Last night’s game was a rollercoaster of momentum swings for both teams.
Vegas returned to their first-period dominance, with team speed that at this point of the season isn’t a surprise to any of other 30 teams in the league. The Knights dominated the first 18 minutes with goals by Alex Tuch (9) and Jonathan Marchessault (16) to jump out to a 2-0 lead.
Chicago got into the game for the last two minutes of the first period. If it wasn’t for Chicago goaltender Jeff Glass, it would’ve been a blowout, as Vegas set a team record with 21 shots on goal in the first period. They actually launched 25 shots at the net; 21 got to Glass, three were shot wide, and one was blocked. Glass, by the way, is the Blackhawks number-two goalie. Their number-one, Corey Crawford, is injured.
As predicted, Malcolm Subban was in nets for Vegas. Last night, he faced only 10 shots in the first period and continued his early dominance, with a .958 save percentage in the first period—best among all the other goaltenders in the NHL.
With last night’s 5-4 win, Subban made 28 saves, recorded his seventh consecutive win in nets, and increased his record to 11-2-0. The last time Subban lost a game was on Nov 30th when VGK were defeated by Minnesota Wild by a score of 4-2. That loss, and the following night’s loss to Winnipeg, was the last time the VGK lost two games in a row. Last night’s win eliminated the possibility of a two-game losing streak. It was also the fifth road out of the last six road games for Vegas. Winning on the road is paramount if you expect to have success in the regular and post-seasons.
Chicago scored their first goal with 1:59 left in the first period to make the score 2-1. Goals scored late or early in a period can change the momentum of the game. So when Vegas scored to make it 3-1, it seemed like that would stem the Chicago tide, but it didn’t; Chicago closed the gap with another goal to make it 3-2.
When Chicago scored the next goal to tie it up 3-3, it appeared that maybe the VGK’s back-to-back games were taking a toll on their energy. Blowing two two-goal leads is never a good thing, especially on the road. That gets the crowd back into the game and gives the home team a spark, with the sudden belief that they could steal two points while playing only half a game.
When Jonathan Toews, the center and current captain of the Blackhawks, scored 30 seconds into the third period, giving Chicago the lead for the first time in the game, the wheels seemed to be coming off of the bus for Vegas. But our guys regrouped and when Cody Eakin scored five minutes after Toews, it was anyone’s game.
On a play that Chicago defenseman Connor Murphy would most likely want back, he pinched in on the blue line, only to see Reilly Smith chip the puck past him and break in all alone on Glass, scoring the goal number five for Vegas. That goal eventually held up, as Subban shut down the Blackhawks the rest of the game for the win.
It was the first game that Vegas has given up more than three goals since the Dec. 1 loss to Winnipeg.
I can’t stress the importance of the first goal enough: Scoring last night’s first goal, the VGK increased their record to 18-1-0 when they score first.
Chicago’s record when surrendering the first goal is 7-12-3 after tonight’s loss.
Ryan Carpenter made his VGK debut after being claimed from San Jose on Dec. 13.
Luca Sbisa, who missed the previous nine games, was inserted into the lineup. He was in a fight late in the second period and didn’t return. Vegas was forced to play with only 5 defensemen for the entire third period on the second game of a back-to-back.
VGK’s Penalty Killing unit continues to excel. Once again, they didn’t surrender a power-play goal and have killed off 18 straight over seven-plus games.
The VGK’s own power play still seems out of sync and actually gave Chicago three of their better scoring chances while they were shorthanded.
William Karlsson continues to surpass his previous goal and assist production. He has 21 goals and 34 points this season, while also having a +15 rating. During his last three seasons in the NHL, he had a combined total of 19 goals and 50 points total and was a +4.
VGK goal scorers: Alex Tuch (9), Jonathan Marchessault (16), William Karlsson (21), Cody Eakin (6), Reilly Smith (11).
The VGK’s next game is tomorrow night vs. the NY Rangers. Game time is 6:30 p.m. at T-Mobile. Yes, it’s Part 2 of the “Night My Wife Meets My Girlfriend.” I’ll be one confused guy Sunday night 🙂
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