In hockey, the word “rebound” is rarely a good thing, especially if it refers to something that happens in your defensive zone.
A rebound is a ricochet of an original shot. The goaltender blocks the shot, but the puck rebounds in front of or to either side of the goaltender, who is now usually out of position from making the original save. Forwards love rebounds, as almost every NHL-caliber goaltender will make saves on almost all of the original shots he can see. Rebounds make coaches lose their hair and goaltenders lose their starting jobs.
In last night’s game, there were plenty of rebounds, but they weren’t the dangerous kind that coaches and goaltenders lose sleep over. Rather, the VGK, and Max Lagace specifically, had a bunch of rebounds that will be remembered long after the conclusion of this game, which the VGK won 5-2.
In Lagace’s case, he was coming off of a horrible game against the Edmonton Oilers and was replaced by the fifth-string goalie, 19-year-old Dylan Ferguson. Max’s confidence had to be shaken and as the fourth-string goaltender, you don’t get that many chances at the NHL level — not only to showcase your talent, but to make a statement that you have the skills to remain with the big club. Every NHL team carries only two goalies for the season; the third- and fourth-string will almost always get overlooked and their chance of making it as a NHL goaltender is about seizing the moment.
In Max’s case, he needed three of the VGK goaltenders to suffer injuries to even get a chance to play. Now, with the team’s second-string goalie resuming skating and along on the current road trip, the pressure was really on Max last night to rebound from the disaster in Edmonton, and that he did. He played well, especially when the game dynamics seemed to turn in Vancouver’s favor when they came back from a two-goal deficit in the second period.
As far as the team itself rebounding, they also had a number of hills to climb, as I mentioned in my last blog. Their first periods on the road have been stinkers, causing them to have to chase the game and expend a lot more energy than the other team. This can and will cause odd-man rushes that generate scoring chances, which in turn create power plays for the opposition; attempts to slow down or catch up to the offensive players often cause infractions. In Tuesday’s game vs. Edmonton, this happened three different times and the VGK were scored on all three times.
In last night’s game, the VGK dominated the entire first period, as well as a good portion of the second period. A defensive breakdown and some sloppy play in clearing the puck out of the zone in the second period allowed Vancouver to tie the game at 2-2.
This turn of events could have been devastating to the team’s mindset, especially after the Edmonton massacre. A rebound was very much needed to change the momentum and save the game. To their credit, they rebounded, got back to playing solid two-way hockey, and took back control of the game. Not to mention, scoring three third-period goals is an excellent way to rebound from previous third-period meltdowns.
I give credit to the coaching staff; it seems like it doesn’t take long for corrections to be made after bumps in the road. Remember, these 20 skaters haven’t been together for multiple seasons and the team chemistry isn’t quite there yet. This makes the coaches’ jobs even more important in getting all 20 to move as a unit and play as a team, not as individuals. To use the old cliché, there’s no “I” in “team.”
Each winning team gets two points in the standings and other than Tuesday’s loss, this was only the fourth game the VGK have played in their own division. They won their first two games against Arizona and winning points in your own division is like securing four points, because your regulation win takes away two potential points from a team you will be competing against to obtain a coveted playoff spot. The VGK are in second place in the Pacific Division, only one point behind the L.A. Kings, who have played one more game than they have. They play the Kings on Sunday at 5 p.m at T-Mobil Arena.
I know this sounds crazy, but your VGK will be playing to take over first place in the division almost a quarter of the way through their inaugural season. This is all without their number-one goaltender, Marc-Andre Fleury, who hasn’t played since October 13.
Kevin Weeks, a former NHL goaltender who’s now an on-air personality on the NHL Network, stated before last night’s game that he believes the VGK will make the playoffs. He says he’s spoken with Fleury, but wouldn’t go into details about when he’ll return to the lineup. But by reading between the lines, I think it’s safe to assume that there’s a good feeling and confidence among Fleury and the VGK on the team’s immediate future that was shared with Kevin Weeks.
VGK goal scores from last night’s game: Perron (his 6th), Karlsson (7), Haula (6), Marchessault (5), and Smith (6).
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