The Vegas Golden Knights (29-14-6) picked up their fifth win in their last six games after defeating the New York Rangers (29-16-3) 5-2 at Madison Square Garden on Friday night. The Golden Knights have picked up points in each of those six games and now sit just five points back from the Vancouver Canucks for the Pacific division lead.
This is the second and final time these teams will meet this season, with the Golden Knights previously winning 5-1 on Jan. 18. The Rangers are first in the Metropolitan division, but their play has been slowly declining as of late, losing four of their last five games.
Artemi Panarin has led the way for the Rangers with 29 goals, 34 assists, and 63 points in 47 games played, leading the team in all of those categories. He’s seemingly been their only source of offense as of late, with the Rangers scoring less than three goals in their last eight games, and Mika Zibanejad only recording one goal in his last 12.
Marchessault’s Hat Trick Headlines Golden Knights’ Offense
Sheldon Rempal opened the scoring for the Golden Knights 5:02 into the first period on a slight deflection from Paul Cotter’s shot that slipped under the blocker of Shesterkin. Rempel, who has played just 15 NHL games in six professional seasons, scored his first career goal in their last game against the New York Islanders. Strong starts have proven to lead to success for the Golden Knights this season as they’re now 25-3-0 when scoring first.
Blake Wheeler would responded just 91 seconds later for the Rangers, picking up his eighth goal of the season. Wheeler has struggled in his first season with the Rangers, with just two goals in his last 16 games, but managed to finish off a nice passing sequence and tie the game 1-1.
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The Rangers were the far better team throughout the first period, largely in part to the Golden Knights’ passive forecheck. The Golden Knights rarely had a forward pressuring the Rangers’ breakout and left the entire middle of the ice open for easy zone entries. As a result, the Rangers ended the opening period with a 16-6 lead in shots and spent over six minutes in the Golden Knights’ end.
After an uninspiring start to the second period that began with a power play where they failed to record a single shot attempt, Keegan Kolesar gave the Golden Knights the lead 3:18 in on a long-distance shot that beat Shesterkin clean. This was Kolesar’s fourth goal of the season, adding to the list of unlikely scorers in this game. Jonathan Marchessault made it 3-1 after tipping Ivan Barbashev’s shot that came from right in the slot.
The Golden Knights looked like a completely different team in the second period. While they continued to struggle on the power play, their gap control was noticeably better and their forwards were giving the Rangers all sorts of trouble when they attempted to break out. This is the style that the Golden Knights need to be playing with the current lineup they have, forcing their opponents to make mistakes when they struggle to manufacture offense from within their own zone.
The Golden Knights’ offense would continue early in the third period, with Marchessault burying his second of the game after picking up a missed shot by Barbashev that bounced in front of the net. Marchessault would finish the game off with an empty net goal to complete the hat trick, making it seven goals for the Conn Smythe winner in the last six games.
This is the second multi-goal performance for Marchessault in his last three games, and only Nathan MacKinnon has scored more goals in the last two weeks. Barbashev picked up an assist on every goal Marchessault scored in this game, and Nicolas Roy finished with two helpers as well. If this line can continue to produce as they have over the past few games, it’s going to be an easy transition for Jack Eichel once he returns to the lineup.
Hill Dominates the Goaltending Battle
This was the first time that Adin Hill started consecutive games for the Golden Knights since Nov. 22, and he played a huge role in this victory. He made 36 saves and finished with a .947 save percentage (SV%), fending off the Rangers offense and keeping this game close when things looked rough in the opening 20 minutes.
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Hill continues to lead the league with a .936 SV% and is the only goaltender with at least 15 starts to have a GAA below two (1.94). While his injuries have set him back from what likely could have been a Vezina trophy-winning campaign, he’s still proven to be one of the most valuable pieces on this Golden Knights roster in his short time back.
There’s a strong case to be made that Hill has entered the conversation as being one of the best goaltenders in the league. While he hasn’t had the volume of starts that others have had in 2023-24, considering his historic Stanley Cup run from last season along with the statistical dominance he’s shown this season, there aren’t many other goaltenders who have built as impressive of a resume in such a short period of time.
As for the Rangers, Igor Shesterkin has struggled mightily this season. He’s currently sporting his lowest career SV% (.901) and his highest career goals-against average (2.82 GAA), and also has the lowest save percentage in the month of January among goaltenders with at least 10 starts (.863 SV%). The Rangers haven’t had goaltending issues in a long time, and they’re going to need Shesterkin to bounce back soon for the team to feel confident heading into the playoffs.
Final Thoughts
After a tough stretch at the beginning of the calendar year, the Golden Knights have seemingly turned things around. While they haven’t necessarily been playing their best hockey, their remaining stars have been putting together some really strong individual performances and the team has been able to overcome a lot of adversity.
With Hill and Thompson both playing at such a high level, the Golden Knights have a decent chance to close the gap on the Canucks for the top spot in the Pacific division. With the All-Star break right around the corner, this will be the perfect opportunity for the team to get some much-needed rest after a packed January schedule, and hopefully some players will be able to return to the lineup shortly.