Sunday is a special day for a lot of people — a day of rest in which families spend quality time together. There was no rest for Marc-André Fleury, however, who was playing in back-to-back games, his 3rd game in 4 nights, as he replaced Malcolm Subban after the first period in Arizona on Thursday. For the VGK power-play and penalty-killing unit, it was business as usual no matter what the day of the week.
The VGK power play is clicking at a 30% success rate, scoring 6 PPG in 20 chances. The PK unit is the best in the league, allowing only 1 power-play goal in 22 attempts, killing off the last 10 in a row and scoring 3 shorthanded goals. Impressive, to say the least. In their first 2 seasons, the VGK power-play unit didn’t get off to good starts and Coach Gallant was always being asked if he was concerned. Just 6 games into this season, that question isn’t being asked.
The power play unit, even when it’s not scoring, is moving the puck around with precision and for the most part keeping it in the offensive zone, which prevents the defending team from getting fresh legs on the ice as Vegas sends the 2nd wave of their power-play unit to finish up the final minute of the penalty. When you have 10 quality players in 2 units of 5 coming over the boards, it’s no fun for the 4 players and the goalie to contend with.
In French, fleury means “flower,” but Marc-André is the strongest flower I’ve ever seen. In 5 games, playing with no rest, his record is 4-0-1. Last night, not only was he a thorn in the side of the L.A. Kings, he made a series of incredible saves that had a resounding effect on the results of the game. I’ve included a video of his performance that left the Kings feeling more like servants than royalty. Last night, the VGK, especially the right pad of Fleury, fed the Kings to the lions.
I expected a lack of energy in the first period, considering both teams were playing in back-to-back games. But when Vegas scored 2 goals on their first 5 shots on the often-reliable Jonathan Quick, the Kings knew they would need to step it up quick before Vegas blew the game wide open. And to their credit, they responded with 16 shots on Fleury, compared to only 7 by Vegas.
But the Flower didn’t budge and basically with his right pad, he completely denied the Kings from gaining any momentum or a chance to get back into the game. Fleury made 2 saves that will be shown all over TV for the next two days on Kopitar and Carter, both of whom know how to find the back of the net. He also denied another King a sure goal with his right pad later in the game. They weren’t saves that happen to just hit him; as you’ll see, he makes a determined effort to get his right pad over to block shots that had goal written all over them. These saves demoralized the Kings and it showed in the 2nd period when they could muster only 8 shots.
Paul Stastny was reunited with Pacioretty and Stone on Saturday night and last night he continued to impress the coaching staff with 4 points (2 goals and 2 assists). Unlike the chemistry, or lack thereof, when Stastny was playing with Pirri and Zykov, the current chemistry with Stoner and Patches is flashing like the neon signs up and down the Vegas Strip. Still, there’s a problem brewing. What does Coach Gallant do when Alex Tuch is ready to return to the lineup?
He won’t mess with lines #1 and #1B, that’s for sure. So where does Tuch go? Someone is headed to the press box and it’s not Tuch or Cody Glass. And the way the Nosek-Revo-Carrier line is playing gives Gallant no reason to even tinker with that. Pirri is the odd man out, but do you sit Zykov next to Pirri in the press box? That would be a waste of talent, as Zykov has earned his ice time through the first 6 games. It’s an unfortunate problem for Pirri first and Zykov second. Moving Glass down to the 4th line is an option, but in my opinion, that would suppress a rising young star; Carrier and Reaves’ style of play doesn’t mesh well with Glass. This is a good problem for Gallant, but it will be one that may cause him to lose some sleep over.
Speaking of Sunday specials, the VGK are a special team on Sundays: In their brief history, they own a record of 19-3-1 in games played on Sundays.
Pacioretty continues to light it up, adding a goal and 2 assists last night, while Stone upped his goal total with yet another one last night.
The VGK also dominated in the faceoff circle, winning 62% of the draws, with both Glass and Marchessault winning every draw they took.
Up next is Nashville on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. at T-Mobile. Nashville is scoring goals at a rate of 4.6 per game, while the VGK’s 24 in 6 games is 4 goals per. Sounds like it could be a Good Old-Fashioned Shootout at the Arena. But keep in mind that if Fleury and his right pad are on the ice (and I’m 100% sure they will be), there’s always the possibility of donuts for all.
My 3 Stars of the Game: Paul Stastny, the right pad of Fleury, and Max Pacioretty
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The Pad That Saved the Day
by Eddie Rivkin
After drubbing the Flames 6-2 on Saturday night at the Fortress, the VGK were off to LaLa land for their first of back-to-backs against the Kings. The Kings were also on the back end of a back-to-back, having hung a seven spot Saturday night on the visiting Nashville Predators, earning a 7-4 victory in their home opener.
Once again, the VGK got off to a quick start with Reilly Smith opening the scoring at 5:42. Smith took a pass from Karlsson at the left face circle and beat Jonathan Quick high to the blocker side. Just 1:17 later with the VGK on the power play, Max Pacioretty made it 2-0 with a snapper high glove. It looked like the VGK were off to the races until a busted play in the neutral zone led to a Kings 2-on-1 rush. Austin Weber beat Flower high glove to cut the lead to 2-1 just 50 seconds later.
That’s the recap of the scoring, but not the story of the period.
The story of the first period was the right pad of the Flower. And okay, the body attached to that right pad. The Kings had two power plays in the first period and Flower absolutely stoned both Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown from point-blank range with his right pad. The rest of the Flower stopped 13 of 14 shots in the first period and preserved the 2-1 lead. It could have easily been 4-2 in favor of the home team.
The
second period was complete domination by the VGK. Coach Gallant rolled four
lines that applied constant pressure and drew two penalties. Paul Stastny
capitalized on both power plays to stretch the lead to 4-1. The VGK
outshot the Kings 23-8 in the period. Yes, you read that right: 23-8. Like I
said, complete domination.
As the 3rd period started, the result was pretty much decided.
The VGK continued to roll four lines and pressure the Kings all over the ice.
The glimmer of hope the Kings had when they cut the lead to 4-2 at 4:24 with a
goal by Dustin Brown was squashed just 17 seconds later when Mark Stone potted
his 4th of the year to give us the 5-2 final score.
Congrats to Coach Gallant on his 250th career win as a head coach. He has now surpassed the win total from his last employer — the one so generous to not only allow Coach Gallant to be available and hired by the VGK, but also to allow us to draft and acquire both Reilly Smith and Jonathan Marchessault, the Florida Panthers.
My 3 Stars of the Game: the (so called) 2nd line of Stone, Stastny, and Pacioretty (4 goals, 4 assists), the power-play units (3 for 3, improving to 6 for 20 on the season), and the Flower’s right pad and the rest of him (36 saves on 38 shots)
Thoughts from the couch (short and sweet version):
The VGK clearly shook off the beginning of the week’s poor performances. The weekend produced two completely dominant performances with the VGK returning to form.
Cody Glass continues to make his case that no matter who else is on the roster, he deserves to stay with the big club. With each game, he’s getting acclimated to the speed of the NHL. His patience with the puck and his vision on the ice bode extremely well for the VGK wherever Coach Gallant slots him in the lineup.
The Flower has played every game this season with the injury (again) to Malcolm Subban. This is not a good sign. The VGK are going to have to find a way to Oscar Dansk or Garret Sparks some starts and sooner rather than later.
Next up, the Preds visit the Fortress on Tuesday night. And as a side note, they arrived in Vegas after the game in L.A. So, 2½ days in Vegas before the game. Hmmmm … Vegas Flu, perhaps?
And Thursday, Mark Stone plays his first game against the team that drafted him when the Ottawa Senators visit the Fortress on Thursday.
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