The new year is only a day young, but things are just like they were in 2018, especially for Brandon Pirri who keeps scoring goals game after game.
Last night he scored his 6th goal in 7 games and his 9th goal in just 9 games as a VGK. His goal last night was the game winner in the VGK’s 2-0 victory over the L.A. Kings. In Pirri’s short VGK career, he has 9 goals and 2 assists.
Last night was a goaltending clinic by L.A. Kings netminder Jack Campbell, who faced a career-high 48 shots and saved 47 of them. Campbell seems to love playing at T-Mobile; last February 27, he faced 42 shots and stopped 41 for his first NHL win. In the 2 games that Campbell has played at T-Mobile, he has faced 90 shots and given up all of 2 goals, one by William Karlsson in the 2018 game and the other by Brandon Pirri last night. Campbell was making his first start since Nov. 10. He’s been recovering from knee surgery.
Marc-André Fleury faced only 17 shots and stopped them all in his league-high sixth shutout and league-leading 23rd win. Fleury went more than 20 minutes without facing a shot from the end of the first period to close to the 17-minute mark of the second. The 17 shots the VGK allowed last night tied the lowest number from an opposing team with the Oct. 8 game vs. Buffalo. In that game, even with just 17 shots, the VGK lost by a score of 4-2 with Fleury in net.
“I just get in the corner and stretch, move the arms, do a couple push-ups from time to time,” Fleury said about staying focused in a game where he saw no shots for extended periods of time. “When they play the songs, I sing them. It’s not easy to play those games,” he added. “I feel like sometimes when you get more shots, it’s just easier and you’re more comfortable. It’s just trying to stay sharp and trying to move around, so when they get their first shot, you can make the save.”
Last night was a much different story for Fleury and the VGK than the Buffalo game — the win increased their dominating home record to 13-3-3 and added to their point streak of 7 games with a record of 5-0-2 and their home point streak of 10 games with an 8-0-2 record.
L.A. Kings Tyler Toffoli scored the winning goal in the Kings 4-3 OT win on Dec. 23 on a breakaway with a snap spot directly in front of Fleury. Last night once again, Toffoli came in on a breakaway with 13:40 left in the third period and when he got to the same exact spot where he scored against Fleury, he dropped his shoulder, trying to make Fleury believe he would try the same shot from the same spot. Fleury stayed patient and didn’t fall for the shoulder drop; when Toffoli tried to go left, then back right, Fleury stuck his left pad out and made a spectacular toe save to preserve the shutout.
“I try and stay patient. He got the overtime winner last time we played them and won, so I was very happy to stop him,” Fleury said.
Vegas had 48 shots on Campbell, almost three times more than the Kings’ 17. The Knights are 8-0 when they register 40+ shots on net. Seventeen of the VGK’s 18 skaters had at least one shot on net. Nick Holden was the only one without a shot on net.
Never shy about shooting the puck, Jonathan “I Shoot from Everywhere” Marchessault had a game-high seven shots on goal. William Karlsson, Brandon Pirri, Tomas Nosek, and Alex Tuch registered four each. In a game where L.A. never seemed comfortable, they were playing in back-to-back games and their lack of energy showed, especially in the second period where they have the long change as their bench is a long way from their defensive zone.
Vegas outshot the Kings 18-4 in the second and 21-5 in the third. The only period that was close was the first, which ended with a 9-8 shot advantage for Vegas.
Alex Tuch scored the second Vegas goal into an empty net with 33 seconds left off passes from Engelland and that guy named Pirri. It was Tuch’s 14th goal of the season and his 31st point in 35 games. He’s one goal shy of his career high of 15 goals, which he scored in 78 games in the 2017-18 season. Tuch now has a 4-game point streak with 2 goals and 3 assists. His goal last night passed Karlsson for the team lead in points. Karlsson has played in all 43 games this season, while last night was Tuch’s 35th. Karlsson still leads the team in goals scored with 15. Brayden McNabb and Jon Merrill are the only two Knights without a goal scored 43 games into the season. Last season, Merrill scored one goal in 34 games, while McNabb had five goals in 76 games.
The following stat is provided by @Bischoff Tyler: The Golden Knights have never allowed a goal with Brandon Pirri on the ice. Fifteen other NHL players have a 100% Goals For percentage. Of the other 14 players, none has been on the ice for more than three goals for. That Pirri guy has been on the ice for 11 goals.
Is he or isn’t he a defensive liability? The Pirri problem for General Manager George McPhee grows even larger. Pirri is now seven games into his 10-game waiver exemption and he’s been on the active roster since Dec. 19, minus three days for the Christmas break. That makes 11 days of the 30-day active-roster limit. If the 10 games or 30 days are reached, Pirri can’t be sent down without having to clear waivers. What will GMGM do?
My 3 Stars of the Game: Brandon Pirri (game-winning goal, 1 assist), Marc-André Fleury (6th shutout and 23rd win, both league-leading), Jack Campbell (stopped everything shot at him, except one by that Pirri guy).
Next game is Friday Jan 4 vs. Anaheim at 7 p.m. on the road, just one of the three games Vegas will play on the road for the entire month of January.
Your comments and opinions are welcome here at Las Vegas Advisor (to comment, you just have to register on the site, which takes all of 30 seconds and is free, of course). You can also contact me directly at [email protected] or visit my Facebook page, Vegas Hockey Guy.
And for the most comprehensive coverage of the Vegas Golden Knights’ historic inaugural season, take a look at our book Vegas Golden Knights—How a First-Year Expansion Team Healed Las Vegas and Shocked the Hockey World.
And here are the links to the videos:
Fleury Part I and II
Gallant Part I and II
Never miss another post