Knights on Ice — Panda Stands Tall

Once again, Robin Lehner was the difference in the VGK’s 5-1-win last night in Ottawa.

His 4-5 record in no way, shape, or form indicates how he’s playing. You might think losing 5 of 9 might be an indication of not being on top of his game. Other than the second game of the season against the L.A. Kings when he gave up 4 goals in the first 2 periods before being replaced by Laurent Brossoit, nothing could be further from the truth. In the L.A. game, Robin received zero support from his teammates, who gave away the puck in their defensive zone all night long.

Otherwise, Robin has been spectacular and in last night’s first period, he was the only reason Vegas didn’t dig themselves into a deep hole. Ottawa had 16 shots on net and Robin turned away one after another, frustrating the Senators who have never beaten Vegas in the Canadian Tire Center in 4 attempts. Robin started his career in Ottawa; he’s also undefeated against his former team in regulation, with a 9-0-3 record. He ended the night stopping 38 of the 39 shots he faced.

The VGK have been under a lot of pressure of late, with their slow start and long list of injuries to key players, not to mention the uncertainty of which players would be part of the much-anticipated trade for Jake Eichel that has been brewing since before the season even started. Shea Theodore’s name always seemed to be mentioned as part of the package they would be sending to Buffalo for Eichel.

Well, the trade actually happened and Theodore wasn’t part of it. That showed last night as the defenseman looked a lot more relaxed and not squeezing his stick. He made a nice cross-ice pass to Brett Howden, which set up Howden’s first goal as a VGK and his 17th in 193 games. Howden’s goal made the score 2-0 and turned out to be the game-winner, as Brady Tkachuk tipped a point shot by Robin Lehner for the only blemish of his night. That put the score at, 3-1 but that was as close as Ottawa got.

Vegas scored 3 goals in the 2nd period and added 2 more in the 3rd when Alex Pietrangelo scored his first of the year and Jonathan Marchessault added an empty-net goal for his 2nd of the game. In previous games the VGK have been outscored in the 2nd and 3rd periods by a 24-10 margin.
This was the first time Vegas scored 5 goals this season in a game that didn’t go to overtime or a shootout.

Marchessault, who had 2 goals, seems to play well against Ottawa; he has 4 goals and 5 assists for 9 points in their 7 games.

Unfortunately, the power play didn’t score last night in their only attempt. That brought the power play to 0-19, which ties a franchise record. The power play was 0-19 in the 2017-18 season in which Vegas went all the way to the Stanley Cup Final. So maybe going 0-19 is an omen.

Now back to the trade that brought Jack Eichel to Vegas in exchange for Alex Tuch and Peyton Krebs, a first-round draft pick for the VGK. Eichel gives the VGK the number-one center they’ve been seeking for a while. Upper management believes this is the piece they have been missing to complete their mission of winning a Stanley Cup no matter what the cost.

And cost it is. Eichel adds a $10 million salary to the roster. The Knights are currently at $91.8 million, $10.3 million over the cap of $81.5 million.

How they were able to acquire Eichel is pretty simple. They have $28.5 million in salary that’s on the Long-Term Injured Reserve list. With Mark Stone, Max Pacioretty, William Karlsson, Zach Whitecloud, and Nolan Patrick, they also added Eichel to the LTIR. With Eichel scheduled for surgery to repair a disk in his neck, his timetable to return is at least 4 to 5 months, possibly returning to play sometime in late February early March at best.

But here’s where it gets tricky. if they don’t activate Eichel until the playoffs, where there are no cap restrictions, they’ll be fine. If he’s ready to play before that, at least one contract worth around $5 million will have to be shed from the roster. Guess whose contract is in the final year and is worth $5 million? Another original Misfit who plays with Marchessault and Karlsson: Reilly Smith.

The original Misfits from the destiny-bound 2017-18 season are dwindling. Only William Carrier, William Karlsson, Jonathan Marchessault, Reilly Smith, Brayden McNabb, and Shea Theodore remain from the team that Las Vegas fell in love with.

The VGK have given up most of their first-round picks in exchange for the brightest stars available via trades. One who survived the first-round giveaway is Nic Hague. And last night, Hague became the first VGK draft pick to actually play in 100 games for the team.

The team that played their first 3 years without a captain now have 4 captains on the team: Mark Stone, Max Pacioretty (with Montreal), Alex Pietrangelo (with St. Louis), and Jack Eichel (with Buffalo).

There will never be a leadership issue in this locker room, that’s for sure. With the number of young players coming through this organization to remain cap compliant, this will be a good thing for the kids breaking in.

My 3 Stars of the Game: Robin Lehner (38 saves on 39 shots), Chandler Stephenson (only 1 assist, but his speed created a lot of time and space for the rest of the team), Jonathan Marchessault (2G, 3 SOG, and a +3).

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.

Howden’s GWG and his first goal as a VGK

Pietrangelo’s first goal of the year

Marchessault’s first goal