Two expressions often heard here in Las Vegas, especially in casinos, are “ship it,” in reference to winning a pot at a poker table, and “tuck it,” the action when you hold what you believe to be a winning blackjack hand.
Well, T-Mobile Arena doesn’t have any poker and blackjack tables, but tonight there was still a good deal of shipping and tucking going on as the Vegas Golden Knights returned to their winning ways by defeating the Boston Bruins, an original-six NHL team, by a score of 3 to 1. VGK scoring 3 times tonight seemed to fit into the script, as three new players were inserted into the starting lineup and all three had an impact on the final score.
Vadim Shipachyov and Alex Tuch were called up due to injuries to VGK players. The “ship-it” part came from Shipachyov, who was playing in his first-ever NHL game — no problem for Ship, as he also scored his first NHL goal!
The “tuck-it” part came when Alex Tuch (a.k.a “Tuck,” at least for this blog!) created his first NHL goal with a slick takeaway from a Boston player, then chipped the puck forward between the opposing players legs and swopped in on Tuukka Rask, the Boston netminder. Rask has played in more than 300 NHL games and won a Stanley Cup in 2011 with the Bruins; in 2014, he was also awarded the Vezina Trophy, given to the top goaltender for the year. So even though Tuck was coming in on Rask with a semi-breakaway, getting the puck past the veteran goalie wasn’t going to be easy. Still, Tuck nailed it with a wicked snap shot over Rask’s shoulder — for his first NHL goal in just his seventh pro game played.
Malcolm Subban, the backup goaltender, was playing in place of Marc-André Fleury, who’s out with a concussion that he suffered in Friday night’s loss to the Detroit Red Wings (Fleury is expected to be on Injured Reserve for a least a week). With the Boston goaltender pulled for an extra skater, the Bruins scored a fluke goal when an intended pass to the front of the net found its mark off of a VGK defensman’s leg with just 30 seconds left in the game. Slipping past Subban, the goal ruined what should have been not only his first NHL win, but his first NHL shutout, which would have come against the team he last played for.
Tonight the VGK played their best 60-minute game of their inaugural season. They were forced to play a physical game with the Bruins, a big strong team that limits you to very little open space and time to create chances with. The Knights countered this by not keeping the puck on their sticks long and chipping it in deep, forcing the Bruins to turn and chase the puck down. This style of play limited the number of quality shots for both teams, but when one or the other did develop a quality scoring chance, both goalies were up to the task.
Subban didn’t face a lot of direct shots, as his team pretty much kept Boston and the puck on the outside of the faceoff dots. Most of Boston’s shots that did come from the point were either deflected wide of the goal or into the netting behind it.
I know it’s very early in the season, five games out of an 82-game schedule, but from every indication so far, I’ve come to the conclusion that we have a sleeper team the rest of the league is overlooking. It also seems that George McPhee has done a masterful job of building a team that will be competitive every night they step on to the ice this year, plus coach Gallant is pushing the right buttons.
Tonight was a test for this young team, coming off its total collapse on Friday night, when the VGK entered the third period with a 3-2 lead and gave up 4 goals on turnovers to fall to Detroit 6-3. In addition, they now have to play the next game without their elite goaltender Fleury.
But good teams rebound, and tonight the VGK rebounded in an impressive fashion against a team that has been playing in the NHL for the last 93 years. That long history was clearly evident tonight at T-Mobile in the contingent of Boston Bruin fans wearing their black and gold sweaters with pride. But the rest of the almost sold-out crowd was the VGK fans who were proudly wearing their team colors.
Las Vegas has a golden opportunity to develop a fan base. You can see that it’s already growing by the VGK apparel on display almost everywhere you go in the city. It makes me smile; I know, as a lifelong NY Rangers fan, that once you identify with a team, it becomes your team. You speak about them like you play for them, like the coach and GM call you for advice. You live and breathe with them. You suffer with them and rejoice with them. I actually lived the dream: In 1994, I worked for the Rangers, providing security to the players and their families, during the finals. Did I mention that was the year they won the Stanley Cup?
Could I be so lucky as to someday see a NY Rangers vs. Vegas Golden Knights Stanley Cup Final? After all, I do have a history of bringing the cup home to teams I work for. Mr. McPhee, are you reading this?
Seeing all the young people at T-Mobile, many of whom are attending their first-ever hockey game, is a special sensation. For some, it’s the beginning of a marriage that will last forever. Myself, I’m already hooked, but I admit I’ll wear my VGK armor proudly for 80 of their 82 games. You see, I can never file for a divorce from my marriage to the Rangers. Heck, I can’t even cheat. So I’ll be rooting for them this Oct 31 and on January 7, 2018, when they play the Golden Knights.
You, on the other hand, can have the privilege of rooting your heart out for 82 games.
Upcoming Games at T-Mobile:
Tuesday Oct. 17 vs. Buffalo
Saturday Oct. 21 vs. St Louis
Tuesday Oct. 24 vs. Chicago
Friday Oct. 27 vs. Colorado
The VGK will then go on a six-game East Coast road trip and won’t return to T-Mobile until Nov. 10 vs. the Winnipeg Jets.
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GREAT ARTICLE!