Evgenii Dadonov was a VGK from opening night back in October, then he wasn’t on Monday when he was traded to the Anaheim Ducks. Then he was a VGK again on Wednesday after the NHL ruled that his trade to the Ducks was invalid; Anaheim is on his list of 10 teams that he cannot, contractually, be traded to.
Well, his return to the VGK and T-Mobile could not have come at a better time. The VGK didn’t score a goal in the 2 games he missed. Does Dadonov have ill feelings toward the organization that tried to give him away for nothing? We may never know the answer, but one thing is for sure: The VGK fans were ecstatic over Dadonov’s return and that was clear even before he scored a power-play goal and assisted on 2 others last night in the VGK’s dominating 6-1 win over the Nashville Predators.
His reception when he was announced as part of the starting line was about as loud as the 18,021 could muster. But the crowd achieved an even higher level when he scored his 16th goal of the season to give the VGK a commanding 3-0 lead 3:14 into the 2nd period.
The fan base has a lot of discomfort in how players have been handled recently by the front office, but this was the first time a traded player came back to T-Mobile as a VGK and the fan base made sure “Daddy” Dadonov knew how they felt about him and how they believe he was mistreated.
When Daddy was asked how he felt about this unique situation, he remained loyal to his boys and the uniform they all proudly wear. “It’s been a stressful couple of days,” Dadonov said. “It’s nothing I could do. I was just waiting on a decision.”
The decision helped the VGK keep their playoff hopes alive. With this win, as slim as it is, there’s a glimmer of hope and Vegas did pick up a point on the L.A. Kings who lost in a shootout last night to Chicago 4-3.
The standings look like this: Calgary is in first place and almost untouchable with 84 points (63 games played). The Kings are in 2nd place with 78 points (65 games). Edmonton is in the last playoff spot in the Western Conference with 75 points (64 games). The
VGK have 72 points (66 games).
Vegas has completed their season series against the Kings and have just 1 game left with Edmonton. So the path to the playoffs will not only have to come from winning most of their remaining games, but they’ll need help from other teams beating the Kings and Oilers. It’s no longer just in their hands.
The other path to the playoffs is one of the 2 wild-card spots and once again Vegas is on the wrong side of that ledger sheet also. Nashville has 78 points (64 games) and Dallas has 73 points (62 games).
Last night’s victory unfortunately came with a hefty price that not even the return of Dadonov could overcome. Nolan Patrick, who already has missed a good number of games this season, only played 1:37 of the first period before leaving with an undisclosed injury. And as the 1st period was winding down, Brett Howden who seemed to lose an edge and was falling before Flip Forsberg made contact with him, went shoulder first into the boards right in front of the Nashville bench. At first it appeared he went head first into the boards, but on the replay in slow motion, it seemed like his right shoulder took the brunt of the impact. But the medical staff tending to him placed him on a stretcher without a neck brace, which was a good sign. There was no further update other than he was transported to the hospital for further evaluation.
Part of the good news in the much-needed win was that 6 different VGK got pucks past a goaltender, which has been a rare occurrence lately: Eichel (1G, 1A), Roy (1G, 1A), Stephenson (1G, 2A), Janmark (1G) Dadonov (1G, 2A) Pietrangelo (1G, 1A).
In other good news that didn’t reflect on the scoreboard was William Carrier, who was a beast last night, not only playing all 200 feet of the ice surface, but having a game high for both teams of 8 SOG with just 15:51 of ice time, the 2nd lowest ice time of all forwards who didn’t leave the game because of an injury.
Logan Thompson was also firing on all cylinders last night, stopping 35 of the 36 shots he faced an a .972 save percentage. Thompson’s backup last night was Jiri Patera, the VGK’s 4th goaltender, as Laurent Brossoit is tending to an injury.
Other game notes and quotes
Max Pacioretty skated with the team in their morning skate and is very close to returning. His sniper shot will be a welcome sight, not only for the team, but for the power play that went 3 for 5 last night. Yes, 3 power-play goals in 1 game. The power play was spot on.
“How he handled the situation, how [the fans] handled the situation, couldn’t have been done better,” Coach DeBoer said about Dadonov. “We needed him out there tonight. He was a big help for us.”
“We needed [a win like this],” DeBoer said. “We hadn’t scored in two games, so everybody feels good scoring six goals. We got goals in all kinds of ways. Goal scoring is a confidence thing. We couldn’t have been lower coming out of Winnipeg.”
“It’s awesome, and that was the loudest I’ve heard the fans cheer for someone scoring a goal,” Thompson said. “I was happy for him. He’s happy to be here. He’s working hard for us. It’s awesome to see.”
“We were attacking a bit more inside the dots and recovering the puck,” Marchessault said. “I think when you do that, that’s how you build a successful powerplay. To be honest, everybody was shooting it well. Just winning your battles in the corner. We were prepared and also pre-scouted what Nashville was going to give us. We answered well tonight.”
My 3 stars of the night: Evgenii “Daddy” Dadonov (not only his PPG and 2 assists, but his inspiration that the team clearly fed off), Jack Eichel (1PPG, 1A), Jonathan Marchessault (3 assist on all 3 PPG, 2 the primaries)
Next game is tomorrow and please note the starting time of 12 noon. It is a nationally broadcast game that was clearly intended for the return of Fleury to T-Mobile, but a small trade happened on Monday that got the Chicago Blackhawks a first-round pick in return for taking Fleury for a few months for free off the payroll of the VGK. The business of the game of hockey.
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
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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.
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Carrier has been a beast all season🏒🏒🏒
Michael
The VGK have some big contracts with some players not playing up to the money they are signed for. In Carrier’s case he is worth every penny of his 1.4-million-dollar contract that runs till the end of the 2023-24 season.
Joe P.
Question? Does “ Daddy’s” return mean we’ve seen the last of Mark Stone this year?
Excellent question Marcy and one I wish I had a guaranteed answer for. If they make the playoffs and that is a BIG IF, you will see Mark Stone if not they may just put him on the shelve and call it a season. It seems today that Max Pacioretty has had a setback for his return to the lineup. This is unprecedent the number of injuries to key players this season.
Joe P.
Hey Joe.
Great recap as usual.
I think Nashville was a bit lame in Vegas zone. Vegas defenders gave away the puck when they tried to make an outlet pass.
The Predators looked like Nashville Pussycats when they tried to capitalize on the giveaways.
Thompson was very good and he`s a Fleury-clone as you said, Joe. Ihope it`s without the gaffes behind the goalline.
This was his best game in my eyes.
The Knights D-men worked well around the net and helped Thompson clearing off the rebounds.
Most shots was taken from a long range and Thompson often had a clear view of the shooter.
It was nice to see Hutton looking around the ice to take care of any attackers trying to get to Thompson and put in a rebound.
Pietrangelo made some mistakes in the D-zone but Hutton recovered the puck more than once.
Theodore played like Theodore does every game. He didn`t get his guy in front of Thompson.
Coghlan played slightly better than the Theodore Jr he usually is.
Miromanov and Hayes played a quiet game. That means they didn`t do any big mistakes. They played over expectations and that`s promising for coming games.
Allowing 36 shots isn`t normally a recepy for a win in the NHL, but the game was a shooting gallery so we can say the win was well-earned.
I wrote to you at the trade deadline in March last season that Janmark should be a good fit at the Vegas team.
Last season he played with Tuch on the third line giving that line a speed like no other team had.
Janmark is a better player together with Stevenson on the third line than in a checking role were he can`t use his speed. I think he was good last night.
Dadonov began scoring a bit to late in to the season, therefore he was expendable at the trade deadline. He was payed for scoring goals not for driving plays. If he continue scoring goals Vegas management should thank Ottawa for hiding the N-MTC document at the trade.
I also said that Eichel should stand the rough play as the surgery would make him stronger in that area.
The other thing I said was that Eichel was a kind of player Vegas never have had in the team. Everyone can see that as he orchestrates every PP with a kind of swagger unseen on this teams short life in the NHL.
I`ve got some swagger too when it comes to forseeing things that will make the team better.
I know I`m not better than all you VGK fans out there but it`s nice to get it right a few times.
How about Howden? Is he on the LTIR also?
I know what pain means, I´ve been on my LTIR the last six years with back surgeries twice, Spinal Stenosis and to top that i`ve got Fibromyalgia.
I got my first injure in juniors due to a cross-checking at my lower back which has been a common defense technique in the NHL for ages. Look at how many ex-players that can`t walk down stairs without pain.
Stone has probably Spinal Stenosis in his lower back just like me and the only way to get better is having a surgery. If so, he`ll be back late in this season. Eichel had probably a disc herniation in his neck and had the same kind of surgery as I had. He`ll be even better as long the season goes. At worst only 15 games.
Douglas Carle wrote this
I was in my seat last night at T-Mobile and thoroughly enjoyed the game and the win. Much needed. Seeing Dadonov play like he did was absolutely a punctuation mark to his clear middle finger to VGK management.
We need to remember that the dumpster fire/circus clown show that is the general manager of the Knights is not the players and the team. The fact that we obviously have someone who has no clue what they’re doing in the management position should not in anyway take away from the support of the boys or our love of the team.
If McCrimmon is the general manager on opening day next year then Foley needs to cut himself off of the grossly overpriced $35 glass of wine he’s hocking at the arena.
Douglas Carle It was refreshing to see Dadonov put all of the salary cap avoidance issues aside and just come and do his job. The front office created this problem all by themselves in their attempt to field a roster while still remaining under the 81.5 million. Mission impossible which was their tag line in year 1, it has become their actual position because of bringing in high profile players in their quest for the Cup.
Joe P.
Douglas Carle responded with this
Joe Pane excellent insight. It really is an attempt to “cheat “within the “rules “
Go away over the salary cap and place players on long-term injury reserve so they don’t count and hope you limp into the playoffs (which may or may not happen) so you can bring everybody back no matter how far over the cap you are.
Great article today where the author points out the absolute hypocrisy and lack of class of the management team.
Douglas also sent an interesting article about the state of affairs with the VGK and how they are looked upon in the hockey world
https://thehockeywriters.com/golden-knights-no-longer…/…
Douglas Carle, it has not been a good season for the team in a lot of areas especially handling of players.
Joe P.
Christine Balz wrote this
Daddy came and played like I knew he should!!! 😁🔥🔥
Christine Balz, he gave the front office a ZINGER.
Joe P.
Allen A-z shared this with me
Once again, great article.
Connie Dallas wrote this
Sure, has been a season for the books. We currently have 10 players and 2 goalies out on IR and 2 for Covid protocol. That means 8 backups and 2 back up goalies are playing from the HSK……and doing great! Go Knights, Go……both Gold and Silver!! 🏒🏒🏒🏒🏒🏒
Connie when you take everything into consideration about this season starting from game 2 up until last night. It really is amazing that they even still have a shot at making the post season.
Joe P.
Drew Thrasher wrote
Hopefully they can play with the edge going forward
Drew Thrasher something has to happen to get the VGK back on track and last night DADDY was exactly what this team needed. will it be enough considering the short amount of time left and the deficit we shall see.
Joe P.
Drew Thrasher responded to my comment
Joe Pane idk, I think they were mad at the Forsberg hit. If we can get like one or two more guys back, they should be good enough to tread water until the playoffs
Drew Thrasher if you watch the hit again in slow motion it was not a dirty hit Howden had lost an edge and was on his way down unfortunately for him, he was close to the boards. If this happens anywhere else on the ice it not even an issue nor, was it a penalty
Joe P.
Joe I have a question ? Can Daddy still be traded to anyone?? Hope not ,the VGK need him.🧡🖤🇨🇦🍁Thanks
Judy, I hate to tell you this, but he still can be traded. If he is he will not be able to play in the playoffs. So only a team who isn’t going to make the playoffs would be interested in him at this point. Playoff bound teams would not venture to waste 5 million and a roster spot for a player who could not help them in the playoffs. VGK front office have backed themselves into a corner on this one.
Joe P.