Knights on Ice — No Miracle Phone Call, No Magical Line Combinations. Just a Wild Dream

In my last blog, I pretty much threw the entire team under the bus. I did mention that there was no miracle phone call that GM McPhee could make at the trade deadline or no magical line combinations that Coach Gallant could come up with that would save whatever is possibly left of this current season, which has been one disappointment after another, one game after another where playing 60 minutes is just not in their pedigree.

What I failed to take into consideration was a wild dream in which the entire team leaves T-Mobile in a funk, despondent and not believing in themselves following a very unKnight-like performance in their embarrassing loss to the Winnipeg Jets. Coach Gallant was even spotted searching for the Golden Misfits who epitomized hard work, determination, and a will to outhit, outskate, and outscore just about any team that stepped onto the ice or attempted to get in their way in the 2017-2018 season.

This wild dream didn’t even belong to the VGK. Instead, it belonged to Mark Stone, who arrived in Las Vegas just in time for his dream to become a reality. You see, Mark Stone never liked Max Pacioretty and the feeling was mutual. They played for teams that have always had a lot on animosity toward each other. With Max being the captain of the Canadians and Mark being one of the assistant captains of the Ottawa Senators, the hatred was not only real, but expected.

The stage was set. Following the Winnipeg game, no one on the entire VGK roster could look into the mirror without seeing a very unfamiliar face. They were the faces of 23 individual players who stopped playing for one another. This is not a highly skilled team up and down the lineup. There are a few highly skilled players, but not enough to carry the weight of 23. They used to be a team that pulled on the rope together, their recipe for last year’s success. I’m not sure when that mindset disappeared this season, but I do know from watching every game this team has ever played that something just wasn’t right.

GM McPhee didn’t have the miracle phone call, but he had something that may actually have been even better. He tried a few days before the trade deadline, but the price for Mark Stone, according to McPhee, just wasn’t right. I don’t know if George plays poker, but if he doesn’t, he sure could survive on the green felt. He knew that either Ottawa traded Stone at the very last minute or they lost him come July for zilch. He waited until his opponent became desperate, moved all in, and Ottawa folded.

The caveat to this was McPhee knew he needed something to right the ship, so to speak. What better way to energize his team than to bring in the most talented player available on Monday, the same player who could — and did — light a fire under Max Pacioretty’s ass.

Max was brought here as the new Golden Boy right before the season started and some would say that he hasn’t been as golden as was expected. Well, in the immortal words of the Eagles in “New Kid in Town,” “They’ll never forget you till somebody new comes along.”

Along comes Stone and all of a sudden, Max might be feeling like a new Golden Boy is here to claim that title. Athletes are proud people and Max responded in a huge way last night. He scored the tying goal, then added the winning goal to defeat the Dallas Stars 4-1.

Ironically, Vegas started their NHL inaugural season vs. Dallas and their first-ever win was back on Oct. 6, 2017, with a 2-1 victory in Dallas. Last night, Vegas might have started the comeback that saves their second season with a victory against the very same team that they started their amazing first season against.

So now to the dream.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think him and I would be in a celebration together,” commented Golden Knights forward Mark Stone on Max Pacioretty.

Funny how things work out.

What makes me think that McPhee knew the history between Max and Mark? He made sure their lockers are side by side. Nothing like keeping the competitive fires burning between these two, who now aren’t only playing on the same team together, but are playing on a line with Paul Stastny as the center.

Last night this line lit it up. Max was playing like he was on the trading block with his two goals, one on the power play, plus eight shots on goal. Stone, whose equipment didn’t arrive in Las Vegas until a few hours before the game, hadn’t been on the ice since Friday. That’s a long time for an NHL player who isn’t injured. But you’d never know it from watching him skate last night. He was clearly playing with emotion and adrenaline. The emotion that Stone brought to T-Mobile was contagious among the entire team, who may have played their best game in a very long time. Ryan Reaves, who’d been quiet in the past few games, was back to his wrecking-ball status. He had a game-high eight hits and Stars forward Andrew Cogliano left the game with an upper-body injury at 13:32 of the first period after he was hit by Reaves.

The VGK’s third-period performances of late have been sad, but last night they dominated the third, which was all tied up 1-1 after 40 minutes. In the period, Vegas had 21 shots on Ben Bishop, while Dallas was credited with one lone shot. With two empty-net goals to make the final score 4-1, you would think it was a close game. It was only 2-1 because of Ben Bishop, who put on a goaltending clinic to keep Dallas within striking distance. But with just one shot in the final period on Fleury, the majority of play was in the Dallas zone. Vegas wound up with 48 shots on Bishop, while Fleury faced 24, with 23 in the first two periods.

Vegas showed up at T-Mobile with a snarl on their faces and a purpose and were determined to play the kind of VGK hockey we’re accustomed too. Vegas had 46 hits total for the game. The crowd was into the game and the sound in the arena was so loud that this was a post-game quote from Coach Jim Montgomery of Dallas.

“When pressure is coming in this building, it’s so loud that D-men can be fifteen feet from [goalie Ben Bishop] and he can’t hear them. Second time I’ve coached here, I’m hoarse just yelling at line changes, so that players six feet from me can hear who’s up.”

Even though Alex Tuch, who was moved down to the third line to make room for Stone, didn’t register a point, he set up a screen on Pacioretty’s power-play goal that prevented Ben Bishop from seeing the shot.

With the addition of Stone, it now makes Vegas’ top three lines a force. And when you add the wrecking-ball line into the mix, teams won’t know who they need to put their top defensive line out against. Stone’s addition to the Vegas lineup is already causing problems and he hasn’t even scored a goal or registered a point yet.

Every VGK player had a least one shot on net and Colin Miller, who’d been a recent scratch, returned to the lineup while Nick Holden was a healthy scratch. Miller had four shots on goal.

Last night’s win was Fleury 30^th of the season and he now has had at least nine seasons with 30 or more wins in his 15-year career.

My 3 Stars of the Game: Max Pacioretty (2 goals, including a PPG and the game winner), Mark Stone (a complete 200-foot game that energized his teammates and the entire T-Mobile Arena), Ryan Reaves (back to his wrecking-ball mode with eight bone-crunching hits).

The next game is tomorrow against the Florida Panthers at 7 p.m. at T-Mobile.

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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.