Max Patches Things up, Brayden And Zach Do the Rest

The VGK are broken; that’s no secret. They have been since opening night on Oct. 12, 2021, when William Carrier, Mattias Janmark, and Alex Tuch were not able to play. By their 3rd game, they’d also lost Mark Stone and Max Pacioretty. This is not breaking news by any means, but last night, a big patch was filled that allowed this team to play a game that has previously given the other 30 teams in the league nightmares over the previous 4 seasons and that is the game of rolling 4 lines shift after shift and 3 competent pairs of defensemen on the back end who can also contribute to the offense.

Last night the VGK took a small step with their 6-1 win over Arizona toward returning to a lineup that will allow Pete DeBoer to roll 4 lines without double shifting anyone and without having a defenseman like Pietrangelo forced to play close to 28-30 minutes a game. Or dressing a 7th defenseman (Dylan Coghlan) as the 11th forward.

The return of Max Pacioretty was the first step of many that will be needed over the next 9 games as the VGK scratch and crawl their way into the playoffs.

The next step to somewhat of a normal lineup is the return of Mark Stone, who actually skated with the team prior to last night’s game. How close is Stone? We don’t know exactly, but it was encouraging to see him on the ice yesterday. He even felt good enough to jump off his skates and launch himself into the end boards. That alone is a great sign; someone with nagging back issues won’t subject his back to bouncing off the boards voluntarily.

DeBoer may have been slow to react to Vancouver on Wednesday night in adjusting to Vancouver’s zone entries and the VGK’s defensive zone exits. Last night, he eased Pacioretty into the lineup by playing him on the 3rd line with Chandler Stephenson at center and Mattias Janmark on the opposite wing and it paid dividends quickly. Max, who was playing in his first game since March 11, missing the last 12 games, scored the game-winning goal just 17 seconds after Zach Whitecloud opened the scoring at the 6:23 mark of the first period. Pacioretty scored his 16th goal of the season on a pass from Chandler Stephenson. It was the first goal Max has scored since February 20.

Zach Whitecloud may have been overlooked because of the game Brayden McNabb had, but Zach had the opening goal and a +3 for the game with 4 SOG, 4 hits, 2 blocked shots, and 16:39 of ice time, the lowest of all 6 defensemen.

It was a complete team effort from all 12 forwards and 6 defensemen, exactly the way the VGK made their bones in their first 4 seasons. (I just couldn’t resist putting in an Italian saying: Making your bones: 1. To kill someone in order to obtain membership in a criminal organization. Used in this way, the phrase is often associated with the Mafia.

The VGK didn’t kill anyone last night, but they made a statement to whomever they may face in the first round: Be prepared to sleep with the fishes.

With the win, the Knights moved within two points of third-place Los Angeles in the Pacific Division. Both Vegas and L.A. have nine games remaining.

The Knights, who have won six of their last seven, moved into an eighth-place tie with Dallas in the Western Conference, each with 84 points. Dallas, however, has two games in hand. They trail Nashville for the first wild card spot by 2 points and also have played 2 more games than Nashville.

Looking at the playoff push that faces the VGK, I still believe that catching the L.A. Kings is the path of least resistance; they have to make up just 2 points in games that have 18 points available. Currently, the VGK own the tiebreaker if they finish with the same number of points as the Kings, because they have more regulation wins (VGK 32, L.A. 29). You do remember how the VGK lost the Presidents Trophy last season to Colorado when they both had the same number of points, but Colorado had more regulation wins. Maybe this season, the VGK will fall on the right side of this tiebreaker.

Both Vegas and L.A. have 6 road games and 3 home games on their schedule. L.A. does have what seems like an easier schedule; they play only 2 playoff contenders in Minnesota and Colorado. Vegas plays 5 playoff-bound teams: Calgary, Edmonton, Washington, Dallas, and St. Louis. There’s a silver lining to playing teams already in the playoffs and that is they may decide to rest some of their star players over their last possibly meaningless games. Calgary, Washington, and St. Louis come to mind. Non-playoff teams can be dangerous, as players on these teams are locking up positions for next season and some may be playing for upcoming contracts.

As much as you may not like all of this pressure — and watching these games can be nerve wrecking — just think about franchises that are always on the fringe of the playoffs having to do this in the last 10-15 games of almost every season. It sure does make for exciting hockey. You’ve been spoiled the first 4 seasons; now it’s time to be a hockey fan with white knuckles and sweaty palms, just like the other fans of the 30 other NHL franchises. No disrespect to the Seattle Kraken fans who haven’t had this feeling yet, but you will be there soon and you will enjoy every moment of it. It’s the best time of the season.

Other Game Notes and Quotes

Jack Eichel notched his 150th career goal in his 400th NHL game. Eichel became the 25th active player to score 150 goals in 400 career games.

Chandler Stephenson had two assists and has 57 points (17 goals, 40 assists) in 70 games this season. He had 57 points in 92 games with the Golden Knights in the previous two seasons.

“We did a lot of good things, loved our start, the early lead,” DeBoer said. “I thought they pushed back a little bit in the first. I thought we regrouped between the first and the second. I loved our second period. I thought we really grabbed control of the game in the second period with how we played, even though it wasn’t on the scoreboard.”

“Small steps in the right direction,” Robin Lehner said. “I was a little better today. When you’re out for almost a month, it takes some time. I felt a little calmer today. Still a few things I’ve got to keep working on down the stretch.”

“I’ve come back from a lot of injuries before, so it wasn’t the craziest situation to be in,” Pacioretty said of scoring in his return. “The goal feels good, but at the same time, you’re still wondering how you’re going to manage the rest of the game. Had a bit of a lull there in the second, but got better in the third, which is what I’m most proud of.”

“It’s odd, I guess, but it’s nice,” McNabb said of his first career three-point game. “It’s nice to contribute. Things were working tonight and I was able to get some points. But we got the two points, that’s the biggest thing.”

“We know we have a chance, and we know we kind of control our own destiny,” McNabb said. “Tonight was good. We got the two points. Took care of business, but we’ve got a big road trip coming up. So it’s almost like the last game, where you have to flush this one and be ready for the next one.”

My 3 stars of the game: Brayden McNabb (1G, 2A), Chandler Stephenson (2A, setting up the Pacioretty goal), Max Pacioretty (GWG and his addition to the lineup made the team more dangerous to deal with)

Next game is Tuesday in Vancouver at 7 pm Pacific Time

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Whitecloud goal
Pacioretty goal
McNabb goal