In last night’s game, the two points that were up for grabs between Vegas and Florida would have made headlines, not only in Las Vegas, but in 30 other NHL cities, had they been posted to the right team—the VGK. With a win in regulation, the two points would make the Knights the #1 team overall in the NHL. And yes, it seems surreal that a first-year expansion team of castoffs would be at the top of 31 more than halfway through the season.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be. The VGK did manage to get one point from the game, as the Florida Panthers had leads of a goal three different times throughout the game. James Neal’s goal late in the third period tied it up and Vegas got the game into overtime. Last night’s loss was the second loss in OT in a row, after going 6-0 in overtime; it also gave up a valuable point in their chase to the top of the league.
The one point they did earn still keeps them at the top of the entire Western conference, which in itself is an unreal accomplishment. Both Coach Gallant and GM McPhee, in my opinion, are a lock for coach and GM of the year when the awards are given out in June.
But a dark cloud still follows this team and last night it played a major factor in the outcome. So far, the VGK’s strong goal production when five on five has masked the problem of the power play. They’ve scored only one power-play goal since Dec. 23 and only one goal in their last 32 PP chances. Last night, not only did they not score a power-play goal on multiple chances, they gave up a shorthanded goal while on the power play—a back breaker, especially for the momentum of the game. It provided life for Florida and it seemed to take the sails out of the Knights.
Coach Gallant is publicly saying that he’s not overly worried about the performance of the power play. Of course, this is what he has to say to us to keep it from becoming an even bigger issue than it is. Coaching isn’t always about what happens on the ice. Good coaches try to isolate their players from distractions and Gallant is just doing his job. But as someone who covers the team and wants my readers to have a good feel about what’s really going on, I’d be remiss if I didn’t point it out.
In last night’s back-to-back game, Gallant had Malcolm Subban in the net. It was a good choice, given the schedule, plus trying to keep Subban in game-ready condition. Subban had an off game and looked unsure of himself at times. He only faced 26 shots and surrendered four goals. That is very unlike him as he has been strong in all of his previous starts.
Having an off night isn’t the end of the world, but in a game where two points would have put the VGK on the top of the NHL, it seemed to be a bad time for an off night. His save percentage on four goals in 26 shots is .846. I’m sure he’s disappointed in last night’s outcome and his performance.
James Neal’s goal late in the third was huge for the team and huge for him personally. It was his 20th of the season and it marks 20 goals for him in 10 straight seasons. He’s done this with four different teams and is now only the sixth active player to have such a streak. The other five players who have accomplished the same are icons in the NHL: Alex Ovecchkin, Jonathan Toews, Jaromir Jagr, Patrick Kane, and Tomas Vanek.
In the last three games, the VGK have faced teams coming off of their bye week and have a record of 1-1-1. Three points out of a possible six isn’t the best that could be hoped for. But considering last night was a back-to-backer, maybe fatigue was a factor, as the VGK were chasing the game all night.
In OT last night, Aaron Ekblad scored on the first shift just 40 seconds into it when Reilly Smith, attempting to clear the puck away from the net after Subban made the original save on the 2-on-1, batted the puck out of the air on right on to the skate of Ekblad, who was trailing the play. He buried it and the Knights will have to wait until another night to become the number-one team in the NHL.
Goal scorers for Vegas: James Neal (20), David Peron (11), William Karlsson (25).
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