Hanifin delivers in clutch again for Golden Knights in Game 6 win

LAS VEGAS -- The puck came to Noah Hanifin inside the blue line. The Vegas Golden Knights defenseman skated to his right, cut around Dallas Stars forward Ty Dellandrea and snapped a shot from the right face-off dot.

The puck whizzed through a screen by Vegas forward Keegan Kolesar and past Dallas goalie Jake Oettinger, and T-Mobile Arena erupted.

Finally, on an epic night of scoring chances and near misses and goal posts and huge saves on both ends, Hanifin had broken through at 9:54 of the third period. It was the first shot in 62 in the third period and overtime Oettinger had allowed in the Western Conference First Round.

It held up as the game-winning goal, Hanifin’s second of the best-of-7 series, and the Golden Knights defeated the Stars 2-0 on Friday and forced a Game 7 at American Airlines Arena in Dallas on Sunday (7:30 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, MAX, truTV, TBS, BSSW, SN, TVAS).

“It’s been a really tight series,” Hanifin said. “There’s not a lot of room out there. I mean, they’re a great team, and they play really well defensively, as do we. Yeah, it was nice just to be able to squeeze one by him tonight, and I think we did a really good job of just hanging on to the lead and not sitting back too much.”

Hanifin has been waiting his entire career for this.

Selected by the Carolina Hurricanes with the No. 5 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, Hanifin played three seasons for the Hurricanes and five-plus for the Calgary Flames. He played 27 games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, with no goals and eight assists.

Then the 27-year-old joined the defending Stanley Cup champions in a trade March 6 and signed an eight-year, $58.8 million contract ($7.35 million average annual value) on April 11.

“It’s been great,” Hanifin said. “Ever since I got traded here, I was super excited about the opportunity of coming to a team with guys that have won. I’ve said it a bunch, just a great culture here, and I’m fortunate just to be a part of it.”

Hanifin hasn’t had a consistent partner since arriving in Vegas. But Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said in a way that has been good, because Hanifin has been able to come to the rink and simply focus on playing his game.

He had 12 points (two goals, 10 assists) in 19 games down the stretch of the regular season, and now he has five points (two goals, three assists) in six playoff games, tied with defenseman Brayden McNabb (two goals, three assists) for second on the Golden Knights. Center Jack Eichel leads the team with seven points (three goals, four assists).

“I think his skating really sticks out, his poise with the puck,” Vegas captain Mark Stone said. “He makes really good plays, good first pass. Really helps his partner out, right? He’s kind of like [defenseman Shea Theodore]. When you’ve got those guys back there that can skate and are kind of one-man breakouts between him and Shea, it helps us as forwards too.”

Hanifin leads Vegas in average ice time (23:48) in the playoffs, but the Golden Knights are well balanced on the back end. Look at the next three defensemen: Alex Pietrangelo (23:26), Theodore (22:05) and McNabb (22:04). Alec Martinez is next among defensemen at 16:32, and Zach Whitecloud is at 15:43.

“It just gives us another threat on the blue line,” Pietrangelo said. “I think if you look at our [defense] corps, I think we’re at our best when we’re playing all six guys. I didn’t look at the minutes, but they’ve got to be pretty even, right?”

Right. In Game 6 alone, Pietrangelo played 23:12, McNabb 21:49, Hanifin 20:07 and Theodore 21:04. Martinez played 16:09, Whitecloud 15:12.

“It keeps us fresh,” Pietrangelo said. “It’s an advantage that we certainly used last year, and I think we’re doing it again.”

Entering the series, the big question was whether the Golden Knights could come together as a team. They had players returning from injury blending with new acquisitions like Hanifin. As the series has gone on, Cassidy has shuffled his lines and pairs looking for the right combinations.

But this is why you go after talent when you have the opportunity. Hanifin is making an impact now, and he will be in Vegas for years to come.

“For me, I feel good about my game and just trying to contribute whichever way I can,” Hanifin said. “I think that’s just part of the culture. Everybody does their job, and everybody contributes in different ways.

“And for me, being here for a long time in the future here, I’m very excited about it. I’m just going to try to keep building my game and keep building our team game.”