Knights power past Penguins for 4th straight victory

Danny Webster, Las Vegas Review-Journal on Mar 8, 2025

Published in Hockey

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LAS VEGAS — The day of the trade deadline can normally be a hectic one, especially for teams making drastic changes to their roster.

The Vegas Golden Knights didn’t have to worry about that off the ice. They cruised to another win on the ice later in the day.

Goaltender Ilya Samsonov made 22 saves for his second shutout of the season, and the Knights defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-0 on Friday at T-Mobile Arena for their fourth straight win.

Samsonov, who allowed 13 goals his past three starts, didn’t face much dangerous action against a struggling Pittsburgh team.

“It was a nice game for us,” Samsonov said. “Shutout, two points and we keep moving forward.”

Captain Mark Stone had a goal and two assists, and left wing Tanner Pearson had a goal and an assist for the Knights (38-18-6) in their seventh win in eight games.

The day, however, was about the return of left wing Reilly Smith to the Knights. The Original Misfit, who was part of the Knights’ first six seasons, was acquired in a trade with the New York Rangers on Thursday.

The Knights traded Smith to the Penguins on June 28, 2023, two weeks removed from winning the Stanley Cup.

“How things worked out, (me and my wife) couldn’t be happier,” Smith said Friday morning. “It’s definitely been a whirlwind the last 24 hours, but it’s been a great whirlwind.”

The Knights had their chances to blow the game open early with three power plays in the first period, but failed to convert.

Pearson opened the scoring at 12:58 off a backhand centering feed from Stone to make it 1-0.

Barbashev chipped in with his 19th goal of the season, off a cross-ice pass from Stone coming through the neutral zone, for a 2-0 lead at 4:38 of the second.

“The first period wasn’t our best, but in the second and third, we took control of the game, and it started with our defense,” Barbashev said.

The Knights put it away with two goals in 54 seconds in the third. Left wing Brandon Saad picked the far corner from the right circle at 2:00, and Stone deked past Pittsburgh goalie Alex Nedeljkovic at 2:54 for the 4-0 final.

The Knights put four goals on 27 shots to hand the Penguins (24-31-10) their eighth loss in nine games (1-7-1).

It’s been a near-flawless run for the Knights since returning from the 4 Nations Face-Off break. Their only blemish was a four-goal third period Feb. 24 against the Los Angeles Kings in a 5-2 loss.

The Knights will close out their five-game homestand Sunday in a rematch against the Kings.

Here are three takeaways from the win:

1. Off the plane, on the ice

Smith arrived in Las Vegas at 1:30 a.m. Less than 10 hours later, he was on the ice for morning skate.

The love from the crowd started then. He took the ice to a warm reception from the City National Arena crowd. It got louder when he arrived for warmups and was the first player shown on the jumbotron.

Smith, who took line rushes with center Nicolas Roy and right wing Cole Schwindt, was put in the starting lineup with Stone and center Jack Eichel and was met with a rousing ovation.

Even on his first shift, fans were chanting “Reilly!” when he touched the puck.

What started as an emotional day ended in another win, something Smith has done plenty of in T-Mobile Arena.

2. Eichel hits 600

The milestones continue for the Knights’ star center.

Eichel recorded his 55th assist this season, a new career high, in the third period in his 600th NHL game.

Eichel becomes the 12th player from the 2015 draft class to play at least 600 games. Teammate Noah Hanifin leads all members with 740 games.

With 75 points in 61 games, Eichel is closing in on a point per game in his career with 589 points. He’s three points from tying center William Karlsson’s single-season record in the inaugural season.

3. Olofsson out, Schwindt back

Smith skated in place of left wing Victor Olofsson, who is day to day with a lower-body injury.

Olofsson skated on the fourth line in Wednesday’s 5-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs and played the entire game.

Schwindt (lower body) returned to the lineup for the first time since Jan. 18. The 23-year-old has seven assists in 39 games in his first season with the Knights.