Golden Knights’ 4th line contributing early in Western Conference 1st Round

LAS VEGAS -- The Vegas Golden Knights’ revamped fourth line has found chemistry at the right time, a trend they hope continues in Game 2 of the Western Conference First Round against the Utah Mammoth at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday (9:30 p.m. ET; Utah16, SCRIPPS, ESPN2, TVAS2, SN, CBC).

Nic Dowd, who was acquired from the Washington Capitals on March 5, and Cole Smith, who arrived from the Nashville Predators two days earlier, joined forward Colton Sissons to form a line that quickly made a positive impact, even if the three didn’t immediately contribute on the score sheet.

But Sissons had a goal and an assist, Dowd scored and Smith had an assist in the series opener, a 4-2 win here on Sunday.

“It takes a little bit of time (to build chemistry),” Smith said. “But we proved we're starting to come together. We're very similar players, so we read off each other. It's been good.”

What they brought was clear in Game 1 -- a heavy forecheck with plenty of physicality. It’s something the Golden Knights hope will continue Tuesday.

“We stuck to our identity. We played really hard. Forechecked hard,” said Smith, who had a bloodied lip during the game and required stitches. “We can play that heavy style of game and that's something we kind of want to focus on using our size and using that to our advantage.”

Sisson’s goal Sunday at 3:44 of the second period tied it 1-1. He drove hard to the back post and took a backhand pass from Smith before pushing the puck across the goal line.

They obviously didn’t spent much of this season together, but it was a small semblance of the chemistry Sissons and Smith had together in Nashville, where they were teammates for five seasons. Sissons was traded to Vegas last June.

“We're pretty comfortable with each other and just playing predictable hockey,” Sissons said. “Getting to work on the forecheck and just being heavy on the forecheck and competing as hard as we can. I am just leading on teams doing the best thing for our series.”

Dowd’s impact was equally pronounced.

He scored the go-ahead goal at 7:20 of the third period, finding a soft spot and redirecting a low shot from Noah Hanifin. His intensity was visible throughout, capped by exchanging pleasantries with Mammoth forward Logan Cooley afterwards.

“It's an emotional game,” Dowd said. “You want to play the game with emotion; I think it makes players better. It drags guys into the fight. You want to see your team be emotional and stick up for each other and protect your goal, your crease, whatever it may be. Protect each other, but you’ve got to walk the fine line.”

Dowd knows seeing his name on the score sheet is unlikely to be a regular occurrence. Same goes for his linemates.

But they’re aware of what’s expected from them in this best-of-7 series.

“Is it going to be a goal all the time? Probably not,” Dowd said. “But I think there's a lot of things that our line does and can do well to contribute. It felt good (to score), but we'll dig in and we'll move on. It feels good to contribute.”

John Tortorella said he spent his first game as Golden Knights coach on March 30 calling Dowd by an incorrect name. But he’s always been familiar with his game and was glad to see Dowd and his linemates get rewarded Sunday.

The hope is it’ll continue in Game 2.

“He does all the utility stuff in face-offs, penalty killing, blocking shots. Wall play,” Tortorella said after the win Sunday. “He's a bit of a character in the room; he has a lot of things going on, his idiosyncrasies that he goes through. He's good for a team. He's a good glue-guy for the hockey team.

“Sometimes those guys don't get rewarded, (but) they did tonight.”