Knights on Ice — VGK Returning to a Familiar Place

The VGK unfortunately are returning to a familiar place, one that they could and should have avoided in their last 2 playoff appearances and now for the third time. In the last 3 years, this team has blown a 3-1 series lead forcing a Game 7. Losing last night 3-0 in an extremely disappointing performance forces another showdown for all the marbles.

A lot of us were confident that once they ripped off 3 wins in a row, with 2 of them in Minnesota, the series was all but over; Game 5 at T-Mobile on Monday night was just a formality, all that stood in the way of the much-anticipated 2nd round series vs. Colorado. Well, Game 5 didn’t go as planned and last night’s Game 6 became necessary.

If you’d told me that the VGK would stink up the place last night offensively, I’d have responded, “You don’t know the character of this team.” Mark Stone, its heart and soul, would make sure they were ready to face the challenge. Not only was the team not prepared, but Stone was invisible last night, not even registering a SOG.

I understand that 4 players were absent from last night’s game: their leading goal scorer Max Pacioretty; their shutdown defenseman Brayden McNabb (COVID); Tomás Nosek, who not only plays on the PK unit and puts in big defensive minutes as a forward but has also contributed with key goals this season; and Ryan Reaves, without whom a sustained forecheck is clearly evident.

But even with all of these key players missing you just cannot allow Cam Talbot to shut you out in 2 games out of 6. Of course, when you avoid the front of the net the way Vegas has during this series, you make Talbot look a lot better than he is. Fleury held Minnesota scoreless through the first 40 minutes of last night’s game, but he can only do so much. He needs some sort of goal support.

Last night’s game had the same feel as Game 1: The next goal would be enough to win the game. Ryan Hartman scored 4:21 into the 3rd period, catching both Shea Theodore and Alex Pietrangelo flat-footed as they were pinching into their offensive zone. Kevin Fiala and Hartman entered the VGK defensive zone with only Cody Glass back covering for Theodore and Pietrangelo. Cody, inserted into the lineup in place of the injured Ryan Reaves, failed to stop the cross-ice pass to Hartman from Fiala. On a play like this, Glass’ only responsibility was to prevent the pass from going left to right as Fleury was focused and committed to his right facing the expected shot from Fiala. When Glass didn’t get his stick flat on the ice, the puck made it across to Hartman, who basically had a wide-open net.

With the score 1-0 and the VGK offense MIA, things were not looking good for ending the series in Minnesota last night. One of the few times that a VGK player dared to go to the front of the net, it paid off, as Chandler Stephenson scored when Alex Tuch got tangled up with Minnesota defenseman Dumba in front of Talbot. On the replay, it looked like Dumba was pushing Tuch deeper into the blue paint. It also appeared that the referee standing on the goal line pointed to the net to signal a goal for Vegas that would have tied the game and sent it into a totally different direction. The TV cameras immediately focused on the Minnesota bench, whose coach seemed to be considering challenging the goal for goaltender interference. But in an unexpected turn of events, the on-ice officials were now calling it no goal, forcing Pete DeBoer to challenge the call on the ice. Once again, expecting a consistent ruling on exactly what is and isn’t goaltender interference is asking for a lot. The no-goal ruling was upheld, the goal was taken off the scoreboard, and Vegas was now issued a 2-minute penalty for delay of game. It was a smart gamble by DeBoer as goals in this game were few and far between and the VGK PK unit was a perfect 8-for-8. If the challenge was upheld, the game was tied 1-1; if not, the PK unit would be keep Minnesota off the board with over 8 minutes to get at least one puck past Talbot.

But for the first time in 6 games, the Minnesota Wild scored a PPG when Kevin Fiala scored just 40 seconds into the power play on a shot from the point that Fleury never saw. It went between Pietrangelo’s legs as he attempted to block it with Joel Eriksson Ek standing directly in front of Fleury. It was now 2-0 and your tickets for Game 7 became valid.

There’s no reason to bitch and moan about the goaltending interference call. You can’t win if you don’t score goals. Minnesota had a grand total of 4 goals in the first 4 games; the Wild has now scored 7 goals in the last 2. They’re actively putting players in front of Fleury, taking his eyes away. The VGK are trying to score on Talbot with shots he can see from the moment they leave the sticks. They need to stop making Talbot look like a world-class goaltender he is not. He’s a good goaltender, but if you don’t screen him or get your sticks down on the ice in front of him, you’re going home a lot sooner than you were expecting.

Other game notes. Here’s some encouraging news: Pete DeBoer is 5-0 in Game 7s. Here’s some discouraging news: The Minnesota Wild have never lost a Game 7; they’re 3-0 and all of their Game 7 wins have come on the road. And here’s some neutral news: The VGK are 1-1 in Game 7s. They beat Vancouver last year in the Edmonton bubble and lost a Game 7 in San Jose in the now-famous “It wasn’t a major” game.

My 3 Stars of the Game
1) The entire Minnesota Wild team (who refused to quit when everyone had them dead in the water after Game 4)
2) Ryan Hartman (GWG)
3) Kevin Fiala (1G, 1A, and the power-play goal that all but assured Game 7)

Next game is tomorrow at T-Mobile, 6 p.m. Pacific Time

If you want to hear and see more VGK content please check out the podcast I do with Eddie Rivkin on YouTube, “Hockey Knights in Vegas.”

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 on LasVegasAdvisor.com. What better way is there to enjoy your morning coffee than reading my take on last night’s VGK game.

Hartman’s GWG

Fiala’s PPG

Some Talbot saves