Knights on Ice — The Habs Come Out Firing, but Fleury Is Vegas Strong

The Montreal Canadiens arrived in Las Vegas riding a 7-game winning streak. They hadn’t lost a game since May 25 and hadn’t trailed for 447:08, nearly eight hours of playing time, the second longest streak in playoff history. The 1959-60 Canadiens went 488:38 without trailing. They also had the last 6 days to rest after sweeping the Winnipeg Jets.

And all of this showed, as Montreal came to play and were in complete control until Shea Theodore, who hadn’t scored a playoff goal this season beat Carey Price with a bullet shot from the blueline 9:15 after the opening faceoff. Two streaks ended at the very same moment: Shea’s goalless streak and the Montreal streak of never playing from behind.

Price appeared to be screened by Mark Stone as he was slow to react to Shea’s slapshot. How would the Habs react to playing from behind? The answer was, “Not good.” They never recovered from the opening goal and eventually lost 4-1, giving the VGK the first lead in their three playoff series. They lost Game 1 to Minnesota in Round 1 at T-Mobile and lost the first 2 games of their Round 2 series vs. Colorado.

Marc-Andre Fleury was the reason the Canadiens played from behind after Shea’s goal. Montreal did everything but score in the first 9 minutes of the game and Fleury was Vegas strong in denying multiple high-danger scoring chances, many in the blue paint just inches from the goal line. Fleury’s athleticism, combined with his high degree of natural talent, especially with pucks in and around his feet, frustrated Montreal.

Carey Price is as talented as Fleury and a few years younger. He’d just beaten the Toronto Maple Leafs in 4 consecutive games after trailing 3 games to 1, and then beat the Winnipeg Jets in 4 straight games. So you had to assume the VGK goal scorers — Mark Stone, Max Pacioretty, or Jonathan Marchessault — were responsible for the result. In fact, none of the top 6 forwards scored a goal. The VGK defensemen were the real catalyst of last night’s Game 1 victory. Alec Martinez, Nick Holden, and Theodore scored 3 of the 4 goals and accounted for 18 of their 30 shots on Price (60%), along with 33 shot attempts.

Just like Vegas shut down the top line of the Colorado Avalanche, this team can win in many different ways. You shut down their top 2 lines? No problem. The VGK defensemen will activate in the offensive zone. And if you were wondering about the contribution from the Montreal defensemen, they had zero goals and zero shots on net. Their 9 shot attempts were eaten up by the legs, sticks and bodies of the VGK. Alec Martinez, Brayden McNabb, and Alex Pietrangelo had 3 blocked shots each and Zach Whitecloud had 1.

Some hockey writers or broadcasters will tell you over and over again how faceoffs have no effect on the game. Really? Let’s have a close look at Theodore’s goal. It came after an icing, which brought the ensuing faceoff back into the Montreal defensive zone to the right of Price. Chandler Stephenson cleanly beat former VGK Nick Suzuki on the faceoff; he got the puck to Brayden McNabb, who sent it back to the blueline, where Shea launched his shot past Price for the lead that VGK never surrendered. This goal was a direct result of the faceoff win.

But I’m not done yet. Janmark’s goal, the only one not scored by a defenseman, came off another faceoff win by Nicolas Roy to the left of Carey Price. Roy sent the puck back to Zach Whitecloud, who walked the blueline, going right to left and drawing the forward with him. Then he threw the puck back over to Alex Tuch on the right wall who was all alone. Tuch’s shot hit the skate of Montreal defenseman Brett Kulak and Janmark was in the right place at the right time for a greasy goal to extend the VGK lead to 3-1. Montreal had trimmed the 2-0 Vegas lead to 2-1 on a power play goal by Cole Caufield 12:05 into the 2nd period. Janmark’s goal came just 53 seconds after Caufield’s goal to regain the 2-goal lead.

Nick Holden is contributing immensely in these playoffs. In his 11 games, he has 14 shots on goal, 2 goals, 5 assists, and is a +5 with zero penalty minutes. Shots on goal by defensemen create many opportunities: They can score, create rebounds for teammates in the blue-paint area, and at the very least the puck is in deep in the defending team’s defensive zone with additional opportunities for the forecheck. And if none of the above happens, it at least forces the other team to go close to 200 feet to create its own scoring chances. Scoring is always the best way to win games, but hemming the other team deep in their defensive zone is also a proven winning hockey formula.

Other game notes and quotes.

Vegas has more goals (9), more assists (28), and the most points (37) from its defensemen than any other team in the playoffs.

In addition to three of the Golden Knights’ four goals, defensemen accounted for six of their 12 points and 18 of their 30 shots.

If you were waiting for a storyline about Pacioretty vs. Suzuki, there was none. Suzuki was cleanly beaten on the faceoff on the Theodore goal and he lost his check on Reilly Smith on the Martinez goal. Plus, Max played with a bit of a chip on his shoulder last night. He knocked Corey Perry down as they waited to take a faceoff. Perry wasn’t pleased and appeared to offer Max a chance to drop his gloves. Perry plays on the 4th line, while Max plays on the #1 line — bad tradeoff for Vegas. Max wasn’t done laying people out or knocking them off their skates. He had a devastating reverse hit on Ben Chiarot behind the net. Chiarot was incensed and chased Max, who paid no attention to Chiarot’s cross-check and slash. Hockey players have long memories. Perry and Chiarot may be looking for payback on Max. This could get interesting.

When asked about Fleury, DeBoer said, “Thankfully, Flower was our best player. It gave us a chance to get our legs. I really liked our game in the second and third periods.”

The Golden Knights became the 3rd team in the last 10 years with 3 different defensemen scoring goals in a single postseason game.

Shea Theodore’s goal was his 12th playoff goal and his 45th playoff point, the most by a defenseman since the 2017-2018 season.

Nick Holden became the first VGK to score a playoff goal in back-to-back playoff games.

Last night’s game was Fleury’s 90th playoff win.

Alex Pietrangelo had a game-high 7 SOG.

Cole Caufield, an American-born player, had the lone Montreal goal and 6 SOG. Caufield’s mom and dad were at T-Mobile to see their son play for the first time. Because of the pandemic, they weren’t allowed across the border. It was touching to see his mom’s tears of joy from her sons’ first NHL playoff goal. His dad was just as excited — minus the tears. Stuff like this makes hockey what it is, a total family commitment and a pleasure to witness first hand. Even if you are a VGK fan.

My 3 Stars of the Game
1) Shea Theodore (1G, 1A)
2) Marc-Andre Fleury (28 saves on 29 shots, .966 save %, and his ability to move quickly from left to right saved the game before the VGK got their legs)
3) Reilly Smith (2 assists and a great pass to set up Holden’s goal)

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

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.

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Theodore’s opening goal off of a faceoff win
Martinez makes it 2-0 off of a sweet pass from Theodore
Janmark’s goal off another faceoff win
Caufield’s goal and his mom and dad’s reaction