This game was a lot like what often happens around the holidays when families get together. You just never know what the night will bring.
The VGK were hosting a new tradition that most teams have adopted over the last few years in the NHL. The “Dad Trip” encourages fathers of the players to accompany their sons’ teams on short road trips. It’s an overdue reward for the dads and moms who were instrumental in the development of their sons’ hockey aspirations—from the first day they laced up the skates for them (little boys cannot properly lace up their skates!). Plus, the parents love doing this. No worries, ladies: There’s also a Mom Trip scheduled for later in the season.
This was a true family gathering for the Subban family, as Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Malcolm Subban was playing for the first time against his older brother, PK Subban, with their dad on the trip with the VGK. In fact, the elder Subban raised three hockey sons; the Subbans’ youngest brother Jordan is in the LA Kings’ system having been traded there recently.
Mr. Subban made no bones about who he was rooting for tonight. He was wearing a VGK jersey for the game.
Unlike his younger brother Malcolm, who’s unassuming and just goes about his business, PK is a flamboyant hockey player—not only entertaining to watch during the game, but his pre-game ritual is always a treat. If you can get to T-Mobile on Tuesday January 2 when the Nashville Predators come to play, get there early enough to see PK dancing on the ice to the ambient music and flipping up the pucks up to catch them on the blade of his stick during warm-ups.
PK, too, is never at a loss for words, and his style and mouth pretty much sealed his fate in Montreal. He was loved in Montreal by the fans and his charitable work there is of epic proportions. But Montreal is Montreal and they don’t believe in a player being bigger than the coach or the team; with PK, that was the case. He was traded to Nashville, which came within two games of winning the Stanley Cup last season.
It was a strange game. At first, the VGK looked like they’d coast to two points when the score was 2-0 lead with just 5 minutes and 23 seconds left in the second period. Nashville scored late in the second to close the gap, but the VGK entered the third period with a lead. Once again, however, the third period proved to be the team’s nemesis when the Predators tied the score. Late in the third with the score still tied, two points looked like one point.
When Nashville scored a second unanswered goal to take the lead, the two points that became one point now looked like no points. These family gatherings aren’t good for the heart!
With Malcolm Subban on the bench pulled for an extra skater, time was running out and only 40 seconds remained and only one Subban was on the ice. The other Subbans were on the bench and in the stands, helpless to determine the outcome of this game of multiple emotional swings and scores.
But your VGK always seem to find a way to make you say, “How do they do this?”
Erik Haula scored with 39.5 seconds left and the one point came back as a good possibility.
In the shootout, Malcolm Subban was not to be denied. He efficiently (and quietly) outplayed all six Nashville shooters who came down on him in one-on-one confrontations. At the other end of the ice, Nashville’s Pekka Rinne also stopped the first five VGK shooters. But then the last one, Reilly Smith, beat Rinne under his right arm, which ended the game and gave Vegas a big two points that they had, then lost, then were in a position to salvage one of them, and finally reclaimed the both.
In total, the Predators had 44 shots through regulation and overtime. Subban stopped 41 of them. He was perfect in OT and the shootout. I’m 100% sure there’s one proud dad today with the last name of Subban.
Vegas has now won its last three games in either overtime or a shootout. The VGK are now 7-1 in games that have required more than 60 minutes.
In another type of family reunion, James Neal was playing against the team that gave him up to the expansion draft. Neal, who has scored 252 goals in his career, scored one last night. I’m sure wouldn’t admit to this, but he almost certainly wanted that goal badly to show Nashville that maybe they should have protected him.
A strange occurrence happened in tonight’s game that you won’t see often, and may never see again: Two goals were scored with only one skate being in contact with the ice at the time the shot was taken. James Neal scored from one knee and with only one skate on the ice. Nashville Arvidsson tied the game at 2-2 in the third with both off his skates completely off the ice, sliding down the back of a VGK defender in front of the net as he released his shot.
VGK goals scored for the game: William Karlsson PPG (15), James Neal (14), Erik Haula (10), and Reilly Smith (shootout winner).
The VGK are back at it with a back-to-back game tonight against the Dallas Stars in Dallas, which starts at 5 p.m. Pacific Time.
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