It’s rare to talk about VGK draft picks, unless in the context of the multiple trades that the VGK have made in their history. Numerous draft picks have been shipped off to other teams as the VGK continue to load up on star players in their quest to bring the Stanley Cup to Las Vegas. But in last night’s 3-2 win over the Minnesota Wild at T-Mobile, that conversation was actually possible.
The stars of the game were 2 recent draft picks, Paul Cotter and Jonas Rondbjerg. Cotter was selected 115th overall in the 4th round of the 2018 draft. Rondbjerg was selected 65th overall in the 3rd round of the 2017 draft. Both Paul and Jonas scored their first NHL goals in the same game to propel Vegas to a 2-0 lead in the first period.
The last time 2 VGK players scored their first NHL goals in the same game was in the VGK’s inaugural season, when Alex Tuch and Vadim Shipachyov together on Oct 15, 2017, in the second period on the way to the VGK’s 3-1 win over the Boston Bruins at T-Mobile. It was also the first game Malcolm Subban played as a VGK against his former team, replacing Marc-Andre Fleury who was injured in the previous game against Detroit.
Last night, the 2 first-period goals and the VGK penalty kill were the catalyst in the victory. The PK was perfect, killing off all 6 power plays, including a 5-on-3 and a 6-on-4, when Jonathan Marchessault took a tripping penalty with just 1:03 left in the game.
Minnesota scored two 3rd period goals by Jared Spurgeon, 1:20 into the period, and Ryan Hartman at 13:35, erasing the 3-0 lead. Minnesota’s coach pulled Cam Talbot for and extra skater with 2:50 left in the game.
That’s when it became interesting, especially with Marchessault in the penalty box. Minnesota had its second 2-man advantage trailing by just one goal. The VGK stood tall, holding on to beat the very talented Wild, which was playing its 2nd game in as many nights. It showed in the first period, as they seemed to be a step behind and not in sync.
The Wild managed just 5 shots on Laurent Brossoit in the first period. Brossoit, starting for the third time the season, was on his game, especially in the 2nd period when he turned aside 14 shots.
It appeared that Vegas would take a 2-0 lead into the 3rd period, but with just 7 seconds left, Marchessault scored his team-leading 7th goal of the season and his 5th in the last 5 games. The goal was set up by Reilly Smith, who stripped Matt Dumba of the puck at the blue line and sent it cross ice to a streaking Marchessault for the game-winning goal.
Brossoit stopped 24 of 26 shots and was fortunate as the Wild had at least 2 golden scoring chances with the net wide open, but failed to convert.
The VGK infirmary list continues to look more and more like a line of shoppers waiting for the stores to open for Black Friday sales. William Carrier was a scratch from last night’s game with an undisclosed injury and just 8:28 into the game, Alec Martinez got tangled up with Brandon Duhaime in the corner; as Duhaime fell, his skate came up and struck Martinez in the face, causing a facial cut that required over 50 stitches to close. Martinez never returned and most likely will miss the next few games at least.
The win, which was costly considering the injury to Martinez, was the team’s 7th in the last 9 games, bringing their record to 8-6-0. They remain 1 point behind the L.A. Kings for the last playoff spot in the Pacific Division. The Kings have won their last 7 games, while the Anaheim Ducks, currently in 2nd place in the division, have a 6-game winning streak in progress.
Other game notes and quotes.
“Being in Vegas is a treat,” Cotter said. “This arena is crazy. I think when you score that first one, you kind of zone out and you’re in a daze a little bit. You still hear the roar of the crowd when you’re skating back to the bench. It’s a feeling you can’t describe.”
“When you get a call-up like this, I think you need to take advantage of it and I think those two guys did,” Marchessault said. “From the moment they showed up, they’ve been playing good hockey everywhere on the ice. It’s fun for them to get rewarded.”
“We take a ton of pride in the penalty kill,” McNabb said. “It’s been off and on of late and we wanted to fix it. I thought we did a great job tonight. Brossoit played awesome.”
“I did LB a little bit of a disservice,” Golden Knights coach Peter DeBoer said. “He had that great first game for us in Dallas, and then he went another 10 days, two weeks, before starting again in Detroit, and that wasn’t fair to him. I felt that I wanted to get him back in there after the Detroit game to get him a chance to get his legs under him.”
Marchessault’s goal was his 99th with the Golden Knights.
My 3 Stars of the Game: Jonas Rondbjerg (1G, 1A), Paul Cotter (1G), Jonathan Marchessault (game-winning goal)
Next Game is tomorrow vs. Vancouver 7 p.m. Pacific Time
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.
Cotter’s first NHL goal
Rondbjerg’s first NHL goal
Marchessault’s game-winner
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hi joe. i think the wild were tired from playing at arizona the night before. the vgk looked a step faster than the wild. dave from minnesota
Dave I totally agree, they were especially a step faster in the first period. This allowed both Jonas and Cotter the time and space to showcase their talent and pot their first NHL goals. The Wild got their legs in the 2nd period but Brossoit stood tall and denied them and their 14 SOG.
Joe P.
Hey Joe! Thanks for a great recap, as usual with some postgame material. Cotter made some comments about the fans at the Fortress that made your information even more relevant to me. The D-men was tired in third period. That made it easier for the Wild to contain pressure in the VGK zone. Brossoit was lucky as you said, but he was solid through the game. Kolesar isn´t a natural goalscorer but he´s a good fourth line center. If Janmark had scored a empty-net goal it would have been a deja vu moment. First period was really good with everyone contributing to the pressure play starting in the D-zone. The second period was not as good as the first and the third was a fall back to the game against the Red Wings. But a win is a winisawin. 😅 Apropos angry coaches, Dean Evason isn´t smiling a lot, does he? Bloodpressure on the boil! Maybe he was more tired than the Wild players after the Coyotes game.
Who´s gonna be picked up from the Henderson defence?
All great points Kenneth, my thinking is that they have Ben Hutton to replace Martinez, that seems the logical choice but I have been wrong before. We shall see tomorrow as the Henderson Silver Knights play the Vancouver Canucks 🙂
Joe P.
You are near the truth there with Henderson. The owners maybe have to start a new affiliate team, Summerlin Bronze Knights, to pic players to Henderson to fill their lineup. The way Vancouver played against Colorado was like they where “Eunucks”.
I saw Ben Hutton a few times when playing in Vancouver. He put up decent numbers but had a horrendous +/- on a bad team.
You have my kind of humour, Joe! 😀🤣🤐?
Kenneth I was correct in Ben Hutton as the fill in for Martinez. He even dropped the gloves late in the game.
Joe P.
Kenneth with Martinez out with his facial cut and the VGK having to kill off 6 power plays one being a 5 on 3 and the other a 6 on 4 and with Theodore, Hague and Pietrangelo all taking penalties within 2 minutes and 8 seconds of each other the other 3 defenseman for sure were gassed.
Joe P.
Nick Steffen sent this comment in
Great comments, as usual. I think that last night’s game was probably their best of the season. The passing looked clean and on target. The HSK players that have been called up are starting to fit into the VGK system. The Electrum Knights? Electrum: a naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver.
Nick Steffen thank you for taking the time to read my column I appreciate that.The kids who would not have this opportunity, under normal circumstances, have made significant contributions in not only scoring but in not being a liability for the team when they are on the ice. This bolds well not just for their NHL future but for the VGK who’s draft picks seem to be scattered all over the other teams in the NHL. I cringe when I watch Suzuki playing well in Montreal. But we did get Pacioretty back. If we only sent Montreal Cody Glass instead. 🙂
Joe P.
Nick I like it
The Electrum Knights? Electrum: a naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver.
Here I thought I was the only one making a play on words around here 🙂
Joe P.
Robert Goodman replied to Nick Steffen comments.
Nick Steffen
I have to agree it was a good game played by the rookies. But again, VGK is having 3rd period breakdowns in defense. Last night was fortunate that the wild didn’t tie it up. A few more minutes on the clock they may have done that and forced ot or even go ahead a goal.
That being said, this is a great experience for the rookies to get ice time and learn some flow of the game. VGK is making good use of its options on players while the others are on injury.
Was the game perfect? No. Improvements are needed. Did the game gain good ice time for rookies and healthy players? Yes. I think this game was positive in the fact that the younger players are getting valuable NHL experience and is part of their process in becoming regular NHL starters.
The team is looking much better. I can’t wait till Eichel is ready to play and the others return from injuries. This team is gonna have lots of depth in many key areas.
Jeff Yepsen sent this comment in from the beach. Talk about being a loyal follower of the VGK and my column 🙂
Reading from the beach in Cancun. Thanks for the insight.
Jeff Yepsen what a perfect venue to catch up on the VGK. I’m so JELLY enjoy my friend.
Joe P.
Jeff with all the down time in February for the NHL I believe I can see my toes in the sand. I could use a vacation since we have all been locked down for so long. To think about being on the beach without a mask on…………
Joe P.
Joseph Madera sent this opinion in
It’s great to see some of the knights draft picks playing in the NHL, maybe our GM will stop chasing all the high priced players and start giving our young guys more opportunities to play
Joseph Madera excellent point the chase for the cup is the ultimate goal but it can be a double edged sword for the future of the organization when there is no young talent coming thru the system to eventually replace the veterans. Case in point the NY Rangers who went 54 years without winning the cup as they had no young and upcoming players in their system. The current NY Ranger team now had a nice makeup’s young draft picks playing alongside some skilled players. Not to mention the former VGK head coach Gerard Gallant behind the bench. They appear poised to make the playoffs this season.
Joe P.
Joseph Madera replied to my comment
Joe Pane true about the 2021-2022 rangers. The Rangers were also in the habit of trading away draft picks and young talent in the pursuit of high priced talent for many years.
Joe Pane
Joseph Madera yes and I was there for the entire experience of giving away young talent. But it did take bringing in Mark Messier a true leader to get it done.
Joe P.
Henrik Lundqvist, 2000 NYR, 7th rd, 8th pk (205th overall).
Henrik Zetterberg, 1999 DET, 7th rd, 24th pk (210th overall).
Nicklas Lidstrom, 1989 DET, 3rd rd, 11th pk (53rd overall).
Daniel Alfredsson, 1994 OTT, 6th rd, 3rd pk (133rd overall).
These guys are unique and there is probably a lot more late pics amongst the other countries in the hockey world.
It´s hard to find a sure fire first pic. You have to test them against NHL players first.
For example Nils Hoglander in Vancouver. Most fans thought that he was a one trick pony with that Zorro/Michigan/Lacrosse-goal.
After a really good season, 20-21, he´s one of the best players one the team this season. With no fear he´s first in to the scrum and first out with the puck. He´s fast and have great hands.
Where do teams find that kind of 18-19 yo kids in the draft? There are others who don´t get drafted!
Does it sound like I´m swedish?😉