Knights on Ice — Dads Streak Continues

I know it’s a small sample, but it’s one that should not be ignored or overlooked: The VGK record when all of their dads are with them is now 5-0-1 for 11 points out of a possible 12. But what makes the 2 points earned last night even better is that it came against the San Jose Sharks in their 3-1 victory.

Is it me or does beating the San Jose Sharks feel a bit better than beating any of the other 29 teams? Granted, the VGK have a record of 8-1-3 all time vs. San Jose, so there has been plenty to feel good about.

But this year’s San Jose Sharks have been a disappointment 38 games into the season. Since Dec. 1, they rank dead last, 31^st place, in the entire league in: Win Percentage .167; Goals against 4.22; Goal Differential -22; and Power Play success rate 8.3.

The only category in which they’re not ranked last is goals per game at 2.00, which ranks them 30^th.

They have now lost 3 in a row, 9 of 10, and are 1-8-1 in their last 10 games. They’re already on their 2^nd coach of the year and the playoff clock is ticking on them.

Last night, they didn’t help their cause by scoring only one goal against Malcolm Subban, who had another impressive game, stopping 37 of the 38 shots he faced, which included 20 shots in the 3^rd period. Subban is 6-1-1 in his last 8 starts. Six of his 3^rd period saves came on San Jose’s last power play, when once again “crusty old man” Joe Thornton sold a penalty by intentionally snapping his stick in half, then throwing his hands and his stick in the air. The refs bought his Academy Award performance and called a 2-minute slashing penalty on Chandler Stephenson, whose stick never touched Old Crusty or his stick. If you remember correctly, Thornton sold the “NOT A MAJOR” penalty to the on-ice officials in Game 7 of their playoff series last season.

Gallant was visibly upset when the phantom call was made with just over 2 minutes left in the game and even after the win, he still was giving the on-ice officials an earful.

Paul Stastny opened the scoring for the VGK when, off a good forecheck by Alex Tuch and Valentine Zykov, Stastny found himself in front of San Jose goaltender Aaron Dell, who actually had a good game and kept San Jose close, stopping 30 of the 33 shots he faced. Stastny’s goal, his 9^th of the season, ended a goal drought that extended back to Nov. 27, which happened to be the game that may have turned the VGK season around when Stastny scored 1:52 into the overtime period after Max Pacioretty tied the game up with just a second left. Since that game, the VGK have gone 8-2-2, which has them tied for the lead in the Pacific Division with Arizona. The VGK have played one more game than Arizona.

With Stastny’s goal, the VGK led 1-0 going into the 3^rd period. Logan Couture scored the only Shark goal 3:54 into the third period to tie the game at 1-1. Couture has scored the last 2 San Jose goals against the VGK. Couture had the winning goal in overtime at T-Mobile on Nov. 21 when SJ beat Vegas by a score of 2-1.

Shea Theodore had a 4-game point streak coming into the game and extended it to 5 games when he scored the game-winner 8:05 into the 3^rd period off a smart play by William Karlsson. Wild Bill took both defensemen with him as he slid from right to left, then passed the puck to Theodore, left alone in the faceoff circle to Dell’s left. Theodore ripped a shot past Dell on the stick side.

Marchessault added an insurance goal when Reilly Smith, who always seems to know where his line mates are, found Marchy behind him coming down the slot. Without looking, Smith dropped the pass back to Marchy, who found a wide-open net, as Dell had already committed to his right to face Smith.

Shea Theodore’s goal was the 4^th game in a row that a VGK defenseman has scored, a team record for this season. There was a time this season when the focus on the shortfalls of the VGK defense was a hot topic, but that conversation seems to have subsided.

Speaking of a topic of conversation, right before the Knights headed on this 2-game road trip, in Coach Gallant’s post-game press conference, I asked him if he could confirm a rumor I heard that Cody Glass would be back with the team and skating. He said he knew nothing of this and could not confirm the rumor. Yesterday, Cody Glass was a full participant in the team’s morning skate in San Jose. I guess my source was correct and the rumor was true. You never want to look bad when asking the coaches or a player a question, but I was confident that was I was told was true.

Finally, It sure looked like Nicholas Hague would get his first NHL goal last night. Hague rang one of his two shots off the crossbar and on another shot, he hit both posts, but he still remains scoreless.

My 3 Stars of the Game: Shea Theodore (GWG and 4 shots on goal, 2 blocked shots, and a career-high 5-game point streak of 2G and 6A), Paul Stastny (more of a playmaker, but last night his goal was huge, as was his goal on Nov 27), Malcolm Subban (37 saves on 38 shots, including 6 late in the game with San Jose on the power play and the SJ Goaltender on the bench creating a 6-on-4)

The next game is tonight at T-Mobile at 7 p.m. vs. Colorado

Your comments and opinions are welcome here at Las Vegas Advisor or you can contact me directly at [email protected] or you can reach out to me on my Facebook page or the Facebook page of Vegas Hockey Guy.

Shea Theodore’s game-winning goal