Analysis: Knights struck gold with pair of midseason reclamation additions

Vegas Golden Knights left wing Brandon Saad (20) skates against the Minnesota Wild during the first period of game one in an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series at T-Mobile Arena Sunday, April 20, 2025. Photo by: Steve Marcus

No one could have ever guessed the player who set into motion the Golden Knight’s first goal of the 2025 postseason as recently as a few months ago.

That’s because he wasn’t on the team. Brandon Saad, a 15-year NHL veteran who started the season as part of the St. Louis Blues, did the honors Sunday night at T-Mobile Arena in the Vegas Golden Knights’ 4-2 Game 1 series win over the Minnesota Wild.

The 32-year-old seized a puck out of a faceoff, got it back to defenseman Alex Pietrangelo safely and ultimately earned a secondary assist when Tomas Hertl beat Wild goalie Filip Gustavsson high.

“That was a great shot by (Hertl),” Saad said while gasping for breath on the radio broadcast at the start of the game’s first intermission. “I just kind of tapped it back and we got it through…I’m just trying to be around the net just trying to track down pucks.”  

Saad earned his labored exhales throughout the playoff-opening victory by emerging as one of the Golden Knights’ foremost catalysts to success. It’s a role he should play again tonight when Game 2 between Vegas and Minnesota begins at 8 p.m. at T-Mobile Arena.  

Saad’s steady play and puck movement in Game 1 also helped linemate Pavel Dorofeyev, the Golden Knights’ leading goalscorer in the regular season, settle in.

Dorofeyev was under a great amount of pressure in his second career playoff game after more or less getting benched with only seven minutes of postseason ice time a year ago. But Saad seemed to be a calming influence Tuesday, setting Dorofeyev up for a couple chances early before the 24-year-old ultimately buried a go-ahead power-play goal in the second period.

Saad was so valuable, and has been ever since coming to the Golden Knights 30 games ago, that it’s hard to believe the Blues waived him earlier this year with no other team opting to claim him.

Vegas got a steal by signing him to a 1-year, $1.5 million contract — $3 million cheaper than the deal he was on with the Blues.  

There’s been a lot of talk about how the Golden Knights proceeded differently this season. They didn’t make any big moves around the trade deadline, fans and commentators alike have spouted.

But those statements are becoming inaccurate.

The signing of Saad and the trade for reunited Golden Misfit Reilly Smith might not have been splashy acquisitions on the surface, but they’ve provided a lift as major as some of Vegas’ most celebrated past personnel coups.

The Golden Knights’ biggest weapon in this postseason should be their depth. That was on display in the first win against Minnesota when fourth-line Brett Howden scored a pair of goals.

But that depth didn’t fully solidify until Saad and Smith showed up to strengthen the lineup.

“I think it’s been trending in the right direction, especially over the last couple weeks,” Smith said of jelling in his return to Vegas in the days before the playoffs started. “I think just getting a little more comfortable day in and day out, making some more plays, creating more opportunities playing a little bit faster. I’ve got to give a lot of credit to my linemates creating space and creating time for me. Hopefully we can just keep that going. Obviously there’s going to be a lot less time and space in the playoffs.”

Smith didn’t have his best game on Sunday, winding up the lone Golden Knight with a -2 plus/minus, but it’s no cause for concern. The underlying metrics of his third line, centered by longtime teammate William Karlsson, were more respectable.

And there’s a case to be made the unit had been the Golden Knights’ most valuable down the stretch of the season as they clinched a fourth Pacific Division title in franchise history.

Smith entered the playoffs on a hot streak with six points in seven games, and it’s probably only a matter of time until he’s chipping in on the scoreboard again.

Some had begun to wonder if the 34-year-old’s best days were behind him after a mediocre year-and-a-half split between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Rangers, but he’s looked revitalized with a +11 plus/minus in 22 games back in Vegas.

Saad’s uptick with the Golden Knights has been even more dramatic. He’s now logged 15 points in 30 games, only one fewer than he managed in 43 contests with St. Louis this season.

Vegas’ roster is at no shortage of players with proven postseason prowess from its Stanley Cup championship run of two years ago, but arguably none of their resumes can outdo Saad’s.

He’s now played in 104 career playoff games, winning a pair of Stanley Cups with the Chicago Blackhawks last decade.

“Mistakes are magnified so intensity goes up all around,” Saad said of the difference in postseason hockey. “You can preach as much as you want but it’s going to be a different animal in the playoffs. They have a good team over there so it’s just looking to improve every game. I thought we maybe didn’t have our best (in Game 1) but it’s good to get the win and keep building game by game.”

Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon said he thought a pair of veteran wingers like Smith and Saad were all his team needed to add this year instead of repeating history and swinging for something bigger. So far, the decision looks like another stroke of genius by Vegas’ front office.  

The Golden Knights are set up for a run in the playoffs with Saad and Smith no small part of the promising outlook.

“I definitely had the mindset that I didn’t want to come back in here and act like no time had passed,” Smith said. “I wanted to come back here and earn my stripes.”