Knights on Ice — If He Sees It, He Stops It

There is no other way to describe how good Marc-Andre Fleury has been in these first 2 playoff games. He has played, in my opinion, the best 2 back-to-back games since he arrived here in Las Vegas gift wrapped from the Pittsburgh Penguins in June 2017. Last night, he picked up right where he left off on Sunday afternoon, stopping every puck he could see that wasn’t misdirected by a skate in the 3-1 VGK win over the Minnesota Wild that evened the series at 1 game apiece.

It was a must-win for the VGK, because they could not afford to fall behind 2-0 in this best of 7, with the next 3 of 4 games scheduled in Minnesota, which just happens to be the VGK shop of horrors, not just this year, but since they entered the league.

But the desperation that we all expected Vegas to be playing with was MIA in the first period. Minnesota dominated the play in the first 20 minutes, winning just about every puck battle and the ice seemed tilted toward Fleury, without whom this game could have been over after 20 minutes. Fleury stopped all 17 shots he faced in the first period and over these first 2 games has stopped 63 of the 65 shots launched on him. We all remember how he was perfect for over 63 minutes in Game 1. He remained perfect in the first 20 minutes last night when he held down the fort until Vegas finally found a way to beat Cam Talbot.

Yes, the goal-scoring playoff drought is not totally solved, but Vegas’ scoring 3 goals last night after being shut out in Game 1 was a good beginning to solving this lack of goal production that plagued the VGK in the Edmonton bubble last summer vs. Vancouver and Dallas in Rounds 2 and 3. Last night, Alex Tuch scored 2 goals less than 2 feet from the front of the net and it even included a power play goal. The success of the VGK quest for the Stanley Cup will be determined by the success of their power play.

If I were to ask you who has scored the most playoff goals for the VGK in their brief history, would you know? How about the top 2 goal scorers in VGK history? Here is a hint: They both provided all of the goals in last nights 3-1 must win victory. Alec Tuch has 17 playoff goals and Jonathan Marchessault has 16.

As important as Tuch’s goals were, Marchessault’s goal was huge. Minnesota had finally got one by Fleury when Matt Dumba’s snap shot from the point got past Fleury when both Marcus Foligno and Nic Hague were battling for position in front of Fleury. The puck was against the boards to Fleury’s right and 4 Vegas players overcommitted to the puck along the boards, leaving both Minnesota defensemen alone on the blueline. When the puck was sent out to the blueline, Foligno headed to the front of the net to screen Fleury, followed closely by Hague. They both arrived in front of Fleury as Dumba launched his shot. As I said, If he sees it, he stops it. Well, Fleury never saw the puck, Minnesota had a 1-0 lead, and Vegas had yet to score a goal in the first 90:54 of these first 2 games.

You could see the disappointment in Fleury, giving up the first goal, as his shoulders slumped and he shook his head, knowing full well that the first team to score last night would have a huge advantage. But what Fleury wasn’t aware of was that the VGK’s little “fireplug,” who plays like he’s the size of Ryan Reaves, took matters into his own hands. Just 18 seconds after Dumba’s goal, Marchy launched a rocket of a shot over the left shoulder of Talbot and the roof of T-Mobile shook. We may all look back on this moment weeks from now and call it the goal that saved the season. Almost like we painfully recall the save on Alex Tuch in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final.

From that point on, the VGK — with the energy of the 8,683 fans in attendance — took control of the game. They became energized by that goal and the atmosphere of the building. The 8,000+ fans sounded more like 18,000.

Alex Tuch scored his first goal and the game winner 4:54 after Marchessault’s goal and that was all that they needed, as Fleury was once again near perfect. Tuch added an insurance goal with 53 seconds left in the game when Kaprizov took a tripping penalty with Talbot on the bench for the extra skater.

Other game notes. Minnesota is focused on just shutting down Stone, especially with Pacioretty not in the lineup, and they have done an excellent job of doing that. Stone has just 2 shots in 2 games. Pacioretty has now missed 8 consecutive games and it’s the main cause of their scoring problems. It also makes Minnesota’s job of shutting down Stone easier. On the other side of the coin Vegas, has done the same with Kaprizov; he is scoreless in these first 2 games. Alex Martinez had 6 blocked shots last night.

With last night’s Game 2 win, Vegas is 4-0 after losing game one of any of their playoff series in their history: 2018 in the Western Conference Finals vs. Winnipeg; Round 2 in 2019 vs. San Jose; Round 3 in 2020 vs. Dallas.

Fleury has given up 1 goal or less in his last 4 games. It’s now officially his net. For those who hated DeBoer for how he treated Fleury in the Edmonton bubble last year, you can now thank him. His actions then have inspired Fleury this season and he very well may be playing the best hockey of his 17-year career. He has a .098 GAA and a .969 save percentage.

Nosek was injured early in the game and never returned. Vegas played almost the entire game shorthanded. Then again, they sure had a lot of practice doing that this season. But with no salary cap restrictions in the playoffs, if Nosek is not good enough to go, expect to see Patrick Brown replace him, unless of course Pacioretty is ready for Game 3.

My 3 Stars of the Game
There were no 2nd and 3rd stars last night; they all were the #1 stars
1a) Marc-Andre Fleury (even though Tuch and Marchessault’s goals were instrumental in last night’s victory, Fleury’s performance. especially in the first period. made their goals stand out)
1b) Alex Tuch (2G and the GWG)
1c) Jonathan Marchessault (The Goal just 18 seconds after Dumba’s goal sucked the air right out of any Minnesota momentum).

Next game is tomorrow in Minnesota at 6:30 p.m. Pacific Time

If you want to hear and see more VGK content please check out the podcast I do with Eddie Rivkin on YouTube, “Hockey Knights in Vegas.”

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

One other note: If you’re reading this blog from Facebook or Twitter and would like to access it earlier in the morning before I share it on social media, it’s usually published by 8 a.m. the morning after a game on LasVegasAdvisor.com. What better way is there to enjoy your morning coffee than reading my take on last night’s VGK game.

Marchessault’s opening goal

Tuch’s game-winning goal

Tuch’s power-play goal