings at T-Mobile Arena.
It’s not often you’ll see a game with three goals total all come on the power play, but it was the one where special teams and goaltending dictated it.
Carter Hart made 26 saves and came up with big stops on that two-man disadvantage. He followed that with two crucial stops in the first 50 seconds of overtime.
Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper followed suit with 30 saves and stood on his head in the second period when the Knights outshot the Kings 14-3.
But that 5-on-3 set the tempo for the rest of the game.
“I think the building came alive and then we took off there,” Craig said. “It was a huge moment in the game and then it gave our power play a chance to capitalize.”
The Knights have had a busy few days, needing extra time for the second straight game. Goaltender Adin Hill overcame a rough first period to shut the door the rest of the way, including in the shootout for the 4-3 win over Toronto.
Hart did the same in his second consecutive quality start. He took a shutout into the third period Tuesday in the 6-2 win over Seattle.
“Guys are just having fun,” Hart said. “We’re coming to the rink. We’re competing. We’re working. We’re just sticking to our game.”
Perhaps this game was fitting that it ended with a 2-1 final score. It was nearly reminiscent of the 2018 playoff series where the Knights and Kings did everything but score. This, of course, would happen on the night the first-year team was honored.
It wasn’t Marc-Andre Fleury and Jonathan Quick on opposite nets, but it was a goalie duel aided by special teams shenanigans, with the end result being the same — the Knights winning.
They now hit the road for a back-to-back in Minnesota and Nashville starting Monday. Each goalie will likely get another game to build off their confidence.
Taking penalties like they did Saturday won’t help the cause. History says that might not happen again in that fashion.
“We have so much confidence in our goalies,” said overtime hero Mitch Marner. “They have so much confidence in themselves, no matter what happens.”
Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.
Up next
Who: Golden Knights at Wild
When: 5 p.m. Monday
Where: Grand Casino Arena, St. Paul, Minnesota
TV: KMCC-34
Streaming: KnightTime+
Radio: KVGS 107.9 FM
