Barbashev showing skill, intangibles for Golden Knights during playoffs

LAS VEGAS --When Ivan Barbashev was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights, they knew the type of player they were getting.

He's hard-nosed. He gets to the front of the net. He's a Stanley Cup Playoff-tested veteran.

The forward is living up to his reputation and has helped the Golden Knights to a 1-0 lead in the best-of-7 Western Conference Second Round with Game 2 at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; TNT, CBC, SN, TVAS).

Barbashev scored twice in a 6-4 win against the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 on Wednesday. Each goal came close to the net and within about a minute of power-play goals by Leon Draisaitl as part of the Edmonton forward's four-goal performance.

"I score more goals when I'm in front of the net," Barbashev said after the game. "That's what happened today. I just found the first one. It was just a loose puck. The second one was a tip."

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Barbashev has five points (three goals, two assists) in the 2023 playoffs. All his goals have come from a similar place.

"He has three goals now for us, two tips and corralling a loose puck" Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. "He's going to go there. He'll get to the dirty areas."

Since Barbashev arrived from the St. Louis Blues, he's been a valuable commodity for the Golden Knights. He's played on the top line with Jack Eichel and Jonathan Marchessault, adding grit to complement two highly skilled forwards while getting 16 points (six goals, 10 assists) in 23 games following the trade that sent forward Zach Dean to the Blues on Feb. 26.

"He's been a huge addition for us," Vegas defenseman Zach Whitecloud said. "He contributed in a lot of different ways. He's a guy you can trust in all scenarios. It's a testament to the way he plays the game."

The Golden Knights were looking to add a net-front, veteran presence while forward Mark Stone was on injured reserve. Barbashev fit the bill.

"It was a really good, I thought, deal to add that element when we weren't sure on Mark Stone to get some inside presence," Cassidy said. "You need those guys in the playoffs. He's a good player for us. He's a guy who's not going to get a lot of attention. He's not flashy."

Vegas also acquired Barbashev for his playoff pedigree. He played 50 postseason games for the Blues and won the Stanley Cup in 2019. One of his teammates was Toronto Maple Leafs forward Ryan O'Reilly, the Blues captain on that championship team and the Conn Smythe Trophy winner voted as the best player in the playoffs.

"Just such a complete player in all aspects of what he does," O'Reilly said. "Reads the game so well. Defensively puts himself in such good positions. Last couple years he's contributed more offensively and kind of taken over that role. So good making highly intelligent plays with the puck.

"He was such a big part of our team when we made those deep runs and won together in St Louis. You can tell he was such a great addition."

NHL.com staff writer Mike Zeisberger contributed to this report