When Coach Gallant stops rolling out four lines one right after another, you know something is wrong. Last night, Gallant did something he’d never done in the VGK’s 140 regular-season and 20 playoff games: He played only 10 forwards for the entire third period. The Blue Jackets continued with four complete lines that consisted of 12 forwards.
Tomas Nosek and Valentin Zykov remained nailed to the bench for the final 20 minutes of last night’s disappointing 4-3 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. This knee-jerk reaction by Gallant was a result of the lackluster performance of the VGK in the second period. In their last game vs. Detroit, the VGK mailed it in during the first period and didn’t seem focused enough to play all 60 minutes.
They dodged a bullet on Thursday by winning the game against Detroit, a team they could get away with it against. But the Columbus Blue Jackets are coached by John Tortorella, so that wasn’t about to happen again. Tortorella is not an easy coach to play for; he demands that all the t’s are crossed and all the i’s have dots.
Last night, Columbus came into the game with a 30-20-3 record. Their 18 skaters were rolled out one line every 30 to 45 seconds to complete line change after line change. If you only play 40 minutes or lose your focus against this well-coached team, you’ll be on the short end of this hockey quiz.
Vegas did just that. The entire team was pretty much MIA in the second period, registering three shots on goal. This prompted Gallant to make a strong move and completely shut down the third line, except for Cody Eakin. Eakin was the center of the fourth line with Bellemare, Reaves, and Carrier flip-flopping spots. That paid off quickly in the third period when Eakin took a pass from Bellemare and snapped a wrist shot past Sergei Bobrovsky to give Vegas a 3-2 lead with just over 10 minutes left. It was Eakin’s 15th goal of the season.
Cam Atkinson scored his 30th goal of the year to tie up the game up with 5:12 to go. He then scored his 31st, the winning goal, on a power play when Paul Stastny was sent to the penalty box with 2:56 to go in the game.
It was a strange night, as at least three of the goals resulted from strange bounces. On the opening goal by the Blue Jackets’ Josh Anderson, the puck was headed wide of the net until it hit the skate blade of Shea Theodore and bounced in behind Fleury, who received some interference from Anderson. The goal was challenged by Gallant for goalie interference, but upon video review from the War Room in Toronto, the challenge was denied and Columbus was awarded the goal while Vegas lost their timeout. Just 32 seconds after Anderson’s opening goal, the VGK snapped back to attention when Nate Schmidt’s backhand bounced off a Blue Jacket player’s leg and slipped by Sergei Bobrovsky to tie the score at 1-1.
The VGK power play is still a painting that we’re all waiting to dry. The zone entry on the power play seems to be the major concern; time after time, the puck is quickly shot back out of their zone. Their penalty kill, which last week was the second best in the league, has surrendered power-play goals in the last three games, including last night’s game winner.
When your fourth-line players have the most shots on goal in the game, it’s a clear case that something is just not right. Bellemare had four SOG, while Ryan Reaves had three.
The number-one line that was reunited in the Detroit game was kept together again and they showed a glimmer of hope in restoring the magic they had last season. Reilly Smith had two assists and was a +2 for the game, William Karlsson had a primary assist on Jon Merrill’s short-handed goal, and Jonathan Marchessault assisted on Nate Schmidt’s goal.
The goal that completed the strange bounces for the night happened with 4:29 left in the second. Columbus was buzzing the Vegas net, only to be denied by Fleury time after time. Then a puck was sent in deep behind the net and took a bounce that caught Fleury off guard. He was attempting to stop the puck behind the net when it suddenly came out in front, where Artemi Panarin deposited it into a completely empty net to tie the score at 2-2.
The loss last night makes it three losses in a row at home and a record of 2-5 in their last seven games. Last season, Vegas did lose three games in a row at home in March when they had a comfortable lead in the Pacific Division. They lost March 2 to Ottawa 5-4, 8-3 to the New Jersey Devils on March 14, and March 16 to Minnesota 4-2. This season they don’t have a comfortable lead in the Pacific at all, as they sit in third place with a record of 31-22-4 for 66 points.
Jon Merrill’s goal on the penalty kill was his second of the season. It was Merrill’s first short-handed goal of his career.
William Carrier returned to the lineup after missing the last 12 games.
My 3 Stars of the Game: Cam Atkinson (2 goals in 2:33, including the game winner on the power play), William Karlsson (assist on Jon Merrill’s short-handed goal), and Reilly Smith (a complete 200-foot game).
Next game is Tuesday against the Arizona Coyotes at 7 p.m.
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And 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.
And here are links to a couple videos:
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