Coach Gallant called the game against the Islanders on Wednesday night “not pretty.” Well, last night’s game against the New Jersey Devils was ugly and no one could or would give you an argument about that.
Twice the VGK blew three-goal leads in their 5-4 overtime loss. Not only the result was totally unacceptable, but the effort was too. The Knights seemed to take their foot off the gas when they scored three goals in the first 9:23 of the first period.
Their play was so sloppy that if it hadn’t been for Marc-André Fleury, this game might have been a blowout for the Devils, even after they gave up the first three goals.
Shots on goal don’t determine the winner of the game, but they can be a good indication of which team is carrying the play. The Devils outplayed the VGK even when trailing by three goals twice in the game.
Vegas scored the first three goals on just seven shots. For the remaining 50:37, they managed only 11 shots on a team with weak goaltending. The GAA for their two goaltenders is 3.03 and 4.29. Fleury’s GAA is 2.49. The Knights were outshot for the second game in a row, but unlike Wednesday night, they didn’t win. In last night’s game, they were outshot 42 to 22.
They did get off one shot in overtime before New Jersey forward Marcus Johansson came back down the ice, weaved around Nate Schmidt and William Karlsson, skated into the zone, and dished off the puck to Nico Hischier. When Fleury attempted and failed to poke-check the puck off of Nico’s stick, he found himself prone on the ice. Nico swept the puck into the wide-open net just 41 seconds into overtime, completing the ugliness.
The one point the Knights earned was a gift. They also wasted a two-goal performance by the same William Karlsson who had trouble finding the back of the net in the first part of this season. Wild Bill has now scored four goals in the last three games and seven goals in the last 10. His two goals last night bring his total to 13, which leads the team.
They also wasted a sweet play by Alex Tuch, who took a between-the-legs behind-the-back pass from Oscar Lindberg in the neutral zone, then blew by defenseman Sami Vatanen, skated behind the net, and wrapped it around Cory Schneider for the beginning of his short night. Cory was pulled 9:36 into the game after giving up William Carrier’s goal, which extended the VGK lead to 3-0. Cory made the initial save on Carrier, but the puck somehow dribbled through his equipment, rolling between his legs and into the net. He was replaced by Keith Kinkaid, who gave up a single goal to Karlsson in the remaining 51 minutes to record his 11th win of the season.
After Vegas scored the first three goals, Pavel Zacha scored on a power play to trim the lead to 3-1. Karlsson responded with his own power-play goal just 58 seconds later to regain a three-goal lead. New Jersey then scored the final four goals of the game, with two in the third period, to overcome a two-goal deficit with just 9:39 left. They scored the tying goal with 5:05 left and won it 41 seconds into OT.
Vegas and the Devils are the only two teams in the NHL whose backup goaltenders have yet to record a win in the 63 games that both teams have played combined so far this season.
Paul Stastny returned to the lineup last night. He’d been out since being injured back on Oct. 8 against Buffalo. Ironically, Stastny replaced Max Pacioretty, who was scratched due to “overall soreness.” So 34 games into the season, the expected USA line of Stastny centering for Tuch and Pacioretty has still not played a game together.
The Devils were ripe for the picking. They were 2-4-4 in the last 10 games, while Vegas was trending in the exact opposite direction at 8-2-0 in their last 10 games.
In the scrambled-egg Pacific Division, the point that Vegas left in Newark hurts. In their off day on Thursday, they fell from a tie for third place and a playoff spot to fifth place. With Edmonton’s win last night, there’s now a three-way tie for second among San Jose, Anaheim, and Edmonton, all with 39 points after 33 games played. Vegas has played 34 games and trails by two points with 37.
Let’s hope come April, they’re not edged out of home ice or even a playoff spot by this one point they literally gave to the Devils as an early Christmas gift.
If you were wondering when Stastny returned what line he’d playing, some said that Gallant wouldn’t break up the line of Patches, Tuch, and Eakin, which has been producing a good amount of offense. Well, last night Eakin was reunited with Carpenter and Nosek, while Lindberg was moved up to play with Tuch and Stastny. Who sits when Pacioretty returns? My guess two weeks ago would have been Lindberg, but now I’m not so sure of that. I guess if everyone remains healthy, it’s a good problem for Gallant to have.
My 3 Stars of the Game: William Karlsson (2 goals), the entire Devils team (refusing to quit even when down by three goals twice and by two with only 13 minutes left in the game), and Marc-André Fleury (who saved the one point they didn’t deserve).
Your comments and opinions are welcome here at Las Vegas Advisor or you can contact me directly at [email protected] or visit my Vegas Hockey Guy page on Facebook.
Next game is Sunday vs. the New York Rangers at 9:30 a.m. Vegas time.
For the most comprehensive coverage of the Vegas Golden Knights’ historic inaugural season, take a look at our book Vegas Golden Knights—How a First-Year Expansion Team Healed Las Vegas and Shocked the Hockey World
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New Jersey Devil’s coach John Hynes
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