“Houston, we have a problem” is a line made famous by the 1995 movie Apollo 13. The line was spoken by Tom Hanks in his role as astronaut Jim Lovell when he and his crew were faced with an oxygen tank explosion that left them with limited air for breathing.
The original quote is “Houston, we’ve had a problem,” but in the movie it was changed to “Houston, we have a problem,” for a more dramatic effect. Well, it’s now changed to “Vegas, we have a problem,” which is what the Golden Knights were forced to say when they needed an overtime goal by Shea Theodore to beat the Montreal Canadians by a final score of 4-3 at T-Mobile last night in front of 18,121.
The Montreal Canadiens are currently the worst of the 32 teams in the NHL with a record of 8-25-6. Even the Arizona Coyotes and the expansion Seattle Kraken have more points and wins than the Canadiens. For the last time Montreal won a road game, you have to go back all the way to Nov 27 in their 6-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Last night’s game should not have even been close. The VGK sit on top of the Pacific Division with 50 points (24-15-2) and are head and shoulders better than Montreal. But when you “have A problem” like Vegas, things that should be easily handled become very difficult.
There were no oxygen-tank explosions last night, but there was and continues to be a struggling Robin Lehner who looks like he’s struggling for his own supply of air — fighting the puck, making easy saves look tough, and forcing his team to mount yet another comeback to get the game into overtime on a Jonathan Marchessault power play goal with 8:21 left in the 3rd period.
The VGK power play has had its own problems, dating as far back to the playoffs last season against the very same Canadiens. Last night, it actually saved the VGK from suffering what would have been their worst loss of the season, scoring 2 PPG on just 3 chances.
The better goaltender last night was Sam Montembeault, who faced 53 VGK shots on goal and stopped 49, despite his record coming into last night’s game (2-6-3). At one point in the 3rd period, Robin Lehner had allowed 3 Montreal goals on just 18 shots, a dreadful .833 save percentage. The VGK’s 3rd period push generated 18 shots on Montembeault just in the 3rd period alone and 3 in overtime before Shea Theodore’s goal 1:50 in rescued Lehner (Apollo 90) back safely to Vegas before his oxygen tank exploded.
Is the VGK coaching staff concerned about Robin? I asked Coach DeBoer that very question in his post-game presser and as expected, he punted the question, along with referencing the depleted lineup and the injuries that Vegas has been fighting from October. I didn’t expect him to throw Robin under the bus, but I felt the question needed to be asked.
Robin is a solid goaltender, the one the front office felt they could go to war with, enough that they jettisoned Marc-Andre Fleury into orbit, which landed him in Chicago for no return. Are they now concerned? We won’t know until future roster moves make it clear.
The injury bug is valid. Last night Zach Whitecloud was injured during the warmups and was a late scratch. Mark Stone was unavailable due to COVID. Dylan Coghlan was a last-minute addition to replace Whitecloud and he was very good, playing a career-high 25:08 of ice time, with 5 SOG and 3 blocked shots. William Carrier was moved up to the first line for the missing Mark Stone. Carrier had 1 assist on Chandler Stephenson’s opening goal that gave Vegas their early 1-0 lead just 3:40 into the game on their 1st shot.
Last night’s win ended the VGK 8-game homestand with a disappointing 3-3-2 result, securing just 8 points out of 16. The only thing saving the VGK is that the rest of the Pacific Division is in a freefall. The Edmonton Oilers once sat on top of the division, but now find themselves in 7th place with only the expansion Seattle Kraken behind them. Edmonton was embarrassed at home last night, losing 6-0 to the Florida Panthers. Other game notes and quotes.
Shea Theodore’s OT goal was his 4th as a VGK. Jonathan Marchessault and Max Pacioretty have 6 each.
“I think we played well,” Theodore said. “We had a lot of chances, but we had to tighten up defensively. It was definitely a big goal to finish off the homestand on a note like that and hit the road with some positivity.”
Montembeault made an NHL career-high 49 saves for the Canadiens (8-25-6), who have lost seven of eight (1-4-3).
“I thought we put in the right amount of work to deserve two points tonight,” Vegas coach Peter DeBoer said. “This league shows you don’t always get what you deserve, but I thought we worked hard enough to get two points.”
My 3 Stars of the game: Shea Theodore (1G, the game-winner, and 2A), William Karlsson (1PPG, 1A), Jonathan Marchessault (1PPG 1A)
Next game is the first of a 4-game road trip back east on Monday vs Washington 4 pm Pacific time.
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
For more VGK content, check out the Hockey Knights in Vegas Podcast that can be found at this link or on my Facebook page.
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.
Karlsson PPG gives Vegas the lead in the 2nd period

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Douglas Carle sent this opinion in
It’s the exact same problem we had last year. We have no goal scorers. It makes no difference whether Stone or Pacioretty are in the lineup or not. Neither of them has done anything in the last two years. Not only are they out more than they are in, when they are playing their useless. We gave up the best goalie on the planet for nothing in return.
Just an absolute series of bonehead management moves that have taken what should’ve been an absolute hard-core cup contender and have moved us into the bottom quarter of teams in the league for chance at the cup.
Douglas Carle many words of wisdom are contained here in your opinion.
Joe P
Douglas Carle responded to me
Joe Pane please don’t get me wrong at all, I absolutely love the team. But I am also aware of the stats. We constantly outshoot the other team (last night we doubled the shots on goal, and they had over 20 block shots (that’s Close to 80 shots either on or directed at the net by us in the game) and we need overtime to score our third goal (and that’s after absolutely dodging a bullet, we should’ve been scored on in overtime). Simply have no finishers. Like I said, Stone and Pacioretty simply are not the answer.
Douglas would please list the bonehead moves that the management has made to make our team less efficient, and you may use Stone and Pacioretty as examples. Please include the + and – for each of your bonehead moments. Thanks.
Chrissie Sinnott wrote this
I’ve been saying this since Fleury got dumped for Lehner. He’s fat and slow and wears out by the third period. I would like to see the backup goalies get more game time, but I’m sure Meatball would throw a Twitter tantrum over that, lol.
Chrissie
Tell us how you really feel 🙂
Joe P.
Chrissie Sinnott responded back on the Keeping It Real Facebook Page
Oops. I forgot this wasn’t the “Keeping it Real” page
Chrissie Sinnott you have jokes this morning. LOVE IT.
Joe P.
Drew Thrasher wrote in defense of the VGK
Bruh, our top line was out.
Drew Thrasher this reference to Vegas has a problem lies clearly in the “BLUE PAINT”
Joe P.
Drew Thrasher responded
Joe Pane that it does
Drew Thrasher
Injuries are part of the game, but VGK have had more than their share so far, this season. But Robin needs to be better even when everyone returns healthy enough to play. Come playoff time the ice surface gets smaller, and goals are hard to come by.
Joe P
Drew Thrasher wrote this in addition to his first thoughts on the VGK
Joe Pane he will be fine, wasn’t his fault the team let off the gas vs Pitts. earlier this week
Drew Thrasher they sure did that. Blowing a 3-0 lead.
Joe P.
Brian Mishefske sent this comment in
Of course, the GM at this point realizes that the goalie position is not up to par and definitely not meeting fan’s expectations. The question should have been what are the teams plans to shore up the defense and goalie situation or a trade or two. Obviously, no team right now will trade for Lehner without a young player(s) but it still leaves the biggest question of what will they do when the whole lineup is healthy and are over the cap!! Just my two cents and I’ve followed the best sport for 45 years. Right the ship and Go Knights
Brian Mishefske there is no team in my opinion that would take Robin in a trade right now. If they are looking to improve their current goaltender problems currently Robin Lehner is not the answer. Can he be? Without a doubt but right now he is struggling. So, his trade value would be extremely low, and Vegas would get the worst of any deal at this moment.
Joe P.
Brian Mishefske
Joe Pane I absolutely agree 100% with you. Our fan base just got spoiled having Marc Andre Fluery in goal. The GM and coaching staff need to figure this out because scoring 4 or 5 goals a night definitely won’t happen against the good teams. Thanks for writing me back my friend and I’m praying Robin can regain his form and pray it’s nothing more than a coaching issue.
Brian Mishefske I truly believe he will be fine. he has shown what he is capable of in the past. No thank you for providing feedback with your opinions and comments on my article. I appreciate that my friend. Stay safe and have a healthy and happy new year.
Joe P.
Brian Mishefske sent this reply back to me
Joe Pane humbled and you have a safe and healthy new year as well.
Christopher Couch wrote this
This Vegas team is similar to DeBoer’s San Jose’s teams. The goalie play is terrible, but they score points. That is not a good thing. Fleury is on the trade blocks!!!
Christopher Couch I also believe Fleury will be moved at the trade deadline. Edmonton seems a likely landing place as they just give up a ton of goal every night. The lost last night 6-0 at home 🙃
Joe P.
Christopher Couch replied
Joe Pane I agree. With our cap situation, I don’t think we can afford him. That’s the biggest reason we moved him.
Christopher Couch that and the VGK hate his agent.
Joe P.
Joe, thanks for the great read and insight, as usual. IMO, yes, injuries and COVID are wreaking havoc on the team; every night the line-ups are jumbled, guys playing with guys they dont normally play with; guys playing that have had very little NHL ice time, etc, etc. BUT…… the VGK have faced these challenges before and have pulled through. To me, the X factor here is goaltending. Lehner just lets in way too many soft goals. I personally think he has issues tracking the puck. His glove hand is terrible, he plays on his knee’s which prevents him from moving laterally with any speed, and his fundamentals dont work in today’s game. All the other teams need to do is get him moving side to side, and he leaves huge gaps in the net. With the speed and accuracy of todays game, there is no room for that at all. We are not going to be a Cup contender with this guy in net. The Knights are constantly chasing the game when he lets in a couple of soft goals. When tech traded Fleury, the Knights needed to bring in a goalie of the same caliber. Clearly that did not happen. I just hope with Eichel coming on board, they can make some moves in the post season to address this goalie issue. Otherwise its going to be a tough couple of years coming up!
Tom
Excellent points but I will say this the VGK front office have backed themselves into a corner here with the Lehner/Fleury saga. They made an unpopular choice public relation wise. If they were to move Lehner they will have EGG all over the face. They may have put themselves into a no-win situation here in regard to their goaltending decision.
Joe P.
Well, I would rather wear some egg on my face and eat crow for a bit and make a move for a winning goaltender that will help the team. I believe the fanbase would welcome a winning goalie and forgive stupid decisions the Hockey Management has made!!
You said it all , thanks !
Anne-Marie Denoyer wrote
Joe Pane, Eichel will help but we need to get our goalie up to par and Fleury was not the answer
Anne-Marie Denoyer this may be true but right now Robin is the problem.
Joe P.
Donna Jameson wrote
I didn’t get to see the game last night, so I knew where to look for the review. No surprise a great article about an almost embarrassing loss.
Donna Jameson It would have been devastating if they didn’t pull out a rabbit out of the hat with Shea’s OT goal.
Joe P.
Joanne Steagall sent his comment in
So thankful everyone is speaking truth about the goalie situation. #90…. His struggle is real & intervention is needed🏒
Joanne Steagall not sure if an intervention is needed right now but a reset is for sure. He has lost his confidence. You can see it in his body language when you are at T-Mobile and just the way his teammates gathered around him after the Theodore OT goal, they know he is struggling and were trying to make him feel good about himself.
Joe P.
Glen Moore wrote this
Robin Lehner reminds me of my days as. Kid on the school playground playing “soccer” ……the biggest or tallest kid got nominated to play goalie because as kids we believed their size made them harder to score against…. Lehner would have been that kid, but he is really, at best technically average as a goalie
Glen Moore his size has an advantage, but it also limits his mobility especially going side to side which is critical for a goaltender both in hockey and soccer.
Joe P.
Juana Hopkins Anderson added this comment about Coghlan’s last minute addition into the lineup
Coghlan definitely earned his recognition last night. Guys and management definitely have some things to sort and improve.
Dave Campoverde wrote this
No truer words could be written.
Lehner is a good back up to an elite level goaltender. Our boy Fleury is on fire in his last few games, but that’s water under the bridge. Lehner look and is slow. Tracking the puck to his flanks is hard for me to watch. It’s like he can’t see the puck. Indeed, we have a problem.
Pat Micali sent this in
Get rid of Lehner. He sucks
Roger Gros sent this link in that rate current goaltenders
Still a top 10 goalie. Chill. https://www.quanthockey.com/…/2021-22-nhl-goalies-stats…
Scott Amaral wrote
Whoever responded to you saying Max and Stone are doing nothing is delusional. I’m on record as saying Stone is overrated and Max is an injury machine, but the guy has 24 goals in 48 games last season and 12 goals in 16 this. Lol @ that comment. Pacioretty is the best player on the team IMHO – when he plays.
Vegas Ron responded to Scott Amaral comments
Scott Amaral truth
Kobe Hollenbeck wrote
If we struggled to beat Montreal, this upcoming road trip will be very difficult, maybe if we get lucky, we get 2 wins. Facing WSH, CAR, FLA, and TBL will be very tough
Kobe, I wrote the following after the Pittsburgh game you are spot on about their upcoming road trip/
The eighth game at home on Thursday against the Montreal Canadians is the last; then the VGK hit the road for 4 games back East against 4 of the better teams with Washington and Carolina on back-to-back nights, followed by games against the Florida Panthers and defending Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay. Picking up only 6 points out of a possible 14 in this current homestand and the tough 4 games that await them, the VGK are in a tough spot headed into the All-Star break
Lynda Israel wrote this
Thanks for bringing up Robins so so performance. He’s getting slammed on social media. Hopefully, the goalie coach doesn’t allow him to use his “condition” to avoid dealing with his performance issues.
Be well and safe 🤠❤️🏒
Craig Breuer responded to Lynda
Lynda Israel he should be getting slammed on social media. He’s ranked 33rd in the league in save percentage at a mediocre .904 (32 teams in the league which means his SV% is lower than a few backups) and gives up just shy of 3 goals a game. It always seems everyone walks on eggshells when talking about him. He’s a professional athlete and gets paid a ton of money (tied for 13th highest paid) to do a job. Do it or get replaced.
Lynda Israel added this
Craig Breuer I totally agree with you. He must be held up to standards.
Jerry L. King added this to the conversation about Lehner
I just don’t get why DeBoer doesn’t give Brossoit more games. He paid lip-service earlier this year to rotating Brossoit and Lehner, but he hasn’t done it. It would do both Brossoit and Lehner good to have them rotate.
Jason Lanouette responded to Jerry King
Jerry L. King because he has been hurt for several weeks?
Brian Mishefske wrote
Jerry L. King yep Jason is right part of our injury bugged lineup. 🥲
Charles Napier suggested this
Joe Pane He could be playing through injury
Charles Napier possibly but I would be shocked if this was true since they have a capable backup in Thompson who they could have played against a bad team like Montreal.
Joe P.
Charles Napier wrote
Joe Pane True but last night in particular he was awful until the OT where he was good.
Charles Napier true but in today’s NHL you need good goaltending for 60 minutes and beyond.
Joe P.
Charles Napier responded
Joe Pane We are going to have to do something it sounds like Laurent Brossiot is seeing specialist and isn’t even sure what wrong. Could be out long term. We need to maybe LTIR LB and get another goalie.
·
Charles Napier also added this
Joe Pane yes, he was bad for 55 mins
Joanne Steagall joined the conversation
We are season ticket holders and are there for every game.
I See his body language & he appears to be spirally downward, and I pray he catches himself.
Joanne Steagall glad that you do see the same body language that I observe.
Joe P.
Donna Jameson wrote
Joe Pane it should have been an easy win. Sad
Donna Jameson 100%
Joe P.
Linda Ganz sent this comment in
Brilliantly written and spot on Joe Pane. #needtogetrisofGoalieLehner
Thank you, Linda Ganz,
Joe P.
Douglas Carle wrote
It’s the exact same problem we had last year. We have no goal scorers. It makes no difference whether Stone or Pacioretty are in the lineup or not. Neither of them has done anything in the last two years. Not only are they out more than they are in, when they are playing their useless. We gave up the best goalie on the planet for nothing in return.
Just an absolute series of bonehead management moves that have taken what should’ve been an absolute hard-core cup contender and have moved us into the bottom quarter of teams in the league for chance at the cup.
Ward Peterson wrote
Great article though most of problem is in net. Way too many went in on so few shots last game. Defense did their part
In West, 2nd In GF….14th in GA. 4th worst. That’s just sad. With the controversial move of sending Flower out of town it’s no surprise DeBoer wouldn’t go there when asked about Lehner, but we all see it and numbers don’t lie. They need way more from #1 goalie and we KNOW what one looks like. He wore #29.
Steve Koger has this opinion
Lehner is ranked as the number 43rd goaltender in the league. There are only 32 teams! Yay, he sucks, and management screwed up!