Knights on Ice —Just Give Tuch the Puck and Leave the Rest to Panda

In sports, you win as a team. This is especially true in the NHL. But last night, the VGK used the speed and soft hands of Alex Tuch and the wall of Robin “Panda” Lehner to get a leg up in the best-of-7 series against the Vancouver Canucks with a 3-0 shutout. It was the Panda’s second shutout in this series alone and his fourth  against Vancouver. He’s beaten Vancouver four times in his career, all four shutouts.

He shut them out in Game 1 of this Round 1 series on Aug. 23 with a 5-0 win on 26 shots, as well as back on Feb. 23, 2019, while playing for the NY Islanders, stopping all 36 shots and on Jan. 25, 2018, playing for Buffalo and stopping all 30 shots.

Teams that win Game 3 after a Stanley Cup playoff series is tied 1-1 are 218-107 (67.1%) in winning a best-of-7 series.

Now to Tuch, who seems to have an extra gear these days. His goal was an extraordinary display of soft hands. He took a pass from Nicholas Roy as he broke into the offensive zone, beating both Vancouver defenseman with his speed, but there was just one small problem. The pass from Roy was bouncing like a basketball and Tuch, at Mach speed, had to settle it down not once, but twice, to get it on his stick. Then he made it seem effortless as he lifted the puck high over Jacob Markstrom’s left shoulder for the first goal of the game and the game-winner. Tuch spent a good deal of time injured this past season and scored only 8 goals during the 42 games he played in. He’s now scored 7 goals in 11 playoff games so far in the Edmonton bubble. Prior to this year, Tuch had 6 playoff goals in 26 games. Tuch has scored in four straight postseason games to tie Jonathan Marchessault (2019) for the longest streak in Vegas history. He’s also leading the team in goals scored with 7, followed closely by Mark Stone’s 6. Stone scored a 3rd-period power-play goal for some additional security in the team’s important victory last night.

Vegas withstood a 1st-period onslaught by Vancouver, which registered 16 shots on goal in the first 20 minutes. The ice appeared tilted as Vancouver came in waves, but Lehner stood tall and kept the game from getting away from the VGK. Vegas’ 2 first-period goals came on their first 3 shots on Markstrom in a span of just 1:23. Rookie sensation Zack Whitecloud, who’s so new that the VGK website doesn’t even have his pictured listed on the roster page, scored his 2nd goal of the playoffs, along with 1 assist, in his 11 games.

All 3 VGK goals were scored with high shots over the shoulders of Markstrom. This is very much based on a scouting report on Markstrom, who’s 6 foot 6 inches tall. Tall goaltenders tend to have trouble with low shots, but the VGK coaching staff and scouts feel that they’re on to something here. The majority of shots that are not one-timers are being shot high to his glove and blocker side. It’s an unusual plan of attack for a goaltender as tall as Markstrom, but one that seems to have merit.

After their Game 2 loss to Vancouver, Coach DeBoer called his team a “a little late, a little soft, and a little slow.” DeBoer’s message was heard loud and clear by his team. They were anything but late to the pucks or soft along the walls and there was nothing slow about them, especially when the conversation turns to Alex Tuch. Even Lehner, not known for his speed or agility, had a few moments of quickness in the first period when he was tested, especially on the Vancouver power plays and their 5-on-3 man advantage.

Panda and his wall of bamboo shoots were virtually unbeatable last night, especially in the first period where Vancouver had 16 shots, including 3 power plays and a 2-man advantage to boot. Bamboo shoots have a mild flavor that’s somewhat similar to water chestnuts. But to the Canucks, the flavor of the Panda wall of shoots leaves a real bad taste in their mouths. The game was won in the first period and Panda had a lot to do with that.

The VGK are 8-0 when scoring 3 or more goals in a playoff game. With solid goaltending, you can easily see why.

Panda’s excellent play, unfortunately, sends us right back to the Fleury saga, which just won’t go away. Will DeBoer use Fleury today in the back-to-back situation that has occurred because of the suspension of all NHL playoff games on Thursday and Friday? Do you take out a goaltender who’s pitched a shutout against Vancouver 2 of the last 3 games?

This will again shine a bright light on a situation that I’m sure the entire VGK organization would like to disappear sooner than later, but won’t be going away anytime soon. If DeBoer does play Lehner today, in my opinion, the likelihood of Fleury playing for the VGK in the 2020-2021 season, whenever it commences, will suddenly get real slim.

The once-touted mantra of the VGK having the best goaltender tandem in the entire NHL will officially be buried somewhere in the desert where a few guys who crossed the mob wound up.

Lehner was asked after the game last night if he thought he’d be the starting goaltender today in Game 4. “I don’t know. We’ll see what coach says,” Lehner replied. “No matter what people think, it’s a great thing to have. I mean, there’s going to be some discussions, debates, and some people are not going to be happy all the time with who’s playing, but at the end of the day, whoever plays, just go out and do their best. There’s a very tight group in this locker room, and we’re all supportive of each other, and whoever plays, everyone supports, so it’s a good situation inside the locker room and I hope everyone can get behind that.”

Unfortunately, Robin, Fleury has too much history and love from the city of Las Vegas for this to happen. It’s a double-edged sword. Everyone wants this team to win the Stanley Cup, but a large section of the fan base isn’t happy about this situation and can’t see their way to “get behind that.”

On a positive note, the VGK, which broke a shitload of NHL records for an expansion team in the 2017-2018 season, just broke another record that is reserved for all teams and not just an expansion team. With last night’s victory, the VGK became the fastest NHL team to their first 25 playoff wins in just 38 games. The record was previously held by 3 NHL teams with a more than a few Stanley Cups to their name.

Montreal took 44 games to get to their 25 playoff wins. The Edmonton Oilers and NY Islanders took 43. Montreal has won 24 Stanley Cups, Edmonton 5, and New York 4.

The VGK are in good company with these 3 teams. Is this the year that they join this cherished group?

My 3 Stars of the Game: Alex Tuch (GWG along with playing all 200 feet of the ice; he’s emerged in these playoffs), Robin Lehner (whose 16 first period saves were a key moment in this crucial win), Zach Whitecloud (1G and playing like he’s been in the league for 5-plus years. He won’t be a 3^rd defensive pairing much longer)

Next game is today at 7:30 p.m. on the NBC Sports Network.

Your comments and opinions are welcome here on Las Vegas Advisor or you can contact me directly at [email protected] or on my Facebook page or the Facebook page of Vegas Hockey guy or on Twitter @TheRealJoePane

Tuch’s goal

Whitecloud’s goal