Knights on Ice — Who Would Have Thought?

Who would have thought that the VGK would start the season with Marc-Andre Fleury still on the team? Who would have thought they would set a franchise record with 4 straight wins to open the season? Who would have thought that they’d be the only team in the entire NHL that remains undefeated that has played at least 4 games?

Well, last night the VGK accomplished this when they dominated the Arizona Coyotes by a score of 5-2 at T-Mobile Arena, which remains almost completely empty, except for Alex Petrangelo’s wife and children, along with a handful of media.

What’s even more unbelievable is that the VGK haven’t come even close to playing to their potential in these 4 games, especially the first 3. Last night’s game approached what’s expected from this team, but it’s still missing something. It would be easy to point to their power play, which has been anemic at best. In their first 3 games, the power play was 0-7, including when they had a 5-on-3 advantage. Last night, they finally scored a PPG in 7 attempts. They once again had a 5-on-3 advantage and came up empty. One goal in 14 power-play chances gets you nowhere fast in this league. The VGK were blessed with a pretty easy schedule for their first 6 games and could actually win their next 2 games against the Coyotes, who looked totally uninspired last night.

It’s sad that this 4-game winning streak to open the season didn’t take place in front of 18,000+ fans. The building would have been rocking. But no one is there and it’s surreal watching a game without the crowd and feeling their energy that translates onto the ice and has been known to give the players an extra boost. Being at sold-out games is special. If you haven’t experienced it, it’s a must to attend a VGK home game — when you and 18,000 fans can.

Yes, the arena staff pumps in crowd noise and even has a recording of “KNIGHTS!” being yelled at the exact moment that the 18,000 fans would be doing so during the anthem. But it just doesn’t have the same effect and the players themselves have admitted they miss not only the fans, but the energy that they create.

The VGK finally played a game where they were engaged for almost the whole 60 minutes, which wasn’t the case in their first 3 games. They’ll need to find their game more quickly, because after this soft spot of 6 games in the schedule, they face St. Louis and San Jose. Then, after 2 games against L.A. and Anaheim, they go up against the team they’ll most likely fight tooth and nail for first place in the Honda West division: the Colorado Avalanche in 4 straight games.

Last night the team played well and Fleury was outstanding, even though he faced only 23 shots. He made the big saves when it mattered. Fleury has actually outplayed Robin Lehner in his 2 wins. Who would’ve thought that the Flower would be in the net this season for the VGK, considering the drama that surrounded the VGK goaltending situation in Edmonton?

The answer to this questions is, “No one.” When the team lost in the conference finals to the Dallas Stars in the Edmonton bubble, the internet was on fire about where Fleury would end his career. It sure didn’t seem like it would be in Las Vegas. Peter Deboer, the VGK coach, made it very clear that he believed that Robin Lehner was the goaltender of the future for the VGK.

But 4 games in, Fleury is back and it’s a problem with a silver lining. Then again, being 4-0 solves most problems.

In their previous 3 games, the Knights had trouble generating shots and scoring goals in the early stages. Last night, their first goal came on their first shot, scored by Shea Theodore. In addition, Alex Pietrangelo got his first goal as a VGK on the team’s 4th shot of the game. Mark Stone continued his scoring frenzy with a goal on a breakaway to give Vegas a 3-0 lead. Stone’s goal was the game winner as Arizona snuck 2 behind Fleury. Theodore added his second goal of the game and Alex Tuch scored the 5th on the power play that will need to get better before Vegas faces off against the better teams in the west division.

My 3 Stars of the Game: Shea Theodore (2 goals), Alex Tuch (1G, 2A), Marc-Andre Fleury (21 saves on 23 shots)

The next 2 games are against Arizona on Friday (6 p.m.) and Sunday (1 p.m.). Friday’s game is at 6PM Pacific Time

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Stone’s breakaway goal

Theodore’s second goal

Tuch’s PPG