Knights on Ice — “It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over”

The saying made famous by Yogi Berra many years ago was proven wrong last night in Anaheim.

In his inimitable fashion, Yogi was telling people to wait and not to make a judgment yet, because the struggle still might be turned around.

Obviously, Yogi wasn’t aware that the Anaheim Ducks played like it was over before it even began last night when they failed to show up to play. I’m being kind to the “Not So Mighty Ducks” who mailed in last night’s performance in an embarrassing 4-0 loss in front of 1,717 who were finally permitted to attend a game at the Honda Center. If there’s a refund policy, I’m sure that there will be more than a few requests from those who attended.

You want to know how dominating the VGK were last night? In the first 20 minutes of the game, the VGK had 15 shots on John Gibson, the Anaheim goaltender, while the Ducks had just 6 shots on Robin Lehner, who may have worked up a sweat only skating in the warmups. The only reason that it wasn’t a blowout after 20 minutes was because of John Gibson, the only Anaheim Duck who looked interested in playing the game. The Knights’ 15 SOG in the first period were the most in a period on the road this season.

The dominance continued in the 2nd period when Vegas had 23 shots compared to just 3 by Anaheim for a total of 38-9. Gibson could do only so much to stem the juggernaut of the VGK, who scored 3 goals in the 2nd period. The first, by William Karlsson just 9 seconds into the 2nd period, was Karlsson’s 11th goal of the season and his 4th vs. Anaheim this season. Karlsson was originally drafted by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2nd round of the 2011 amateur draft. Karlsson played 18 games for the Ducks in the 2014-15 season before he was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets. He’s made Anaheim pay for having no confidence in his playing ability: Karlsson has 13 goals against his former team, the most goals he has scored against any other team.

The other 2 goals that Vegas put behind Gibson in the second period were by Nicholas Roy and Chandler Stephenson, his 10th of the season; he’s now scored in back-to-back games and has a 3-game scoring streak going. Vegas now has 7 players with 10 goals or more.

Mattias Janmark is the 7th player; he had 10 goals with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Brayden McNabb closed out the scoring with his 3rd period goal. It was the 30th victory of the season in just 43 games, which tops their inaugural season record of 30 wins in 44 games.

John Gibson made 47 saves on the 51 shots he faced, including a penalty shot that was awarded when he threw his stick preventing Stephenson from a sure goal into a vacated net. Gibson made the save on the penalty shot, denying Stephenson a 2-goal night. 180 feet away, Robin Lehner faced a mere 16 shots for the shutout.

Professional hockey players have pride, so as the VGK had Duck soup last night and it tasted great, expect a different Anaheim Duck team tomorrow

Other game notes. If you’re reading this, chances are you’re a VGK fan and you think highly of your team. But when you hear an opposing coach praise your team, it has to make you feel good.

“To me, Vegas is the hardest-working team in our division,” Anaheim coach Dallas Eakins said. “They’re relentless on loose pucks. They’re strong on puck battles, and that’s why they’re one of the elite teams in the league. It’s something that we aspire to be down the road.”

My 3 Stars of the Game
1) Chandler Stephenson (1G, 1A)
2) William Karlsson (GWG on a set play off the opening 2nd period faceoff)
3) John Gibson (47 saves on 51 shots; despite giving up 4 goals, he prevented this from being a complete blowout)

Next game is tomorrow vs. Anaheim at 1 p.m. Pacific Time.

If you want to hear and see more VGK content please check out the podcast I do with Eddie Rivkin on YouTube; it’s called “Hockey Knights in Vegas.”

Your comments and opinions are welcome here at Las Vegas Advisor or you may contact me directly at [email protected] or on my Facebook page or the Facebook page of Vegas Hockey Guy or on Twitter @TheRealJoePane.

One other note: If you’re reading this blog from Facebook or Twitter and would like to access it earlier in the morning before I share it on social media, it’s usually published by 8 a.m. the morning after a game on LasVegasAdvisor.com. What better way is there to enjoy your morning coffee than reading my take on last night’s VGK game.

Karlsson’s opening goal off of a set play

Stephenson alone on Gibson

Roy steal the puck and scores