Everyone in TV-viewing age who was alive 51 years ago remembers exactly where they were on the day that we heard Neil Armstrong’s words when he took his first step onto the moon: “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”
Every VGK fan will remember where they were when Alex Tuch scored with just 16 seconds left in overtime to beat Colorado 4-3. (They’ll also remember what kind of mask they had on if they were daring enough to watch yesterday’s game at a public location.)
Yesterday, the VGK took a small step toward the goal that they and the other 15 teams are also seeking: getting their names engraved on the most difficult sports trophy to win in North America, if not the world — the Stanley Cup.
With yesterday’s win, the VGK earned the #1 seed in the Western Conference. It almost went to a shootout, which would have had Lord Stanley turning over in his grave. Playoff games should never be decided by a shootout, but this is 2020 and we all know that nothing this year makes much sense.
Even though I called yesterday’s game a “playoff,” it wasn’t. Neither were the ones that allowed 8 extra teams to have a chance to play for the Stanley Cup. A few of those extra 8 wouldn’t have had this chance in any other year.
Chicago and Montreal immediately come to mind. Both were the bottom seeds of the 12 in their respective conferences. Both beat the heavily favored 5th seeds: the Pittsburgh Penguins in the East and the Edmonton Oilers in the West.
The VGK own a lifetime record of 8-1 against its opening-round opponent, the Blackhawks, with 39 goals scored, while giving up only 25. Vegas also had a 76-shot differential vs Chicago. The Hawks wouldn’t have qualified for this year’s playoffs if the real season hadn’t ended in March.
Easy series? Not so fast, my VGK misfit friends.
Chicago shouldn’t be minimized. The core of this team has an abundance of playoff experience; they’ve won the Stanley Cup 3 times in the last 10 years. After all, they neutralized the Edmonton Oilers in the qualifying round, the same team that has given the VGK problems in the past. In addition, the Blackhawk’s goaltender, Cory Crawford, has plenty of playoff time under his belt. So even though the VGK are the number #1 seed playing the #8 seed, this opening round will be anything but a walk in the park.
Alex Tuch, who has been plagued by injuries throughout his young career, took a leap in establishing his dominance that management recognized and saw fit to lock him into a 7-year deal through the 2025-2026 season at $4.75 million per year. This may seem like a big contract for a young player who hasn’t fully reached his potential, but if Tuch continues on his current path, it will be one of the best contract bargains that the brain trust of the VGK has ever made.
Tuch has scored 3 goals in the VGK’s last 2 games and this is while playing on the so-called 3rd line of the VGK. This team is deep in talent up front and in the crease. The VGK has outscored the other 3 top teams in the Western Conference with a 9-1 goal differential in just the 3rd period alone. Yesterday’s game was much different from the first 2 round-robin games, as Vegas had the lead 3 different times compared to having to come from behind in their first 2 games.
When I speak of how deep in talent this VGK team is, it leads me to a headache and a huge decision for Pete DeBoer. Who starts in net for the VGK vs. Chicago?
This is Fleury’s team. Or at least one would think so. Rumor has it that upper management conferred with Fleury before they made the trade with the Blackhawks for Robin Lehner, almost like they were asking for Fleury’s blessing. Robin is 5-0 with the VGK with a 2.17 GAA and a save percentage of .924. When Robin was with the Blackhawks, he had a record of 16-10-5 with a 3.01 GAA and a .918 save percentage. These 2019-2020 Blackhawks weren’t a good team, giving up in excess of 40+ shots on net per game.
When the Blackhawks seemed to be out of the playoff picture prior to the shutdown, they traded Lehner. He was coming up on free agency at the conclusion of this season and they couldn’t afford to keep both Crawford and Lehner, so getting something in return for Lehner was better than losing him with no return. The trade for Lehner sent Malcolm Subban and Stanislav Demin, along with a 2nd-round 2020 draft pick, to Chicago for Lehner. I sure hope giving up a player whose name is like Stanley returns a different kind of Stanley to the VGK.
The VGK will have the same goaltending problem that Chicago avoided when they traded Lehner to the VGK. Fleury is under contract for 2 more seasons at $7 million per and Lehner is making $1.4 million and will be a free agent sometime this fall. The VGK’s salary-cap situation is bleak, as 5 players besides Lehner have contracts that expire at the end of this season with a projected cap space of $6.75 million for next season. Lehner will be looking for $4-$5 million. Stephenson and Cousins will be RFA and Nosek, Merrill, and Engelland all are UFA. This team as you currently know it will not exist next year.
Could yesterday’s game be a preview of what may very well be the Western Conference’s final matchup? That’s at least 2 rounds or possibly 14 games away, but if this is so, yesterday’s win is a big confidence booster, as Colorado had the best of Vegas both times during the 2019-2020 season: a 6-1 drubbing on Oct. 25 and 7-3 blowout on Dec 23. Both of these games were played at T-Mobile.
Some notes from yesterday that may have gone unnoticed in the post-game frenzy that you no doubt experienced wherever you were.
On Tuch’s winning OT goal, he came down on his off wing as a right-handed shooter on the left. This actually opens up a better angle for him; he can go short side on the goaltender or long side over the goalie’s left shoulder, which is what he did. A left-handed shooter’s angle would be different and a little easier for the goalie to deal with if shooting from where Tuch launched his shot.
The other note is we all know how Fleury is aggressive in dealing with approaching potential shots on his net. A few times in the St. Louis game, he was caught out of position. Robin tends to stay very deep in his net and he uses his large frame to pretty much take a lot of the net away from the shooter. But yesterday, Robin was more active and moving a lot more than usual for him. He too was caught a few times out of position.
The Avalanche were 1-4 on the power play and failed to score on a 5-on-3 late in the first period that carried over into the 2nd period
Jonathan Marchessault, who was MIA in the first two round-robin games, stepped up big time yesterday with a nifty and somewhat lucky goal that hit the shaft on his stick on his first goal, then scored on a penalty-shot goal. Two goals in a crucial game.
Who will be the goaltender against the Blackhawks? My guess is Lehner. The motivation of a professional athlete to perform against a team that found him expendable is immense. Remember the 2017-2018 VGK Misfits? They were exiled to Vegas by the other 30 teams who thought they could live without them. How did that work out for 29 of the 30 teams? Will Chicago have to swallow the same bitter pill?
So I’m guessing Panda in Game 1. I could be wrong. But even if I am, I’ll be 100% okay with that. The other option, the Flower, has a few Stanley Cup rings in his collection.
The depth of this team is incredible. They fell short by 3 games in 2018. They got royally screwed in 2019. True, they’ll have to beat a field of 24 instead of 16 and a pandemic at the same time, but hey. This is Vegas where anything can and will happen. But this is a story that doesn’t just stay in Vegas. If you think the old guard in hockey was upset with Vegas going to the Stanley Cup Final in their first year, how grouchy will they be if there’s a parade down Las Vegas Blvd. in just their 3rd season?
Owner Bill Foley did say back in 2017, “Playoffs in one, Cup in three.” Does he have a crystal ball?
My 3 Stars of the Game: Alex Tuch (GWG), Jonathan Marchessault (2 goals), Shea Theodore (2 assists and continues to impress)
The date and time of the next game are TBD, but it will most likely be Tuesday or Wednesday.
Your comments and opinions are welcome here at Las Vegas Advisor or you can contact me directly at [email protected] or visit my Facebook page or the Facebook page of Vegas Hockey Guy
Marchessault’s power-play goal
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Jacqueline Claire
Awesome synopsis as always Joe!! 💛🖤❤️⚔️🏒❤️🤍💙🇺🇸
Enjoyed the read. The boys are in sync and their depth is promising. Panda has added a whole new dimension to DeBoer’s tactical flexibility. Can’t wait for Tuesday. Go Knights Go!
Dave Oller wrote
Interesting 👍
J. Anderson submitted this comment via email about Marchy and his MIA
Lol my husband and I were wondering earlier whether he had packed some herbal edibles for his trip to the bubble.
Glad to see him operating on all thrusters again yesterday!
J. Anderson
What happens in the “BUBBLE” stays in the “BUBBLE unless of course, you eat all of the evidence
No one can stop Marchessault on the Penalty Shot. Glad to see Tuch waking up. Hopefully this will be his shining moment. Need Patches back with Wild Bill. And I believe we’ll be unstoppable.