We know how Ryan Reaves can and will cause repercussions, generally involving a relentless forecheck that gives defensemen nightmares about turning their backs on him to retrieve pucks dumped into their defensive zone.
But last night he put his stamp on a game in which Vegas beat Pacific Division rivals Anaheim 3-1. For the first time in his career, Reaves scored the winning goal in a regular-season game, when he scored Vegas’ second goal 9:04 into the second period, which put the score at 2-0.
Reaves did have the winning goal in Game 5 of the Conference Final vs. Winnipeg last season. Last night’s win also returned the VGK to a .500 winning percentage and extended their winning streak to three in a row after losing four of their first five games.
The entire energy/forechecking line that Reaves plays on has had two amazing games back to back. This line was limited to single-digit minutes in the last game, due to the VGK’s many penalties against Buffalo. Last night, however, Coach Gallant went with his plan of getting Bellemare, Reaves, and Carrier as much ice time as they’ve earned. Reaves wound up with 11:43, along with 19 seconds of power-play time. Carrier put in 10:23, plus 19 seconds on the PP. Bellemare, who’s on the penalty-killing unit, had 11:59 and 1:06 of penalty kill.
“The fourth line was great,” Gallant said after the game. “The team was real good, but the fourth line was outstanding. Every time they were on the ice, they had scoring chances and big hits. They really set the tone for our team.”
The VGK penalty killing unit has been perfect in their last 11 outings, dating all the way back to the Penguins game on October 11.
Asked about going 11 for 11, Gallant said, “They do a good job, they work hard, and they get in shot lanes. They really put pressure on teams. When you do a real good job at killing penalties, that usually sets the stage for your team and I think the guys did a great job lately.”
Scoring in the NHL this season is at an all-time high, dating all the way back to the 2000-2001 season. Some are speculating that this is in direct relationship with the changes in goaltenders’ equipment: The pads are smaller and the shoulder pads have been greatly reduced. But if you remove the 13 goals given up in the VGK’s games three, four, and five, in the other five games played so far, the Knights have surrendered only five goals in five games. That’s how good Fleury is. Once he got past the first few games, where he didn’t seem comfortable with his new equipment, he’s been amazing. When I asked him on his thoughts on the new and streamlined equipment, he called it a “work in progress.”
Not only did the Bellemare line make Gallant look like he had a crystal ball in giving them additional time, they rewarded him with a complete game of 200 feet and 16 of Vegas’ 31 hits. Oh, and did I mention that Mr. Repercussion scored the winning goal off a rebound from a Nick Holden shot?
Anaheim goaltender John Gibson played well enough to win by surrendering only two goals on a season-high 45 shots by Vegas. The Knights’ previous high was 42 in their first win of the season vs. Minnesota in the shootout.
Vegas may have played the best 60-minute game of this young season. They stifled the Ducks, who had only seven shots on Fleury after 34 minutes. The Ducks eventually got some shots off in the third period, but ended the game with all of 18 shots. Fleury stopped 17 of the 18 on his way to his 408th career win, moving him into sole possession of 10th place in most wins by a goaltender. Granted, Fleury had a shaky start to the season, but he’s given up only two goals in the last three games.
Vegas was assessed two minor penalties in last night’s game, which allowed Coach Gallant to roll his four lines and even had his checking line of Bellemare, Reaves, and Carrier getting in some rare power-play time.
Indeed, the Bellemare line was put on the ice over and over again, even in the third period of a 2-1 game, where most checking lines wouldn’t see much ice time. It shows Gallant’s confidence in this line. Players on the VGK have to earn their ice time; nothing is free in Camp Gallant. Over the last two games, this line has earned every minute.
After the Buffalo game, Gallant was apologetic in his handling of distributing minutes among the Bellemare line. The multiple penalties called on Vegas were enough to disrupt the equal distribution of ice time. Gallant understands that the first and second lines are the meat and potatoes. But the checking line has given him over the last few games what a coach dreams about and doesn’t come along too often.
My 3 Stars of the Game: Ryan Reaves (game-winning goal and a wrecking ball), Jonathan Marchessault (another complete game with one goal and one assist), and John Gibson (stopped 43 of 45 shots; against any other goalie, the VGK win this game 6-1).
When the Ducks were asked post-game about playing at T-Mobile, they couldn’t contain their enthusiasm. “It’s awesome, spectacular.” “We love being in this building.” “It’s a lot of fun.”
VGK fans, all 30 teams are impressed with your passion about your team. You do a great job. Keep it going and keep it loud!
Next game is Wednesday against the Vancouver Canucks at T-Mobile at 7 p.m.
Your opinions and comments are welcome here at LasVegasAdvisor.com or you can email me directly at [email protected]
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A comment from a reader.
Great article! right on point as usual