Well, if you’re a VGK fan, this is more than possible and it all has to do with their game last night against defending Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning.
As I watch games, I takes notes that help me recap my thoughts for these posts. At the game’s 10-minute mark, I wrote, “First 10 minutes, all VGK.” Thirty minutes later, I wrote, “Surprisingly, still all VGK.”
And then the Knights didn’t show up for the 3rd period; they did not have even one shot on goal for the entire period. Technically, they were credited with one shot with 3 minutes left in the game, but that came from 90 feet away from Andrei Vasilevskiy. It’s almost impossible to score from just 5 feet away from Tampa Bay’s goaltender, so a shot from 90 feet is mission impossible. Still, Vegas avoided the embarrassment of going an entire period without a shot on goal.
Somehow, with smoke and mirrors, Vegas found a way to overcome the fact that they only played 40 minutes of the first 60 and hung on for a 3-2 win in a shootout that took 7 shooters to complete. Mark Stone was the 7th shooter.
Tampa Bay is a good team. Some may consider them a great team. They’ve won the Stanley Cup the last 2 seasons. Good teams find a way, and last night, you knew that Tampa Bay would make some sort of push in the 3rd period. But nothing like we all had to sit through in yesterday’s version of hockey hell on a Saturday afternoon if you’re a VGK fan. Tampa scored twice to wipe away Vegas’ dominating performance.
The last time these 2 teams met in December at T-Mobile, Vegas also had a 2-goal lead halfway through the 2nd period, but blew it on the way to a Tampa Bay come-from-behind victory. Was the same thing about to happen again? It didn’t, but it was an emotional roller coaster ride, not only for the players and coaching staff, but for anyone watching the game as a VGK fan.
You were happy that they won this game and completed a successful road trip, earning 5 points against 4 tough teams in 6 nights. But you were pissed off at the same time that they were basically a no-show in the 3rd period.
Vegas had 4 odd-man rushes in the 3rd period, but didn’t get a shot on Vasilevskiy. Combined with no other shots and again blowing a 2-goal lead in the 3rd period, if all that doesn’t piss you off, there is something wrong with you.
Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone have returned to the lineup, but it’s clear they’re either still nursing injuries or their timing is way off. Chandler Stephenson and Dylan Coghlan were out after joining the long list of VGK who have passed through the COVID protocol. The top 6 forwards are not producing, but you can thank the bottom 6 forwards for the five road-trip points; they scored 5 of the VGK’s 7 goals Vegas in the 4 games.
To further focus on the Stone-Pacioretty mystery, how does Nolan Patrick go before either one of them in the shootout? Stone was used, but only after DeBoer sent out 6 other players first. Nolan Patrick’s shootout attempt never even hit the net. Granted, Stone has only converted on 3 of 13 shootouts but I’m still sending Stone and Pacioretty out before Patrick if they’re healthy.
Robin Lehner played well once again yesterday and the 2 goals that Tampa scored were dirty goals in the blue paint. One was actually put in by Zach Whitecloud in his attempt to help Lehner clear the puck. All 4 goals scored in the first 60 minutes were from less than 5 feet from the goal line.
Other game notes and quotes.
Coming into yesterday’s game, Lehner had never beaten Tampa Bay. He was 0-5-1.
Vegas went 0-1 on the power play yesterday and went 0-11 on this 4-game road trip.
Vegas scored only 7 goals in 4 games during regulation, and won 2 of these games and lost one in OT.
“It was a tough road trip and a good test for us,” Lehner said. “This was a big [two points] for us. I tried to do my best and got a couple of nice goals from the guys. They stepped up and scored a bunch for me. That was nice.”
“We might not have any points without the depth scoring we’re getting between the fourth line (Carrier, Howden, Keegan Kolesar) and the defensemen,” said Vegas Coach Peter DeBoer.
“It was a [heck] of a road trip for us. Five out of eight points against these teams (Lightning, Florida Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals) and dealing with adversity again right up until this morning with two guys getting pulled for COVID.”
DeBoer also said even though Robin Lehner was perfect in the Washington game, he thought Lehner played better yesterday than his shutout against the Caps on Monday.
Robin Lehner, who has had his troubles in the past with shootouts, has won 3 of 4 this season so far.
Howden has more than earned his ice time and has scored 2 goals with 1 assist in his last 3 games and in my opinion should play ahead of Kolesar. Howden had 1 goal in 42 games last year playing with the NY Rangers; he has 6 goals this year in 32 games with Vegas.
Buffalo, which is also known as VGK East, returns to play the VGK on Tuesday Feb 1 at T-Mobile at 7 p.m.
Buffalo has 5 former VGK on their roster: Alex Tuch, Peyton Krebs, Colin Miller, Cody Eakin, and Malcolm Subban. Tuch has 12 points in his last 11 games (4G, 8A). Krebs has 3 goals and 1 assist in his last 3 games.
My 3 Stars of the Game: Willaim Carrier (1G, 1A, and 4 SOG), Brett Howden (1G, 1A), Robin Lehner (27 saves on 29 shots and spectacular in the shootout)
Your comments and opinions are welcome here at Las Vegas Advisor or you may contact me directly at [email protected] or on my Facebook page or the Facebook page of Vegas Hockey Guy or on Twitter @TheRealJoePane
For more VGK content, check out the Hockey Knights in Vegas Podcast that can be found at this link or on my Facebook page.
One other note: If you’re reading this blog from Facebook or Twitter and would like to access it earlier in the morning before I share it on social media, it’s usually published by 8 a.m. the morning after a game on LasVegasAdvisor.com. What better way is there to enjoy your morning coffee than reading my take on last night’s VGK game.
Howden opening goal
Carrier’s greasy dirty goal
Round #7 in the shootout
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Drew Thrasher answered my question of can you be
Yes, but man that was an exciting game
Drew Thrasher not easy for the heart and soul 🙂
Joe P.
Brian Mishefske sent this comment in
Perfect written Joe and let’s pray for healthy team moving forward and playing 3 full periods. Go Knights
Christopher Couch
Great headline. Through the first 2 periods, I was thinking, VGK is simply a better team than Tampa. Then VGK stayed in the dressing room for the 3rd.
Panda played great; no goalie is stopping those goals that got past him.
Hopefully this scrappy road trip helps them build confidence and they need to get healthy fast. All these line rotations are killing the chemistry.
Christopher Couch not so fast on Vegas being a better team, they can run with Tampa Bay as we all saw in the first 40 minutes but a 3rd period like yesterday in the playoffs will not go to a shootout. It will be next goal wins and all the momentum was with Tampa Bay. Cheeze,
it took 7 shooters to finally get the 2 points.
Joe P.
Christine Balz would my question be considered a …… well you know where I’m going………..ZINGER?
Joe P.
Christine Balz answered my question to her
You better believe it! And you nailed it!! We gotta stop letting our strong starts turn in to Sloppy endings! We are starting to look like the LEAFS!!! 🤪🤣🤣🤣
Christine Balz OMG the LEAFS now it’s you with the ZINGERS.
Joe P
Christine explained her ZINGER
Joe Pane I come from a long line of Leafs fans….we know they suck! LOL
Bill Dickerson wrote this comment
What concerns me is the lack of scoring from top 6. Same thing from last 2 playoffs. What confuses me even more is sinbins insistence playing the low event hockey style is somehow gonna be different this time when we saw it isn’t again. Playoffs these games we are probably losing 3 out of 4 of these.
Bill Dickerson what’s even more confusing is Sin Bin opinion that they have to or should finish 2nd instead of first to be successful in the playoffs. A first-place finish guarantees home ice advantage for at least the first 2 rounds. Granted T-Mobile has not been the juggernaut it has been in the first 4 years, but I still want a game 7 at home if it goes that far.
Joe P.
Bill Dickerson wrote back
Joe Pane yeah, he doesn’t value the regular season when I even showed him that getting a higher seed does increase odds of winning. I know they have been better on the road, but I want the easier route and always give me home ice. I like some of his opinions, but others just don’t seem based on reality.
Bill Dickerson sometimes I think Ken goes out on a ledge for shock value. Hey if it works for him then he should continue to go that route. I want all the home games I can get. I have been around long enough to know the home crowd can make a difference for not only the players but the calls on the ice. One of the VGK front office has called Ken Sinsational. Which I thought was very clever on their part.
Joe P.
Bill Dickerson wrote back
Joe Pane yeah, I don’t think I have ever seen a team lose due to having home ice. The idea that a team gets complacent due to home ice is strange to me, as is playing a style your second line is particularly good at and Theodore isn’t being used to his strength.
Craig Breuer replied to Bill Dickerson comment
Bill Dickerson that will hopefully change when Eichel gets into the lineup. It will shake up the lines since one or more players will have to be launched due to the cap.
Just a heads up, my tickets say February 1st not the 2nd for next home game.
Do you think that the Knights lose their lead is because they just try to protect rather than play their usual game???
OOPS Louise my bad it is February 1st. I will correct that now.
Love your proofreading BTW
Now to answer your question I believe 3 things can be blamed for their meltdown in the 3rd period. You are correct that were just playing to protect the lead. A 2-goal lead is a substantial lead going into the 3rd period. A team as talented as Tampa will give it all they have to try to get back into the game and they did. Last but not least it was their 4th game in 6 days and the boy’s legs were heavy and looking to get on the plane and get home. They lost their focus
Joe P.
Hey Joe.
Didn´t anyone see the tripping/hooking/interference after the face-off to the left of Lehner just before the second goal for Tampa.
The ref´s had big blue eyes in this game. Not seeing the Vegas player flying makes you wonder if the “Zebras” are afraid of making decisions against the home team.
I might be biased but the VGK isn´t favorised by the ref´s.
Patchys penalty was a big laugh. See a big man like Killorn falling like that is just slapstick. I looked after the banana but couldn´t see one.
Give Panda a lot of bamboo. He was the king o the jungle last night. Give him a day off against the Sabres.
On the other side of the rink Vasi was giving our guys the evil eye. They couldn´t shoot at him when coming two-on-one. In those situations Vasi makes it 2-on-2. He´s that good.
My Golden Guys in the game was Lehner, Janmark who were forechecking relentlessly and Carrier who skated round and round in the Tampa-zone. His goal was worth at least one point.
This “Tour de SC Contenders” makes my “Tour de Covid” easier to withstand.
The Vegas Golden Knights has giving me energy and letting me show emotions again.
This is why we, Eva and I, loved them from the beginning.
Go Vegas Go
Kenneth
The officiating in the NHL has been suspect since the STONE ages and I’m not talking about Mark Stone. Home teams seem to benefit from the questionable calls for or against. If you think the refs put their whistles away in the latter stages of the games wait till the playoff start. Sometimes I think the guys in the zebra shirts are just a Gary Bettman fashion show that takes place on the ice come playoff time.
Carrier and the 4th line had a great game and were hard on the puck especially in front of Vasi both Vegas goals were in the dirty area where Vegas usually avoids like you and the world are trying to avoid COVID.
Robin had a good game once again and he just seems to play with more focus on the road. In my opinion he is trying too hard to win the fans over at T-Mobile. On the road he keeps it simple and the boys in front of him also play a good solid defensive road game. So good that they don’t even get any shots in the 3rd period 🙂 Thats my sarcastic comment for Sunday about them just not shooting the puck and focusing on defense.
Joe P.
Darcy A. Dougherty answered my question
YES!! YOU CAN.
Darcy A. Dougherty I knew that and was guilty of experiencing it.
Joe P.
Beino Zenna answered my question
Sure, can😂😡
Pat Hella added this comment to the conversation
awesome knights!!!
Brian Mishefske added this comment
Perfect written Joe and let’s pray for healthy team moving forward and playing 3 full periods. Go Knights
Linda Ley Reimann answered my question with this comment
I was expecting the “pissed off” to reference Kolesar’s dumb-*** penalty after we just killed off 2 others. Almost cost them the game.
Linda Ley Reimann that also.
Joe P.
Kristen Lowrimore wrote
Great article as always!! Let’s hope they don’t sit back and think the Sabers are going to be easy because they are not!! Play hard every game!!
Kristen Lowrimore they seem to play up when facing good teams and lose focus with teams they should beat easily.
Joe P.
Vegas has to start scoring goals on the odd man rushes..When they come in on a 2 on 1 they are always looking to pass the puck..You have to think of shot first, then passing as a 2nd option..Watch the head of the VGK player with the puck on these rushes..They are looking at their linemate..So the opposing defenseman knows they are going to pass, as does the goalie..It’s especially frustrating when you have a player with the puck coming in on his off wing and he tries to pass the puck..If you are coming in on your off wing you have a lot better shooting angle..Take the damn shot..