For the fifth straight game, your VGK found the back of the net only twice, bringing their record to a disappointing one win in five games. Last night they lost their third in a row, falling to the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2.
In all 82 of their games during the 2017-2018 season, Vegas never lost more than three games in a row (they did lose four in a row in the Stanley Cup Final after winning Game 1 against the Washington Capitals). Saturday’s game in Philadelphia, to whom they lost in their first outing of the season 5-2, will be the last game of this disastrous road trip. It will either keep that stat intact or the VGK will start this season off with four losses in a row and five out of their first six games. Vegas has been outscored 19-10 in their first five games this season.
Last night, Tomas Nosek opened the scoring with a goal at the 6:28 mark of the first period. The only other game this season where the Knights scored the first goal was on opening night, when Jonathan Marchessault scored early in the first period against the Flyers.
The Vegas lead didn’t last very long. Phil Kessel scored the first of his three goals just 1:35 after Nosek’s. Kessel added his second and third goals at the 9:37 and 15:43 marks of the second period. It was a natural hat trick (in which the same player scores three goals in a row) and it was Kessel’s sixth hat trick in the NHL. His last one came on Feb. 1, 2014, while playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs in a 6-3 win over the Ottawa Senators.
Both teams had their backup goalies on the ice. Malcolm Subban gave Fleury the night off and made 18 saves on 22 shots that he faced. Pittsburgh’s starting goaltender Matt Murray is out with post-concussion syndrome, which has plagued him over the last few seasons. His backup, Casey DeSmith, made 35 saves on the 37 shots Vegas got on net. The VGK has outshot every team they’ve played so far, but have only one win to show for it.
Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said in his post-game presser that he thought DeSmith was the best player on the ice. DeSmith was not only peppered with 37 shots, but his teammates blocked 27 additional shots intended for him. Even though they’re dominating the shot totals in every game, the Knights have been snake bitten so far in terms of converting those shots into goals.
Jonathan Marchessault picked up two assists on both goals scored by Vegas and is the current team leader in scoring with six points (two goals and four assists).
Vegas’ second goal was scored by Reilly Smith, the 100th of his NHL career.
I mentioned in my last blog about the Washington game that we’d see some lineup changes and there were two. Oscar Lindberg was a healthy scratch and Tomas Hyka was inserted after being called up from the Chicago Wolves of the AHL on Thursday. Hyka registered three shots on goal in 12:42 of ice time and he even got in some power-play time. The second change was Subban in for Fleury.
The VGK power play continues to struggle. They were 0-11 coming into last night’s game. They had two power play chances last night and didn’t score.
I’m still under the belief that there’s no need to panic. On paper, this team appears to be as strong as, if not stronger than, last year’s team. Right now, injuries and a suspension are having a profound effect on their results. Keep the faith. Come December, this stumble out of the gate will be long forgotten.
My 3 stars of the game: Phil Kessel (three goals), Evgeni Malkin (three assists), Casey DeSmith (35 saves)
The VGK’s next game is tomorrow at 10 a.m. Pacific Time vs. the Philadelphia Flyers.
In a side note, last night I attended the New York Rangers vs. San Jose Shark game at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan. It was a good result for the VGK; the Rangers beat the Sharks in overtime, limiting the Sharks to just one point in a game that San Jose led start to finish. The Rangers scored a late goal to tie the game, then won it in OT.
But the real point to this is that I once thought that Madison Square Garden was a loud arena with the fans supporting their home team. VGK fans: You ROCK! The noise at T-Mobile makes Madison Square Garden look and sound like a staff meeting for a company with 29 employees.
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To be expected: You’re just seeing a very common phenomenon in sports called “regression to the mean,” which happens after an unusually good (or bad) season by a team or player. You see it a lot in baseball where the “Rookie of the Year” or an ace reliever follows a great season with a decidedly mediocre one. You also see it when an otherwise unremarkable team (in any sport)has a stellar season. The following season almost never equals the previous one and quite often, the team really sucks that year as heightened expectations clash with reality and increasing focus by opposing teams.
Injuries and other factors aside, I think that’s what is happening to the VGK. Other teams really didn’t see them coming last year. Also, they were riding a wave of novelty and excitement. The glamor has worn off, and now they’re just another hockey team in a highly competitive league. This season will ultimately show whether last season was a fluke or not. Sports history suggests that it probably was.