This seemed to be a road game for the VGK, as there were plenty of fans in blue-and-white Toronto sweaters making their voices heard throughout the night. And those fans had a lot to be happy about, as the VGK went down to their fifth loss in a row, a team record, by a score of 6-3 to the Maple Leafs at T-Mobile. With last night’s loss, it brings the VGK to a dismal 2-7 in their last 9 games.
Once again, a third-period collapse doomed Vegas. The Knights fought back three different times.
The first time, Paul Stastny scored a shorthanded goal after Toronto netminder Frederik Andersen coughed the puck up to Reilly Smith. Smith passed the loose puck to the trailing Stastny, who wasted no time in putting it past Andersen to tie the game at 1-1 at 2:36 into the second period.
When Oscar Lindberg took a pretty pass from Cody Eakin, Oscar scored his third goal of the season, for the only lead Vegas would have in this game.
The VGK penalty kill, which had been good, has hit a bump in the road. Giving the high-scoring Maple Leafs 6 PP chances isn’t something Coach Gallant was happy about. Toronto wound up with 2 PPG and a shorthanded goal by Mitch Marner, his 21st goal, to close out the scoring in another disappointing night at T-Mobile.
All six penalties the VGK were assessed were lazy penalties. Two were for cross-checking and the rest were for tripping, high sticking, slashing, and kneeing.
When William Karlsson tied the score at 3-3, there was a glimmer of hope that Vegas would recover from another third-period collapse.Wishful thinking. The Maple Leafs responded with three third-period goals to push them past Vegas.
Fleury faced 43 shots as Toronto and their high-powered offense was on full display at T-Mobile last night. Vegas had 33 shots on Andersen.
There’s no question that this team is in a funk and I’m not sure how they can get back to basics. One would think after Gallant’s meltdown following the Arizona game, there would be a response. I didn’t see that at any point in last night’s game.
The home-ice advantage is missing. Their current play could be putting George McPhee into a situation he might not be comfortable with, as he’ll need to reevaluate the team as it stands now.
My 3 Stars of the Game: Auston Matthews (2 goals, 1 assist), Mitch Marner (1 SHG, 1 assist), Reilly Smith (1 assist on the shorthanded goal)
The next game is tomorrow night against the Nashville Predators at 7 p.m. at T-Mobile.
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