Nate Schmidt outlets to Jonathan Marchessault at the blueline. Inexplicably, Christian Folin goes on a search-and-destroy mission of Marchessault, taking himself out of the play.
We've talked this season about there being no need to finish your check at all times; Folin's folly is a prime example of that.
"Just try to take a hit, make a play. I knew he was the D and they were pressuring a lot down low," noted Marchessault, who tossed the puck through the middle. "I knew we had an odd-man, just try to get it to the middle to the speed."
That speed was William Karlsson. But Karlsson, deftly, doesn't use his wheels to drive at Jake Muzzin and the net. This is my favorite play of the sequence. Yes, my favorite play is Karlsson going away from the net.
"I just recognized it was a 3-on-2," offered Karlsson.
Instead, Karlsson ambles deliberately toward the wall. This draws Muzzin away from the middle of the ice and allows the trailing Reilly Smith and Brayden McNabb to catch up.
How did Karlsson "see" Smith and McNabb coming from behind? "The talk made it easy for me," Karlsson acknowledged. "I just gave it to Smith."
Since Folin is still well behind the action, Smith and McNabb prey on Alex Iafallo, a rookie forward playing defense. It's a clear-cut 2-on-1 down the gut.
"It was lucky that it was Nabber there who's a lefty who could shoot it right away," said Karlsson.
Credit McNabb, who absolutely tagged the Smith feed.
The genius of this shift, however, was Karlsson, who controlled open space brilliantly. And what a gritty play by the 5'9" Marchessault, who was hammered by the 6'3" Folin.
In a series which has offered precious little time and space for any line, Marchessault-Karlsson-Smith proved once again that they're one of the league's best.
Players to score a series-clinching goal vs. team they played for the previous season:@nabber03: 2018 FR vs. LAK Garry Valk (TOR): 1999 CSF vs. PIT J.F. Sauve (QUE): 1984 CQF vs. BUF Gerry Ehman (TOR): 1959 CF vs. BOS#NHLStats@EliasSports#StanleyCuppic.twitter.com/afrxHl6mgf
It was an imperfect game for Pierre-Edouard Bellemare's line, but for one key shift, they held off Hart candidate Anze Kopitar's line impressively:
Kopitar's line has just iced the puck.
Kopitar wins the draw to Alec Martinez, but William Carrier keeps his feet moving through a Dion Phaneuf pick and sticks the puck away from Martinez.
Carrier drives the net but goes wide. Along the wall, Kopitar picks it up, but a tireless Carrier separates him from the puck. Separating Kopitar from the puck is no easy task.
Carrier is indefatigable on this shift. He pursues Martinez, then Phaneuf to the other wall. His skating and stick bother Phaneuf. Bellemare claims the puck and tosses it behind Jonathan Quick.
Martinez rims it around the boards, but McNabb pinches Dustin Brown. For the Knights, Tomas Nosek and Bellemare stick their nose in, while for the Kings, Kopitar and Phaneuf dig.
Bellemare sticks the puck ahead, while Nosek spins away from Kopitar to shovel it past the goal line.
Finally, Kopitar is able to withstand Nosek's check and stick. However, Bellemare and Nosek have changed, so now, a fresh Alex Tuch chases Kopitar in the corner.
This forces another Los Angeles icing.
Bellemare and company were able to salt away 46 precious seconds from LA's season.
For Bellemare, facing Kopitar was a personal test, "The biggest part for us was to show the coach that we can play the situation. It was a challenge.
"The next thing was to show the entire team that we are going to press the hell out of those guys. Show everybody we don't have to back off, that we can keep going forward.
"We did a good job of making sure that the puck stayed in front of us."
For Kopitar, this was a 1:33 shift. He faced three different Golden Knights lines and two icings. While Kopitar is no stranger to minute-long shifts -- he played six of them in the third period -- this is tough sledding for any player, even one of the best in the world.
Minuses
#GoKingsGo have been on top of #VegasBorn like a blanket. #VGK has no run, Fleury is the only reason that it's scoreless
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