Knights on Ice — Vegas Scores Late, Then Scores Early, Then Applies the X-Factor

Last night the VGK advanced to the second round of the playoffs with a 4-3 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. But they did create more than a few sweaty palms among their fanbase here in Las Vegas by falling behind 2-0 in the first period.

Max Pacioretty, the leading scorer for the VGK this abbreviated season who sure seems to be playing with a chip on his shoulder, scored with just 31 seconds left in the first period and the comeback was officially in motion. Max was fined $2,500 by the league when he laid a vicious tomahawk chop across the arms of Alex Debrincat as he was scoring into an open net at the conclusion of Game 4. Patches picked up right where he left off on Sunday night, playing with a snarl similar to Marchessault’s when #81 is on a mission to fire up his team.

Patches’ passion and determination got the VGK feeling good about themselves with his goal in the waning seconds of the first period. His goal cut the lead in half after 20 minutes. It didn’t take long for the team to ride the Pacioretty emotional wave as Mark Stone scored just 1:41 into the 2nd period to level the ice surface. We now had a game.

But even with Vegas being the much deeper team talent-wise, Chicago wasn’t going down without a fight; they scored their 3^rd goal to regain the lead. It should be noted that Nate Schmidt and Brayden McNabb, the #1 defensive pairing for the VGK, had a rough night, with 2 defensive breakdowns that led to Chicago’s first and third goals. The sweaty palms were making a comeback all over the valley when Chicago regained the lead.

Then the unexpected happened. In the previous 4 games, the VGK had not scored a power-play goal, going 0-9. Chicago made a point to stay out of the penalty box, keeping the VGK power play, which has a lot of firepower, on the bench. Last night in a game that was somewhat chippy, thanks to Max Pacioretty and his snarl, only 2 penalties were called in the entire game, one on each team. So when the VGK went on the power play in the 2^nd period, the prospects of scoring a PPG were slim.

Reilly Smith slid a perfect cross-ice pass across to Alex Martinez. Martinez plays one of the points on the 2^nd power-play unit that utilizes 2 defensemen instead of the first power-play unit that has only Shea Theodore as the lone defenseman. Martinez’s last playoff goal was in 2014 and it pains me to even type this, as it was in overtime against the Rangers to clinch the Stanley Cup for the L.A. Kings. As you probably know, I’ve been a Ranger fan my entire life and actually worked for them when they won the Stanley Cup back in 1994.

Anyway, Martinez slipped in from the point to take Smith’s perfect pass and beat Crawford, who didn’t react in time to the change in direction. The only power-play goal Vegas scored in 5 games tied the game at 3-3. This Martinez playoff goal felt a lot better to me than his last one did.

So we entered the 3^rd period tied at 3-3. A Chicago win would be devastating for the VGK, considering they were up 3-0 in games. A loss last night would have made the series 3-2 and we all know what happened last year when the VGK entered Game 5 with a 3-1 series lead. I’m sure that memory burns as hotly as Martinez’s OT goal did for me in 2014.

But this year’s VGK has something the Rangers didn’t have in 2014 or they themselves didn’t have in 2019. The X-Factor.

Alex Tuch.

Tuch seems like he’s been shot out of a cannon since returning to action after multiple injuries this season. He’s also found a home on the line with Roy and Cousins. In the midst of a line change, Marchessault found Tuch streaking down the left-wing as he entered the ice from the bench. Marchy’s pass led him perfectly into the zone and Tuch used his size, speed, and newfound determination to crash the net and power the puck past Crawford, who returned to being a normal goaltender after making like Superman on Sunday. Last night, Crawford looked more like Jimmy Olsen, the cub reporter who worked at the same paper as Clark Kent did.

The VGK could not solve Super Crawford in Game 4, but we now have our version of Kryptonite. Tuch actually scored a second goal to make the score 5-3, but it was ruled no goal after Cousins was cited for incidental contact with Crawford in the blue paint. No penalty was called on Cousins, but the goal was taken off the board and the VGK and their fans with sweaty palms had to twist and turn until the final buzzer sounded.

Chicago blocked 32 VGK shots on Sunday, but only 19 last night. Chicago only had 11 scoring chances in last night’s game, yet scored 3 goals. Granted, 2 were off of terrible defensive giveaways that will need to be corrected; Round 2 will be against a much better team than Chicago, which was ranked 23^rd out of the 24 teams in this year’s cuckoo playoff format.

I always thought 16 teams out of 31 making the playoffs was pushing the envelope, but 24 teams is insane. The only satisfaction I get from this format is that even with 24 teams out of 31 getting there, the San Jose Sharks and Evander Kane were so bad, they didn’t make the cut. I’m smiling while typing this. Does that make me a bad person? Be honest.

Vegas will have at least 7 days off before Round 2 begins, with no idea who their next opponent will be. It can’t be Colorado or Dallas, due to the reseeding after Round 1 is completed.

So it will be St. Louis, Calgary, or Vancouver, based on the results of the other 3 Western Conference matchups. I don’t include Arizona in the mix, because they won’t beat Colorado 3 more times in 4 tries.

Will this long layoff be good for Vegas? Who knows? It will allow for the bumps and bruises to mend, that’s for sure, but their timing may be off when they return for Round 2. Game conditions can never be duplicated in practices.

My 3 Stars of the Game: Alex Tuch (the X-Factor with the game-winning goal), Max Pacioretty (whose late first-period goal ignited the team), Alex Martinez (a power-play goal that tied the game at 3-3)

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

Pacioretty’s late first-period goal

Martinez’ power-play goal

Tuch’s winning goal