I’ve said this many times this season: “The next team to score in a 2-0 game will mostly likely win the game.”
And that’s exactly what happened last night as Vegas led 2-0 late in the game, headed to their third victory this season over the L.A. Kings. This article was originally going to be called “Two Teams Headed in Opposite Direction,” as L.A. had only 10 wins in January and so far in February.
Back on Dec. 28, only 2 points separated Vegas and the Kings. The Kings actually led the Pacific Division for a while. Since then, the Kings have gone 11-13-0 . Vegas, on the other hand, had a record of 16-7-2 during the same stretch of games, vaulting them to the top, not only of the Pacific Division, but the entire Western Conference, and several times occupying the number-one spot of all 31 teams of the league. During these 25 games, Vegas has had a +26 goal differential, while L.A. has been -1.
Last night, the Kings overcame the two-goal deficit with eight minutes left in the game. It might sound strong, but it seemed unfair.
Their first goal got behind Fleury by bouncing off Cody Eakin’s visor as it was going across the front of the net; then it changed direction on a pass from Jeff Carter. What hurt even more is that the last time the Kings overcame a two-goal deficit within the last 10 minutes of a game was way back in January 2010.
The tying goal was scored with just 10.8 seconds left in the game. The Kings were carrying the play from the moment they scored their first goal. With the goaltender pulled for an extra skater, they fired shot after shot on Fleury who did everything possible to keep the score 2-1. But when the VGK gave the puck away on a costly turnover in their zone with just 10.8 seconds left in the game, Dustin Brown scored on a mad scramble in front of the net and the two points that seemed like a given continued to be taken away from them.
The Knights were 24-2-1 when entering the third period ahead. After the loss to Anaheim, Coach Gallant put a message on the board in the locker room that read, “More pucks to the net, more bodies to the net.” His team followed that message by scoring 13 goals in their last two games. They also were an amazing 26-3-0 when scoring first.
They did so last night when Erik Haula scored his 23rd on an odd-man rush with David Perron, after James Neal created it with a stretch pass from the neutral zone.
L.A. has given up the first goal of the game 40 times in 63 games, causing them to slide in the standings. Last night, they dodged that bullet.
The Knights did, in fact, continue with Coach’s game plan, but the Kings’ net-minder, Jonathan Quick, was amazing under that pressure; without him, Vegas could have easily had five-to-six goals instead of the two that did get by him. Quick robbed Alex Tuch on all of his seven shots on goal. Reilly Smith had eight shots on goal. Quick was the difference in the game.
Fleury stood on his head and almost preserved the win tonight, with 41 saves on 44 shots. Quick saved 37 of the 39 shots that he faced.
Reilly Smith has been on fire in February with 19 points and 7 goals. He scored Vegas’ second goal tonight for his 21st of the season, giving the VGK the two-goal lead early in the 3rd period.
In the overtime period, Vegas had a few quality scoring chances, but Quick remained solid in the nets. Anze Kopitar, the Kings’ leading scorer, put the puck behind Fleury for his team-leading 26th goal.
James Neal returned to the lineup, but left in the second period after falling awkwardly on his right wrist when he delivered a check behind the net. The Knights also lost Oscar Lindberg, who was blindsided by Kyle Clifford of the L.A. Kings while skating to the bench away from the play. Clifford was then challenged multiple times by Vegas newcomer Ryan Reaves to stand up for his late hit away from the play. Clifford refused the invite from Reaves. But fear not: These two teams are playing each other again tonight and as anyone who’s been watching hockey for a while and who understands exactly why Ryan Reaves was acquired by the VGK, you can expect a payback in the game. These two teams are starting to dislike each other. Expect some fireworks on the Strip tonight, but it will be indoors at T-Mobile at 7:30.
Shea Theodore still remains out of the lineup for the 5th straight game.
The VGK, who’ve scored a power-play goal in each of their last seven road games, came up 0-3. Vegas had scored 9 PPG in their last 7 games. A vast improvement from their first 23 games when they only scored 10. Their 0-3 on the power play played a significant role in the outcome.
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