I know exactly how you felt last night around 4:30 p.m. Pacific Time when you tuned in to watch the VGK vs. Ottawa Senators game. You had this painful feeling in your stomach, plus you most likely had no appetite and might not even have had anything to eat all day. If you didn’t, it exacerbated the pain as you looked at the VGK bench and saw Pete DeBoer standing behind your VGK players, wearing his blue suit with a VGK pin on his lapel. It just didn’t seem right and you were 100% right about feeling hopeless and distraught.
But never forget the famous quote from Alexander Graham Bell: When one door closes, another opens. We often look so long and regretfully at the closed door that we don’t see the one that has opened for us. The door that did open had a VGK 4-2 victory behind it, breaking the 4-game losing streak.
The hockey gods were kind to all of Las Vegas and especially to the VGK fans last night, making sure you could take your eyes off the closed door that Gerard Gallant just walked out of — or should I say was shown out of. They allowed Paul Stastny to score a goal just 34 seconds after the puck was dropped for the quick 1-0 lead they never surrendered and it was their first goal scored in a first period since Jan. 2 against the Philadelphia Flyers.
The gods weren’t done just yet. They still had work to do. They knew Gallant was somewhere with his family and grandkids watching his team play without him for the first time in 158 games that started back on Oct. 6, 2017, with his Golden Misfits beating the Dallas Stars 2-1 when James Neal scored two 3rd period goals to overcome Dallas’ one-goal lead. Yes, for 2 full seasons, 27 playoff games, and the first 49 games of this season, it was Gallant’s team. But that door unfortunately has closed and it’s time to look at what’s beyond the newly opened door.
The gods do have a sense of what would seem like poetic justice to make this a night to move on from and that they did. They had Mark Stone set up Stastny with a beautiful pass in Stone’s return to Ottawa where he played for his entire career before becoming a VGK almost 11 months ago.
Another streak that ended last night: William Karlsson’s. Like Gallant, Karlsson had played in all of the VGK’s 158 games. Karlsson was also on a personal game streak of 234 games, which included his time with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Both came to an end last night; he was out with an upper-body injury.
This injury might have been nagging him for a while and could be the reason he hasn’t scored a goal since Dec. 13 vs. Dallas.
Mark Stone’s return to Ottawa was overshadowed a bit by all the Gallant drama, but he made sure to do his talking on the ice with the primary assist on Stastny’s goal and then a goal of his own, making the score 2-0 just before the 2nd period ended. The goal, which I’ve included at the end of the post, is simply amazing. Stone’s entire body is behind the goal line and only the tip of the blade of his stick with the puck seemingly attached to it crosses the red line behind the goal as he wraps it around and past Craig Anderson, the Ottawa goaltender, for the 2-0 lead.
With Karlsson not available to play, the remaining Gallant coaching staff for all intents and purposes ran the VGK bench last night. Ryan McGill and Ryan Craig weren’t fired and pretty much ran the lines, power play, and penalty kill. Yes, DeBoer was there, but mainly as an observer; he didn’t arrive in Ottawa until a few hours before game time. His flight from Toronto was delayed and there just wasn’t enough time for him to formulate a game plan. According to DeBoer himself, he will take more of an observer’s role prior to the All Star Break, which starts right after the Boston Bruin game on Jan 21. He’ll make use of the 9 days off to acclimate himself with what’s left of the coaching staff, then start to work his system into the game plan of the VGK.
With Karlsson on the shelf for the next few games, the lineup looked like this last night: Marchessault and Smith centered by Stephenson; Stone and Pacioretty centered by Stastny; Tuch and Nosek centered by Eakin; Carrier and Reaves centered by Roy. Jon Merrill was the scratched defenseman.
It was a total team effort and one that we’ve seen for the most part over the last 2-plus seasons. It was missing over the last few games, which may have contributed to Gallant’s firing. The VGK had 43 shots on goal, of which their defensemen took 18. Holden and Engelland had 5 shots each. That’s not a typo; the last 2 guys you would expect multiple shots from had the most shots on net for the entire game. Only 2 VGK players didn’t register a shot (Carrier and Eakin).
Fleury was good last night and seemed much more comfortable than he had been in his last few starts, stopping 33 of the 35 shots he faced.
The new era of PDB is upon us and I urge you to put aside your hate for the color of teal. Coach D wants nothing more than to win with your team. He’s fully aware he needs to earn your trust. Maybe having the next 7 games on the road is a sufficient period of time for these imaginary wounds to heal. The first step was taken last night when Marchessault made it a point to pick up the game puck and give it Reaves, so he could hand it to PDB himself. PDB and Reaves have a history and it hasn’t been peaches and cream between them.
In his post-game presser, DeBoer was very cordial and when asked if Reaves gave him a post-game hug, he responded with, “I took the puck and refused the hug.” He knows he has to present himself to the VGK fan base in a way that they can accept him. I think last night he took a giant step in making that happen. The puck is now in his court, so give him a shot. The cannon has already gone off and there is no going back. Gallant is gone, PDB is here, but always remember it’s your team to support.
My 3 Stars of the Game: Mark Stone (1G, 1 A), Paul Stastny (1G 1A), Marc-Andre Fleury (33 saves on 35 shots, a very Fleury-like game.
Honorable mention to Nicolas Hague who did everything but score a goal and was very involved on the offensive side of the puck he registered 4 SOG and moved the puck well.
The next game is Saturday Jan 18 vs. Montreal at 4 p.m. Pacific Time.
Your comments and opinions are welcome here at Las Vegas Advisor or you can contact me at [email protected] or you can contact me at my Facebook Page or the Facebook Page of Vegas Hickey Guy
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Like your writing/analysis well said and a great point, the two players who could resist the most stepped up, Marchy and Reeves, total Gallant guys, time for the fans to accept PDB also! I liked his first interview, well spoken with some humour I’ve never heard him speak before, so I was happily engaged with his demeanour!