EVERETT — The Everett Silvertips have, at times, struggled in games the day after an emotional victory over a rival.
It’s somewhat natural to have that letdown following an adrenaline-fueled win, and not succumbing to that effect was the primary emphasis the Tips placed on Sunday’s game against the Spokane Chiefs.
Everett quickly put those fears to rest as it scored twice in the game’s first eight minutes and cruised to a 4-1 win over the visiting Chiefs before 4,188 fans at Xfinity Arena.
The U.S. Divison-leading Silvertips (35-20-2-2, 74 points) extended their lead over idle Seattle to seven points in the standings and improved to 7-2 against the Chiefs this season.
Everett finished the weekend with a pair of victories after entering Saturday’s game — a 4-3 win over the Thunderbirds — having lost four of its previous five.
“I think for sure it’s a big mental thing,” said Everett forward Patrick Bajkov, who scored Everett’s second and fourth goals. “We knew coming in tonight that we’ve had a few disappointing efforts after some big wins, so we knew coming in we had to get a good start, and I thought (Carson Stadnyk’s) goal really set the tone for the night.”
Stadnyk’s tally came when linemate Remi Laurencelle won a faceoff in the Spokane zone and played it right to Stadnyk in the slot, who fired a wrister past Spokane goalie Tyson Verhelst for the 1-0 lead at 2:32 in the first.
Bajkov pushed it to 2-0 when he took a pass from defenseman Cole MacDonald along the left boards, skated to the top of the left circle and put the puck past Verhelst through traffic at 7:32.
“We were all a little bit tired after a three-in-three so getting those two in the first period were huge for us and we definitely built off of that,” MacDonald said.
Bajkov’s goal ended up being the winning goal for the short-handed Tips, who have been recently decimated by injuries and were playing with just 16 skaters instead of the usual 18.
“I take my hat off to the players for being able to do that,” Everett head coach Kevin Constantine said. “Five (defensemen) in and out and 11 forwards, so everybody had to log more minutes. Occasionally you can get into a little bit more of a rhythm when you play more, but not necessarily when you’re playing three games in three nights. I applaud the effort of our players. I think it’s outstanding how hard they worked.”
Yan Khomenko pushed it to 3-0 when he slammed home a rebound at the right post at 13:08 in the second. Bajkov added his second tally on the power play with 31 seconds to go in the second off MacDonald’s centering pass for a 4-0 advantage.
MacDonald assisted on Everett’s final three goals.
“We’re always working on getting our shots through the point and in a game against Spokane they’re always trying to front-block our shots,” MacDonald said. “We put a huge emphasis (on that) before the game and it just worked out today.”
Spokane’s Hudson Elynuik spoiled the shutout at 19:28 thanks to an inadvertent bounce. Elynuik, who was whistled for interference with less than three minutes to play, exited the penalty box as a point shot deflected right to him and he potted the breakaway to give the game its final tally.
Everett goaltender Carter Hart stopped 20 Spokane shots and wasn’t really challenged until a quick flurry in the second period. The Tips held Spokane to just three shots in the opening stanza before the Chiefs tallied 18 in the final 40 minutes.
“He didn’t have to do much early, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy for a goalie,” Constantine said. “Sometimes it gets really challenging for a goalie not to be in the rhythm of the game by facing some pucks and feeling the puck. … (In the second period) they got a power play and hemmed us in for a while, and he had to make some big saves there. So I thought he was sharper tonight than he was (Saturday) night, actually.”
The Silvertips have 13 games remaining in the regular season and play host to Kelowna on Wednesday.
For the latest Silvertips news follow Jesse Geleynse on Twitter @jessegeleynse.
Silvertips 4, Chiefs 1
Spokane 0 0 1 — 1
Everett 2 2 0 — 4
1st Period—1, Everett, Stadnyk 17 (Laurencelle), 2:32. 2, Everett, Bajkov 13 (MacDonald, Fonteyne), 7:32. Penalties-Ostir Spo (kneeing), 10:45; Cardiff Spo (holding), 14:19.
2nd Period—3, Everett, Khomenko 3 (Winkler, MacDonald), 13:08. 4, Everett, Bajkov 14 (MacDonald, Martin), 19:29 (PP). Penalties-Gerth Evt (interference), 2:09; Fiala Spo (interference), 18:19.
3rd Period—5, Spokane, Elynuik 17 19:28. Penalties-Elynuik Spo (interference), 17:24.
Shots on Goal—Spokane 3-10-8-21. Everett 13-9-4-26.
Power Play Opportunities—Spokane 0/1; Everett 1/4.
Goalies—Spokane, Verhelst 21-18-1-3 (22 shots-18 saves); Petersen 9-4-1-0 (4 shots-4 saves). Everett, Hart 33-19-1-2 (21 shots-20 saves).
A—4,188
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