The clocks going back an hour last night was a scheduled event. The VGK going back to the style of play that we’ve all grown accustomed to was a pleasant surprise. The end result was a 3-0 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes.
Marc-Andre Fleury was nothing less than spectacular in last night’s game, stopping all 34 shots he faced. It was Fleury 50th all-time shutout and the 410th win in his NHL career. Shutouts account for more than 12% of his victories.
“Yeah, it felt like it took me awhile to get there,” Fleury said after the game about achieving 50, “but it’s nice to round it up. It’s always nice to get wins — and shutouts because of how the team plays. Tonight was a great one for our team, so it’s a good feeling. But we need to keep going.”
“I wouldn’t say we made it easy on him,” Coach Gallant commented after the game. “He played an outstanding game tonight, but he did see a lot of the shots. [The Hurricanes] put pucks to the net everywhere and they go hard to the net. That’s why they’re having success this year. They’re a good young hockey team and they play real well; they really go hard to the paint. Fleury was outstanding, but our defense did a good job eliminating second and third chances on rebounds. That was key.”
We didn’t know when going back to the VGK style of hockey would happen, but with a team that has this much talent, heart, and excellent coaching, it was bound to happen sooner than later.
I also asked Coach Gallant if he thought that was the best 60-minute game his team has played so far this season.
“Pretty close,” he responded. “We’ve we played three or four real good games, but it’s in the mix for sure.”
Injuries and a suspension account for the slow start and last night’s win didn’t help Vegas gain any ground in the standings. They’re in 6th place overall in the Pacific Division with a 6-7-1 record (13 points), trailing the two surprising dark horses that currently lead the division, Calgary (19 points) and Vancouver (18 points).
Vegas has played only two games against Pacific Division foes so far this year, picking up 3 points out of 4, defeating Anaheim 3-1 on Oct. 20 and losing to Vancouver 3-2 in a shootout on Oct. 24. This has made their slow start somewhat manageable. If their seven losses had been in their own division, the point differential would be a much bigger problem.
Nate Schmidt returns to the team in six more games. The VGK have really missed his stretch passes, occasional end-to-end rushes, and assignments of shutting down the other team’s top players. When he comes back, it will take a lot of pressure off of McNabb and Miller, who’ve borne the brunt through 14 games.
In last night’s game, the Bellemare-Reaves-Carrier “wrecking-ball” line continues to dominate. I’ve watched a lot of hockey games and from what I’ve seen so far this season, this is the best fourth line in all of hockey right now. They do all that’s asked of a fourth line — and more. They hit, they forecheck, and they make life miserable for the other team’s defensemen, who hear Reaves and Carrier coming in at full speed looking to deposit them onto Interstate 15 on the west end of the ice or Las Vegas Blvd. on the east.
Now, add in Revo’s four goals, Bellemare’s two, and last night Carrier lit the lamp for his first goal of the season. They’ve scored seven of the VGK’s 32 goals in 14 games. That’s impressive for a line whose main job is to give the top offensive players a breather and eat up some minutes, while attempting to pin the opposition deep in their own end.
Last night they scored two goals and had nine hits in just 8-9 minutes of ice time.
Carrier had 13 shifts, 7:55 in ice time, one goal, and three hits. Reaves had 9:17 of ice time on 15 shifts and one goal; his fourth of the season, he trails only Jonathan Marchessault, who has six for the team’s goal-scoring lead. Let that sink in for a while. Reaves also had six booming hits, often sending Carolina players onto their butts. Bellemare played 12:05, which included just shy of three minutes on the penalty kill, which held Carolina 0-3 on their power play.
“No,” Reaves replied when asked if he’d ever had a coach put this much trust in him. “Maybe a little bit at the end of my St. Louis career, but otherwise, definitely not. I don’t think I ever showed two minutes of my career on the power play, and now I’m playing regular shifts with some guys banged up. I’m playing in all situations and Turk trusts me a lot, trusts our line to go out there and do our job. It’s a boost in my confidence for sure.”
With Fleury being Fleury and the wrecking balls of Reaves and Carrier, it’s not easy playing the VGK.
Alex Tuch didn’t make the scorecard, but you couldn’t miss his presence on the ice. His speed entering the zone is giving opposing players nightmares. To see a skater of his size have this much speed and soft hands is uncommon. Alex Tuch and William Karlsson led the team with three shots each in last night’s game.
Erik Haula has 5 points in his last 4 games — one goal and four assists. He’s come to life after earning just one point in his previous seven games.
In a stat that really doesn’t mean too much right now, but is fun to track, Vegas has never lost a regular-season Saturday game at T-Mobile Arena. In 2017-2018, they won all five Saturday regular-season home games and last night’s win was the second of this season. (They did lose two post-season games: the first against the San Jose Sharks on April 28, the second on June 2 against the Washington Capitals.)
Max Pacioretty is back skating and will join the team on the upcoming four-game game road trip, which is excellent news. The VGK will face off against Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal before their last game in Boston. They then return home on November 14 to play Anaheim.
My 3 Stars of the Game: Marc-Andre Fleuy (34 saves, 50th shutout, 410th win), Ryan “Revo” Reaves (1 goal and 6 bone-crushing hits), Erik Haula (2 assists).
The VGK’s next game is Tuesday against the Maple Leafs in Toronto at 4 p.m.
To see post-game videos of Fleury (temporarily topless), Gallant Part 1 and Part 2, Reaves, Carrier, and Hunt, click on their names.
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