Knights on Ice — 3 + 3 +3 = 9

Alex Tuch has three goals in the past two games after going nine straight without one. Malcolm Subban has won three consecutive games after failing to win any in his first six starts of the season. And last night at Madison Square Garden, the VGK beat the New York Rangers 4-1 for their 3^rd consecutive win for the first time this season.

It should be noted that in the last 2 games that VGK have played at Madison Square Garden, Alex Tuch has scored 3 goals and the winning goal in both. Alex wasn’t aware of that; you can see in his post-game video when I told him that, he was surprised. After being informed of it, he admitted that playing in his home state in front of his mom, dad, and friends at the world’s most famous arena was pretty cool.

Actually, what was really cool last night was watching the new 3^rd line of Cody Glass (#9) at center with Alex Tuch and William Carrier on the wings. They combine for the Knights’ fastest line. In addition, with the speed and power of both Tuch and Carrier, along with with the vision and precise passing from Cody Glass, this now presents a new problem for opposing teams: There’s no drop-off of offense from the first 9 forwards they have to face. All present a problem for any team going forward.

On Sunday, I attended the VGK practice at the Prudential Center and noted in a Facebook post that the entire team was flying. Last night, they continued right where they left off on Sunday. It looked like they were shot out of a cannon right across Broadway.

Before the Rangers even broke a sweat, Alex Tuch had scored his 2 goals — the first just 1:34 into the game. Just 18 seconds later, his speed caused Brady Skjei to take a holding-the-stick penalty on Alex. Then, while on the power play, Tuch scored again just 2:16 after his first goal and 2 seconds before the Skjei penalty expired. Vegas was 2-for-2 on the power play and the penalty kill held the Rangers scoreless in their 6 power-play attempts. An impressive special-team performance.

Post-game, Coach Gallant admitted that if he had been told Vegas would give the Rangers six power plays, he would have thought they couldn’t win such a game. But even with all those man disadvantages, the outcome of the game was never really in question. The VGK played an impressive 1^st period and one of their overall better games, 29 into this season.

Back to #9 Cody Glass. No one wants to see another player get hurt, but Cody Eakin’s injury may be the spark that this team needed in having a solution to the lack of offensive contributions from the 3^rd line. While Eakin was struggling in goal production, with just 3 in 24 games (one an empty-netter), Glass was playing out of position on the wing; his strong suit is at center. If the new 3^rd line can continue the chemistry they exhibited last night, Gallant will be hard-pressed to break it up. Many have said that both Eakin and the team would be better positioned by Cody centering the 4^th line, thus leaving the other Cody in a position he’s comfortable with.

Malcolm Subban was good last night when he had to be, making 29 saves on the 30 shots he faced.

Reilly Smith extended the lead to 3-0 with a breakaway goal at 4:44 of the second period.

Max Pacioretty made it 4-0 at 6:20, scoring a power-play goal on a one-timer from the bottom of the right circle off a sweet cross-ice pass from Cody Glass, who was on the goal line below the left circle.

They only goal that Subban gave up was a tip-in by

Brendan Lemieux scored on a deflection of a shot by defenseman Jacob Trouba that went between McNabb’s legs at 15:15 of the 2^nd period. That cut the 4-0 lead to 4-1, the closest the Rangers would come.

A telling stat on how dominant the VGK were: They forced the Rangers into 23 giveaways, while Vegas had only 6.

My 3 Stars of the Game: Alex Tuch (2 goals, including the game winner and a PPG), Max Pacioretty (1 PPG, 5 shots on net, 1 blocked shot, and 1 takeaway. Note that when one of your top players is blocking shots in a 4-0 game, he’s setting an example for the young players and the entire team. You lead by example and over the last 5 games, Patches has been doing just that), Malcolm Subban (29 saves on 30 shots, while also silencing his critics.

Meanwhile, Vegas Golden Knights General Manager Kelly McCrimmon has announced the following roster transactions. The team has assigned forward Nicolas Roy to the American Hockey League’s Chicago Wolves and acquired forward Chandler Stephenson from the Washington Capitals in exchange for a fifth-round selection in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. Stephenson will wear number 17.

The 25-year-old Stephenson has appeared in 168 NHL games, all with Washington, recording 33 points (14 G, 19 A) to go with 16 penalty minutes. This season with the Capitals, he appeared in 24 games and recorded four points (3 G, 1 A) to go with six penalty minutes. Stephenson helped the Capitals win the 2018 Stanley Cup and in 30 Stanley Cup playoff games, he recorded seven points (2 G, 5 A) to go with 10 penalty minutes.

Next game is back-to-back against the New Jersey Devils, who also played last night in Buffalo and got slapped around pretty good by the Sabres, with a final score of 7-1. They gave up the first 6 goals. Vegas needs to be ready for today’s game, continue with another fast start, and take the fight out of the Devils, who lost to the Rangers 4-0 at home on Saturday.

Corner Turned?

by Eddie Rivkin

The VGK began a critical three-game-in-four-nights road trip through metropolitan New York with a visit to the most famous arena in the world, Madison Square Garden, and a tilt against the New York Rangers.

My God, that reads like the lead every other real writer will open with. Am I turning into one of them?

While I appreciate what (some) of them do, I really don’t want to write the same style they do.

Forget it, I’m writing whatever the hell I want, any way I want. Only Joe (and his editor) are going to pull up on my unique take on things.

So, I’m starting over with this.

Last night at Madison Square Garden, the VGK kicked the Rangers’ ass up and down the ice, leading to a complete 4-1 victory. It was neither perfect nor a full 60-minute domination, but it was one of the best overall performances we’ve seen from the VGK this season. It was right up there with the season-opening two game beatdown of the Sharks and the recent 6-0 smashing of the Flames.

It was vintage VGK from the opening puck drop: high-pressure forechecking and quick precise puck movement out of the D Zone. It was on full display as the VGK jumped out to a 2-0 lead four minutes into the first period with a pair of goals from the resurgent Alex Tuch. They outshot the Rangers 17-12 and except for a couple of minor penalties to Nic Hague, it was as solid a start and period as we have seen all season (more about penalties later).

Hague’s second minor, late in the first period, led to the Rangers’ only extended offensive pressure of the evening. The 1:13 that carried over into the second period began 5 solid minutes of pressure on the VGK and Malcolm Subban. They bent, but didn’t break. Then the VGK effectively ended the game with two goals in 1:36.

The first was a 125-foot breakaway goal by Riley Smith. Smith was so far behind the Rangers defense that he looked back on his way down the ice. I bet he couldn’t believe how free and clear he was. It was Smith’s team-leading 12^th of the season.

The VGK stretched the lead to 4-0 on a magnificent no-look cross-crease pass by rookie Cody Glass, the same Cody Glass a bunch of traditional writers said should start the season in Chicago. Well, a Vegas insider claimed that young Mr. Glass is the only player on the VGK who could make such a pass.

I guess I should mention that the Rangers scored their only goal of the night at the 15:15 mark when Brandon Lemieux tipped in a shot pass from Jacob Trouba at the right point. The VGK outshot the Rangers 11-7 but after the first five minutes of the period, it was all VGK, except for the Ranger goal.

Even the recently ice-cold-on-the-road VGK PP was suddenly 2-for-2 with a goal in each period.

The third period was by far the least productive/effective for the VGK. They clearly took their foot off the gas, which I’m sure Coach Gallant will discuss with them. They lost focus, which resulted in four lazy irresponsible minor penalties. All that penalty time resulted in far too much D Zone time. Once again, they bent, but didn’t break, and Subban had to do his only heavy lifting of the game to maintain the 4-1 lead. He did that and improved to 3-0-0 in his last three starts, securing the 4-1 win.

Here are a bunch of facts stats and tidbits to ponder.

The VGK won their third game in a row for the first time this season.

The PP was 2-for-2 and the PK was 6-for-6. That’s what you call dominating the special-teams part of the game.

During the win streak, Malcolm Subban has stopped 95 out of 100 shots he has faced. Whaddaya got to say now, naysayers?

The PP scored twice in a (road) game for the second time this season.

Six penalties is unacceptable, especially when most are stick fouls that aren’t directly stopping scoring chances, also known as “good” penalties. Bad penalties will kill a team. I hope this was just a result of the game being out of hand and not a return to the bad form the VGK started the year off with.

Did you know that since the VGK entered the league 2+ seasons ago, December has been their most successful month in terms of wins and points earned? Trust me, it’s true.

How about that new-look 3^rd line! 28/9/89 was the first combination spun through the Gallant Line Blender to produce real offense. I suspect it may stay this way for a bit. And depending on exactly how well it goes, Cody Eakin might be relegated to 4C. Throw in the fact that he’s going to be a UFA at the end of the season… Know where I’m going with this?

Cody Glass is a natural centerman and should play there full-time. Playing wing isn’t necessarily stunting his growth as an NHL player, but it’s not using him to the best of his abilities and skill set. He is not (yet) big or strong enough to play on the wall and be effective. As a center, he uses his high hockey IQ and vision of the ice to set up his line mates for Grade A scoring chances. Give the kid a chance and make him 3C.

The VGK acquired Chandler Stevenson from the Washington Capitals for a 2021 5^th round pick. Don’t know who the hell he is? Just know this about the newest Knight. He was drafted in the 3^rd round by … George McPhee. You’re going to like him. He’s a no-nonsense, hard-working, grinder kind of player.

Most interesting is where he’ll fit in the lineup and what (if any) other dominoes his acquisition will topple. Stand by. This could get interesting.

3 Stars: Alex Tuch (2 goals), Malcolm Subban (29 saves on 30 shots), Max Pacioretty (1 goal)

Next up is a quick turnaround and a trip over the Hudson River to visit Nikita Gusev and the New Jersey Devils. A reverse-revenge game!

Stay warm Joe!

Your comments and opinions are welcome here at Las Vegas Advisor or you can contact me directly at [email protected] or you can visit my Facebook Page or the Facebook Page of Vegas Hockey Guy.