Knights on Ice — Flower and Wild Bill Stretch and Snap Anaheim

The longest stretch pass allowed in the NHL is 125 feet. It covers the ice from the end boards to center ice, which is 100 feet, and the remaining 25 feet between the red line and the blue line. Anything longer than that would cause a whistle and a stoppage of play.

Alex Pietrangelo’s pass to William “Wild Bill” Karlsson wasn’t 125 feet, but it was very close to the legal limit. It caught the Anaheim Ducks in the middle of a line change and unprepared. Karlsson took the tape-to-tape pass and headed in on John Gibson, the Anaheim goaltender, with 3 Ducks trying to chase him down and harassing him with their sticks. While falling to the ice, Karlsson chipped the puck up and over Gibson as he went crashing into the boards. No penalty was called, because he scored the goal. It was Karlsson’s 4th of the season and his first in 9 games. But he wasn’t done for the night. His 2nd goal in overtime on another stretch pass, this time from defenseman Shea Theodore, won the game by a final score of 3-2.

The overtime nightmare for Anaheim was caused by 2 former players who were both drafted by Anaheim and made their NHL debuts with the Ducks. Talk about adding salt to the wound.

William Karlsson was drafted by Anaheim in the 2nd round of the 2011 draft and played just 18 games in the 2014-2015 season, scoring 2 goals with 1 assist, before being traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Columbus exposed him in the expansion draft and VGK found a hidden gem who went unnoticed in 2 different franchises.

Shea Theodore was drafted in the first round, 26th overall, by Anaheim in the 2013 draft. He played with Anaheim in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons, appearing in 53 games. Shea scored 5 goals and had 12 assists in his 53 games with Anaheim.
“Theo and I always say before the games, ‘These guys didn’t want us,’ so there’s always some added motivation for these games,” Karlsson said

It’s safe to say Anaheim would like to have these 2 roster moves back. Especially considering that Anaheim is the lowest-scoring team in the entire NHL, with 42 goals in 21 games. They average 2 goals a game, which means their goaltending duo of Gibson and Miller have to be close to perfect every game to have a chance of winning.

Speaking of perfect, Marc-André Fleury once again was amazing, especially in the 3rd period and overtime, and his saves in overtime gave Karlsson a chance to score the winning goal. Last night, Fleury just sucked the air out of the Ducks. It was his 100th win as a VGK (100-53-14). He continues to impress everyone, so much that the words Fleury and Vezina (the trophy for the league’s best goalie) are being tossed around an awful lot these days. His .941 save percentage and 1.59 GAA are the best in the league among goaltenders with at least 10 games played. He’s allowed the opposition 2 goals or less in 9 of his 12 starts. He’s faced 324 shots and stopped 305 and has recorded 3 shutouts. He’s made Coach DeBoer goaltending choices in Edmonton look suspect.

A term often used in hockey is “next man up.” Without the injury to Robin Lehner, the DeBoer rotation would not have allowed Fleury this chance to shine. Sometimes things happen for a reason and when the team left Edmonton last summer, the buzz was that Fleury might have played his last game as a VGK. Now the question is, will they trade Lehner to get out from under the $12 million in cap space used up by both ($7 million Fleury, $5 million Lehner)? Good teams find ways to win when put under pressure and great goaltenders like Fleury respond when they have their backs pushed up against a wall.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the play of Alex Pietrangelo last night. He scored the VGK’s first goal last night, his first goal in over a month (Jan 20 vs. Arizona) and the VGK fans were getting restless, wondering if this was going to be a contract that bogged the team down in salary-cap hell. He also set up the Karlsson goal with his perfect stretch pass. He added an assist with his goal was a +2 and had 4 SOG in his 26:24 of ice time.

If you are a VGK fan, you’re completely bias about the talent on this team, but it’s not a bias when it’s true. Anaheim coach Dallas Eakins confirmed it. “That’s some steep competition over there,” he said after the game.

My 3 Stars of the Game: Fleury (28 saves on 30 shots) with 19 saves in the 3rd period, William Karlsson (2 goals and the game-winner in overtime, Alex Pietrangelo (1G, 1A, and a perfect stretch pass)

Next game is Monday March 1st @ T-Mobile vs. Minnesota Wild 7 PM, and for the first time this season there will be fans in attendance. Hope to see some of you at the game.

Your comments and opinions are welcome here at Las Vegas Advisor or you may contact me directly at [email protected] or on my Facebook page or the Facebook page of Vegas Hockey Guy or on Twitter @TheRealJoePane.

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Karlsson’s first goal

Karlsson’s winning goal in OT

Fleury’s multiple save in OT