Chris Young / The Canadian Press via AP
Vegas Golden Knights’ Ivan Barbashev (49) scores against Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov, left, during the second period in Toronto, on Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024.
Published Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024 | 6:57 p.m.
Updated 24 minutes ago
What happened Tuesday was a framework of how the Golden Knights want to play the rest of the year.
It came down to starting with a stronger forecheck than they’ve displayed over the past couple of weeks. It’s a simple tactic, but it’s important against a high-octane offense like the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Vegas would know that all too well having just lost 7-3 to them Thursday.
But the Golden Knights got their revenge in their visit to Toronto on Tuesday with a 6-2 win over the Leafs to end a three-game losing streak.
“Especially given we’re missing some of our high-end players, we needed to check better,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “I thought we really focused on that part of the game.”
It was a goalless game through the first 20 minutes before the Golden Knights broke through with three goals in the second period. Ivan Barbashev, Mason Morelli and William Karlsson offset Tyler Bertuzzi’s goal for Toronto to take a 3-1 lead into the third period.
That lead wasn’t of the magnitude that Toronto’s 4-0 lead on Thursday in T-Mobile Arena was, which resulted in a 7-3 Maple Leafs win, but the Golden Knights played a stronger defensive game to avenge that four-goal loss last week.
“I thought we all played real hard tonight and everyone contributed to the win,” said the 28-year-old Morelli, who scored his second career goal in his fifth NHL game. “It was a tight game all night. We just happened to bury a few of our chances.”
Shea Theodore had three assists, Karlsson had a goal and an assist, and Jonathan Marchessault scored twice to reach a career-high 32 goals on the season for the Golden Knights (32-19-7) for just their second win since Feb. 8.
Theodore has eight assists in four games since returning to the lineup Feb. 20 after missing three months due to an upper-body surgery. The defenseman recorded his third consecutive multipoint game.
“I definitely knew it was going to take some time to get my legs back, but I’m feeling better and better each game,” Theodore said.
The Golden Knights improved to 1-0-1 on this five-game eastern road trip. It started Saturday in Ottawa with a 4-3 shootout loss to the Senators, a game where the Golden Knights had a 2-0 lead in the second period and had to score the game-tying goal with under two minutes remaining to earn a point.
They’re a blown two-goal lead from having a perfect four points through a crucial road trip, but three out of four — given the overall play since coming back from the All-Star break — is a start the Golden Knights will take.
The Golden Knights also became the fastest franchise in NHL history to record 300 wins. It took 514 games, surpassing the Edmonton Oilers (542 games).
Winning the game wasn’t the only victory of the day, however. Center Jack Eichel skated for the first time since undergoing lower-body surgery in January, participating in a noncontact role.
Eichel hasn’t been ruled out of returning during the road trip. The next two games mean the most to Eichel — Thursday against his hometown Boston Bruins, and Saturday against his former team, the Buffalo Sabres.
In the meantime, the Golden Knights have to keep finding ways to win without Eichel, Mark Stone, and others. Tuesday was a good start in their eyes.
“Pretty good game for us, to be honest,” Barbashev said. “I still think the leaders and the guys who have been in the league for a while have to step up in this little stretch, especially with Stoney and Jack out. Hopefully today was a turnaround for us.”
Danny Webster can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Danny on X at twitter.com/DannyWebster21.
