Knights on Ice – Nolo Contendere, Or in Vegas Terminology — No Call No Show

Nolo contendere is a legal term that comes from the Latin phrase for “I do not wish to contend.” It’s also referred to as a legal plea of no contest. In Las Vegas, it’s called “no call, no show” when you fail to show up for your scheduled work shift without calling in, which will usually lead to your termination. Last night the St. Louis Blues used their option and declared nolo contendere in their game against the VGK. Who could blame them? They had zero to play for. Whether they won or lost their remaining 4 games, their 4^th-place position in the Honda West Division wouldn’t change one bit and their lack of effort showed in the 4-1 VGK win. The Blues came to town looking for just 1 point to lock up the final playoff spot and they accomplished that in the OT loss Friday night

Last night’s win keeps the VGK 4 points ahead of the Colorado Avalanche, who also won last night. It also sets up the most important regular season game in the VGK’s entire franchise history on Monday night. 

The Blues registered just 3 shots on Marc-Andre Fleury in the first period; they didn’t register their first shot of the game until 9:30 had been played. This continued for the first 40 minutes as St. Louis had only 8 shots total after 2 periods. They registered only their 4^th shot of the game 7:30 into the 2^nd period. They actually scored a goal on their 7^th shot when Colton Parayko picked the pocket of Shea Theodore and cut in front of the net to slip in the only puck that would get behind Fleury. Shea Theodore is a gifted offensive defenseman, no question about that. But lately, he’s having defensive breakdowns which are leading to opposition goals. He had one on the Blues shorthanded goal on Friday night when he overcommitted to the boards, only to see Tyler Bosek beat him to the inside and then swoop in on Robin Lehner before dishing the puck to Ryan O’Reilly for the shorthanded goal. The team system that DeBoer uses is geared for the defensemen to join in on the offensive portion of the game, but it also calls for some defensive responsibility, and lately, Shea hasn’t held up that part of the bargain. Come playoff time, goals will be hard to come by as the ice will shrink. Not literally, but teams will lock things down. These last 2 goals that Shea was part of cannot happen if this team wants postseason success. 

St. Louis did finally decide to play the last 20 minutes following Parayko’s goal, which came with just 37 seconds left in the 2^nd period. The Blues wound up with more shots in the last 20 minutes of the game (13) than they had for the first 40 minutes (8), with 5 of them coming on 3 power plays. Accordingly, Fleury wasn’t very busy last night, but some of his saves in the 3^rd period had the crowd buzzing. He’s now won 8 games in a row and I believe he’s given coach DeBoer enough to break the rotation and start Fleury on Monday night. No disrespect to Robin Lehner, but remember the Edmonton bubble, when DeBoer claimed that he was playing the goaltender that gave the team the best shot to win. Well, Pete, you have a chance to keep your coaching philosophy intact. Don’t deviate now. We won’t have to wait long to find out if DeBoer makes what seems to be the right choice for the team.

Talk about getting it right! Just at the right time, Reilly Smith, who’d never had a hat trick in 628 NHL games, got his first last night. Smith has 5 goals in his last 3 games. Here’s a strange occurrence: Smith, who plays almost exclusively on the original misfit line with William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault, somehow scored his 3 goals without an assist from either of his line mates from the 2017-2018 season. 

Once again, the VGK played with only 17 skaters of 11 forwards and 6 defensemen, and wound up finishing the game with just 10 forwards when Peyton Krebs took a puck to the face. He was cut and never returned to the game. His status for Monday, along with that of Pacioretty, Nosek, and Reaves, remains uncertain. Vegas, who was 0-4-1 when playing without a full roster, has now won their last 3 games. 

Other Game Notes

Alec Martinez, who is quietly becoming one of the top 2 defensemen on this team, had an incredible 9 blocked shots last night. His shot-blocking streak of 50 games continues. Martinez also has 2 goals and 3 assists in his last 5 games. Alec does pose a problem for the VGK, his contract expires on Wednesday after the VGK’s final game against the San Jose Sharks. He’ll become a UFA (unrestricted free agent) in the off-season. The defensive core for the VGK right now is solid and everyone is under contract for next season except Martinez. Somehow the VGK must avoid losing him to free agency. This team is built to win right now and for at least the next 3-4 years.  

My 3 Stars of the Game 

1) Reilly Smith (hat trick) 

2) Alec Martinez (primary assist on Reilly Smith’s PPG and 9 blocked shots) 

3) Chandler Stephenson (1 shorthanded goal, which was the GWG and the first shorthanded goal St. Louis has given up all season) 

Next game is Monday vs. Colorado @ 7 PM Pacific Time at T-Mobile  

If you want to hear and see more VGK content, please check out the podcast I do with Eddie Rivkin on YouTube. It’s called Hockey Knights in Vegas. Here is a link to our previous podcast. Enjoy.  

Hockey Knights in Vegas – YouTube 

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

One other note: If you’re reading this blog from Facebook or Twitter and would like to access it earlier in the morning before I share it on social media, it’s usually published by 8 a.m. the morning after a game at LasVegasAdvisor.com. What better way is there to enjoy your morning coffee than reading my take on last night’s VGK game. 

Reilly Smith 3 goals
Stephenson’s shorthanded goal
A huge save by Fleury on a breakaway