Those who have been following my blog know about my lifetime marriage to my wife, a.k.a. the New York Rangers, and my new girlfriend, a.k.a. the Vegas Golden Knights. Their first meeting on October 31 back in New York City was a confusing night for me. How do I handle my love for the Rangers and not betray my new girlfriend at the same time? Last night’s game brought the same uncertainty.
The meeting in October was nerve wracking, especially when both the number-one and number-two VGK goaltenders were injured. The VGK led 4-2 entering the third period, but then the roof fell in. The VGK committed multiple penalties in the third and the Rangers scored four times to defeat Vegas 6-4.
That entire east coast road trip has been the only blemish that Vegas has experienced in their first 41 games. Last night’s game marked the halfway point on their 82-game schedule.
Last night’s game featured two of the fastest teams in the league. The VGK are accustomed to being the faster team on the ice, but last night, that wasn’t the case. How would they handle a team as quick as they are? The same question was also asked of the Rangers. The answer was a lot of potential odd-man rushes that were quickly extinguished by the speedy defensman getting back and the forwards back-checking to prevent any quality scoring chances. But with that much speed from both teams odd man rushes will happen and they did, but both goaltenders stood the test.
Match the VGK’s speed? No worries. We have Marc-Andre Fleury to shut you down. Your goaltender is going to play amazing and only give up two goals to the VGK, who average 3.52 goals a game? No worries. Our guy Fleury will only give up one goal even though you average 3.12 goals a game.
Two of the three stars of the game were the goalies, in my opinion. Fleury especially: During the last four minutes of the game when the Rangers appeared to take their speed to another level, our guy so on his game that the puck must have looked like a beach ball to him. He blocked everything the Rangers shot his way. With 1:59 left, the Rangers pulled their goaltender, creating a six on five and did just about everything humanly possible to get the tying goal past Fleury. With just seven seconds left, Fleury made a highlight save on Ranger forward Vinni Lettieri
Fleury made 28 saves on the 29 shots he faced. He’s been playing the best I’ve ever seen him play and I saw many of his games when he was with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He’s given up two goals or less in his last five starts and seven out of his last eight games. He’s given up only 11 goals in his last 8 starts. He’s 6-1-1 since returning from his injury. His record with last night’s 2-1 win brought his season record to 9-2-1.
Last night’s win was the seventh straight at T-Mobile and increased the VGK’s home record to 18-2-1, the best home record in the entire NHL.
In the last 16 games, including last night’s win, Vegas has a record of 14-1-1, scoring 22 more goals than the opposition.
Last night’s win also increased their point total to 60. They and Tampa Bay are the only two teams to reach 60 points. Some sports books had posted a line of 72 total points earned in their entire inaugural season and we’re only halfway.
James Neal had Vegas’ first goal last night; it was his first in an unusual seven-game goal drought. He now has 18 goals for the season.
William Karlsson scored the winning goal, his 22nd. He assisted by a nifty cross-ice pass from Reilly Smith. Jonathan Marchessault also had an assist on the game-winning goal; he now has a team-high 40 points, with 16 goals and 24 assists.
This line of Karlsson, Marchessault. and Smith have combined for a total of 111 points.
Shortly after scoring his goal, James Neal was hit on the wrist by a shot/ pass from McNabb. It appeared to be an injury that might be serious, as he immediately went to the locker room without even stopping at the bench. Thankfully, Neal returned in the second period and when I observed him in the locker room after the game, he didn’t seem bothered by it and there wasn’t even an ice pack in sight. That’s good news for the team that’s firing on all cylinders.
The VGK penalty kill continues to be perfect, killing off both of the NY Rangers’ power plays, extending their streak to 20 kills in a row over an eight-game stretch. That’s over 520 minutes straight without surrendering a power-play goal.
The team is now on a much needed five-day break. Even without any major injuries of note, the break will be good for the normal bumps and bruises that NHL players play through.
When I asked Marc Andre Fleury what he had planned for the five-day break, he said he was going to Disneyland with his kids. Could this be a sign of what he might be saying on a day in June when asked what he was going to do after winning the Stanley Cup? I know I’m getting way ahead of myself here, but I found his answer ironic.
Post-game, Coach Gallant had this to say about the first 41 games of the season, “Pretty amazing. They’ve played great hockey from the first night. They compete and battle every night. We’re beating good hockey teams and we’re playing good hockey. Tonight, we played a really good Rangers team and that was one of the quickest games of the year. It was fast both ways and I liked the game. We stayed patient and we found a way to score late and win a big game. I thought it was a great game. Great goaltending on both ends.”
There were a lot of Ranger fans at T-Mobile, most wearing the Broadway Blue sweaters. It was amusing to hear a chant that has been a ritual at Madison Square Garden for over 40 years now. One guy in the crowd starts a whistle that is followed by a chant of Potvin Sucks. It never gets old hearing that. Dennis Potvin was a NY Islander who check-broke the ankle of star player Ulf Neilson and the NY Ranger fans have never forgotten it.
The Next VGK game is Saturday Jan. 13 against Edmonton at 7 p.m. at T-Mobile.
What will we do without a VGK game for five days? Well, you could read some of my VGK blogs you might have missed for your Knight fix.
Never miss another post