Down the Frozen River

Tag: Brayden McNabb

  • Canadiens advance to first Stanley Cup Final in 28 years

    Canadiens advance to first Stanley Cup Final in 28 years

    For the first time since the last time they won the Stanley Cup in 1993, the Montréal Canadiens are heading back to the Stanley Cup Final after defeating the Vegas Golden Knights, 3-2, in overtime on home ice in Game 6 at Bell Centre on Thursday night.

    With the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl secured, the Canadiens have now won every trophy in National Hockey League history and join the Detroit Red Wings, Philadelphia Flyers, Chicago Blackhawks and New York Islanders as the only teams to have won both the Campbell Bowl and Prince of Wales Trophy in franchise history.

    Artturi Lehkonen scored the biggest goal of his short five-year NHL career thus far a little more than 90 seconds into overtime as the Canadiens won the series 4-2 to advance to the 2021 Stanley Cup Final.

    Habs netminder, Carey Price (12-5, 2.02 goals-against average, .934 save percentage in 17 games played), stopped 37 out of 39 shots faced in the win.

    Robin Lehner (1-2, 3.63 goals-against average, .887 save percentage in three games played) made 29 saves on 32 shots against in the loss.

    Golden Knights head coach, Peter DeBoer, fell to 12-7 when facing elimination all time in his career behind the bench of an NHL team in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

    Meanwhile, Montréal improved to 11-2 when scoring first this postseason and 11-0 when scoring at least two goals in the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

    They’re also the first Canadian NHL team in the Stanley Cup Final since the Vancouver Canucks lost to the Boston Bruins in seven games (4-3) in 2011.

    Jake Evans remained out of the lineup for Montréal, while DeBoer swapped Nick Holden on his defense with Nic Hague and gave Lehner the start over Marc-Andre Fleury on Thursday.

    Luke Richardson led the Canadiens behind the bench for the fourth time in the series while Dominique Ducharme remains in isolation after testing positive for COVID-19 prior to Game 3.

    Vegas General Manager, Kelly McCrimmon, remains out of commission in isolation as well, having tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of Game 4.

    Nicolas Roy caught Jon Merrill with a high stick and presented the Habs with the first power play of the night at 1:56 of the first period.

    Montréal was unsuccessful on the ensuing skater advantage, however.

    It wouldn’t take the Canadiens all night before they found a way to convert on the power play as Alex Pietrangelo presented the Habs with their second advantage of the night as a result of a roughing infraction at 12:36.

    This time, Montréal used up about 90 seconds of power play time before Alec Martinez went to clear the puck out of the zone but failed as a result of his stick shattering and an errant puck landing on Shea Weber’s blade instead.

    Weber (1) unloaded on an unassisted slap shot past Lehner’s blocker side while Jesperi Kotkaniemi screened the Vegas goaltender to give the Canadiens a, 1-0, lead on a power-play goal at 14:06 of the first period.

    Less than a minute later, though, the Golden Knights responded and tied things up, 1-1, thanks to a shot pass from Shea Theodore that Reilly Smith (3) redirected behind Price on the low blocker side.

    Theodore (9) and William Karlsson (11) tallied the assists on Smith’s goal at 14:54.

    Entering the first intermission, the score was tied, 1-1, despite the Golden Knights leading in shots on goal, 10-8.

    Vegas also held the advantage in blocked shots (6-5), giveaways (11-5) and faceoff win percentage (52-48), while Montréal led in takeaways (1-0) and hits (10-7).

    The Canadiens were 1/2 on the power play, while the Golden Knights had yet to see time on the skater advantage after one period on Thursday.

    Tyler Toffoli hooked Smith early in the middle frame and cut a rut to the box at 3:15 of the second period– presenting Vegas with their first power play of the night as a result.

    The Golden Knights couldn’t convert on the ensuing advantage, however, and would go back on the penalty kill shortly after Montréal killed off Toffoli’s minor.

    Vegas had too many skaters on the ice and sent Keegan Kolesar to serve the bench infraction at 5:42 of the second period.

    The Canadiens failed to score on the resulting power play.

    Moments later, Jeff Petry and Joel Edmundson worked to get the puck out of their own zone as Edmundson fed Cole Caufield with a lead pass through the neutral zone that Caufield deflected over Brayden McNabb’s stick while breaking into the attacking zone.

    Caufield (4) drove to the net and elevated a shot high on Lehner’s glove side to put the Habs up, 2-1, midway through the second period.

    Edmundson (6) and Petry (5) notched the assists on Caufield’s goal at 9:36.

    Eric Staal hooked Kolesar at 11:04 of the second period and presented Vegas with their second and final power play of the evening, but the Golden Knights couldn’t muster anything on the skater advantage as the Canadiens went on to kill off their 30th consecutive infraction this postseason– extending their ongoing franchise record as a result.

    Through 40 minutes of play, the Habs led, 2-1, on the scoreboard despite trailing Vegas, 22-21, in shots on goal.

    Montréal actually held the advantage in shots on net in the second period alone, 13-12, and led in blocked shots (11-7), takeaways (8-2) and hits (20-19) heading into the dressing room for the second intermission.

    Vegas led in giveaways (17-13) and faceoff win% (56-44) after two periods.

    As there were no penalties called in the final frame of regulation, as well as in the extra frame, the Habs finished the night 1/3 on the power play, while the Golden Knights went 0/2.

    Pietrangelo wired a shot on net that rebounded in and out of Price’s glove before Martinez (4) did what he does best in the postseason– score clutch goals– this time off of Price and through the five-hole to tie the game, 2-2, at 1:08 of the third period.

    Pietrangelo (8) and Karlsson (12) were credited with the helpers on Martinez’ goal as both teams continued to swap chances throughout the third period.

    Vegas couldn’t get anything going with their surge in momentum as Smith continued to be a prominent figure on the ice among their top-six forwards as Phillip Danault and his Canadiens teammates continued to shutdown Golden Knights captain, Mark Stone, in every way imaginable.

    Stone expressed remorse to reporters after the game for failing to record a single point in the series and had 5-3–8 totals in 19 games this postseason for Vegas– down from 17 points (seven goals, 10 assists) in 20 games last postseason for the Golden Knights.

    The horn sounded to indicate the end of the third period and the necessity for overtime as the two teams remained tied, 2-2, after 60 minutes.

    Vegas led in shots on goal, 37-31, and held a, 15-10, advantage in the third period alone.

    The Golden Knights continued to lead in giveaways (25-19), hits (31-28) and faceoff win% (52-48), while the Canadiens led in blocked shots (13-12) and takeaways (11-5).

    For the third time in the series, Vegas and Montréal were heading to overtime.

    Though the Golden Knights got two quick shots on the board to start the extra frame, it didn’t take long before the Canadiens emerged victorious as they won a battle in their own end before sprinting down the ice, whereby Danault released a pass to Lehkonen (3) for the one-timer goal on Lehner’s short side that eliminated Vegas and sent Montréal to the Stanley Cup Final.

    Danault (3) and Brendan Gallagher (3)– two of the Habs’ longest tenured players not named Price– had the assists on Lehkonen’s game-winner at 1:39 of the overtime period as the Canadiens took home a, 3-2, victory.

    Vegas exited Bell Centre leading in the final shots on goal total, 39-32, including a, 2-1, advantage in overtime alone, as well as the lead in giveaways (25-21), hits (31-29) and faceoff win% (53-47).

    Meanwhile, Montréal delighted their home crowd with the win, pictures with the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl and the final advantage in blocked shots (14-13) on the night.

    Speaking of the trophy that’s normally been presented to the winner of the Western Conference Final (or its Campbell Conference Finals equivalent from 1982-93), with the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl now belonging to the Canadiens for the 2021 postseason, Montréal has won every trophy in league history.

    As a result of the Game 6 win in overtime, the Habs improved to 5-1 past regulation this postseason, while the Golden Knights finished 2-4.

    The Canadiens are 1-2 in all time Stanley Cup Playoff series’ against Tampa and 3-1 in all time postseason series’ against New York.

    Montréal will face the winner of the Islanders vs. Lightning series on Monday night (June 28th) on the road in Game 1 of the 2021 Stanley Cup Final.

  • Golden Knights steal Game 4 on the road in OT, even series 2-2

    Golden Knights steal Game 4 on the road in OT, even series 2-2

    “Experts” said gambling would never pay off, yet Peter DeBoer gave Robin Lehner his second start of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs in Game 4 at Bell Centre on Sunday night and the Vegas Golden Knights went on to win, 2-1, in overtime– tying their series with the Montréal Canadiens 2-2 in the process.

    Nicolas Roy joined exclusive company as one of ten players born in Québec to score a game-winning overtime goal in the postseason against the Habs.

    Roy became the first player to do so since Martin St. Louis gave the New York Rangers a Game 4 overtime victory against the Canadiens on home ice in the 2014 Eastern Conference Final.

    Meanwhile, Lehner (1-1, 3.97 goals-against average, .877 save percentage in two games played) made 27 saves on 28 shots against in the win for Vegas.

    Montréal goaltender, Carey Price (10-5, 2.09 goals-against average, .931 save percentage in 15 games played) stopped 19 out of 21 shots faced in the loss.

    The Canadiens were still without Jake Evans, while Lehner earned the start in net for the Golden Knights over Marc-Andre Fleury and Chandler Stephenson remained out.

    Luke Richardson was once again in command behind the bench for Montréal while Dominique Ducharme remains in self-isolation since testing positive for COVID-19.

    Ducharme is not the only member of this series missing time now as Vegas General Manager, Kelly McCrimmon, was spotted without a mask on Friday night during Game 3 and tested positive on Sunday ahead of Game 4.

    McCrimmon will now be isolated a la Ducharme for the next couple of weeks at most.

    There were no goals and no penalties in the opening frame as the two teams swapped a few chances here and there.

    Heading into the first intermission, the score remained tied, 0-0, while the Canadiens led in shots on goal, 11-4. Montréal also held an advantage in takeaways (2-1) and hits (17-10), while Vegas led in blocked shots (5-4) and giveaways (8-5).

    The two teams split faceoff win percentage, 50-50, and each club had yet to see time on the skater advantage after one period.

    Late in the middle frame Tomas Nosek and Shea Weber exchanged pleasantries and became entangled, yielding unsportsmanlike conduct minors at 14:45 of the second period.

    Just as the two teams were set to resume 5-on-5 action after almost a pair of minutes at 4-on-4, Nick Suzuki hooked Alec Martinez and presented Vegas with a couple seconds of a 4-on-3 advantage at 16:44.

    The Golden Knights couldn’t convert on the resulting abbreviated 5-on-4 power play as the Habs killed off their 26th consecutive infraction this postseason.

    Shortly after Vegas’ power play expired, Montréal capitalized on the vulnerable minute after special teams play as Suzuki sent Paul Byron (2) into the attacking zone on a breakaway before No. 41 in bleu, blanc et rouge elevated the puck over Lehner to give the Canadiens a, 1-0, lead at 18:55 of the second period.

    Suzuki (6) had the only assist on Byron’s tally after the Golden Knights nearly scored at the other end of the rink after Alex Pietrangelo rang the iron and Mark Stone fanned on a rebound.

    As the two teams were getting ready for the second intermission, Martinez interfered with Josh Anderson and cut a rut to the penalty box at 19:38, resulting in a split power play for Montréal between the tail end of the second period and the opening minute of the final frame of regulation.

    Through 40 minutes of action, the Canadiens led, 1-0, on the scoreboard, as well as, 20-12, in shots on goal– including a, 9-8, advantage in the second period alone.

    Montréal led in blocked shots (10-9), takeaways (4-2) and hits (30-18) after two periods, while Vegas led in giveaways (11-10) and faceoff win% (57-43).

    As there were no penalties called in the remainder of the game, both teams finished 0/1 on the power play on Sunday night.

    Midway through the final frame of regulation, Brayden McNabb (1) received a pass from William Karlsson and beat Price with a one-timer between Price’s body and glove on the short side to tie the game, 1-1, at 10:37 of the third period.

    Karlsson (10) and Shea Theodore (8) had the only assists on McNabb’s goal as the two teams continued to trade chances with the Golden Knights surging in momentum.

    After 60 minutes, Vegas and Montréal were tied, 1-1, despite the Canadiens leading in shots on goal, 28-18, including an, 8-6, advantage in the third period alone.

    The Golden Knights led in hits (40-24) and faceoff win% (57-43), while the Habs dominated in blockes shots (19-16), takeaways (6-4), giveaways (18-15) and hits (40-24).

    It didn’t take long in overtime for Roy (4) to end the game with a Vegas victory after Max Pacioretty wrapped around the net, spun, then flung a shot on goal that rebounded to Roy, who had a couple of chances before roofing the puck top-shelf while Price flailed in the crease while loosing his stick.

    Pacioretty (6) and Alex Tuch (5) had the assists on Roy’s game-winning goal at 1:18 of the overtime period as the Golden Knights stole a, 2-1, win on the road in Game 4 and tied the series 2-2.

    Montréal finished the night leading in shots on goal, 28-21, despite trailing Vegas, 3-0, in shots in the extra frame alone.

    The Habs finished the night leading in blocked shots (19-16), giveaways (19-15) and hits (40-24), while the Golden Knights exited the building with the advantage in faceoff win% (56-44).

    The Canadiens fell to 4-1 in overtime this postseason, while Vegas improved to 2-3 past regulation in the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

    With the series even at two games apiece heading into Game 5 back in Las Vegas at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday night, Vegas and Montréal’s best-of-seven series is virtually a de facto best-of-three games.

    Puck drop is set for a little after 9 p.m. ET on Tuesday as the Golden Knights host the Canadiens and viewers in the United States can tune to NBCSN for the action, while those in Canada can choose between SN or TVAS.

  • Habs steal Game 3 victory due to Fleury’s error

    Habs steal Game 3 victory due to Fleury’s error

    Josh Anderson scored a pair of goals to tie, then win Game 3 in overtime, 3-2, for the Montréal Canadiens over the Vegas Golden Knights in front of 3,500 fans at Bell Centre in Montréal, Québec on Friday night as the Habs took a 2-1 series lead.

    Carey Price (10-4, 2.10 goals-against average, .932 save percentage in 14 games played) made 43 saves on 45 shots against in the win for the Canadiens.

    Meanwhile, Marc-Andre Fleury (9-6, 1.97 goals-against average, .921 save percentage in 15 games played) stopped 24 out of 27 shots faced in the loss for the Golden Knights.

    Tomas Nosek took part in the pregame warmup and returned to Vegas’ lineup for the first time since Game 2 against the Minnesota Wild in the First Round, while Chandler Stephenson remained out of the lineup.

    Meanwhile, Montréal was without their head coach, Dominique Ducharme, after he tested positive for COVID-19 and was forced to self-isolate, where he may remain for up to 10 days.

    Luke Richardson served as the head coach for the Habs, while Alex Burrows and Sean Burke retained their role as assistants on Friday night.

    Neither team found their way onto the scoreboard in the opening frame as both clubs traded power play opportunities.

    First, Jesperi Kotkaniemi hooked Alec Martinez and presented the Golden Knights with the first skater advantage at 6:52 of the first period, but Vegas couldn’t convert on the resulting power play.

    The Canadiens struggled on their first power play of the night when Keegan Kolesar cut a rut to the box for interference at 9:26 of the first period.

    Late in the opening frame, Joel Armia boarded Brayden McNabb and was assessed an infraction at 17:54, but the Golden Knights couldn’t muster anything on the advantage.

    Heading into the first intermission, Vegas and Montréal were tied, 0-0, on the scoreboard, despite the Golden Knights holding a, 17-3, advantage in shots on goal in the first period alone.

    The Habs led in blocked shots (6-2), giveaways (6-0), hits (15-14) and faceoff win percentage (58-42), while both teams managed to have one takeaway each after one period of action.

    Vegas was 0/2 and Montréal was 0/1 on the power play heading into the middle frame.

    Shea Weber interfered with McNabb 24 seconds into the second period, but the Golden Knights couldn’t convert on the ensuing power play.

    They would, however, capitalize within the vulnerable minute after special teams action as Nicolas Roy (3) beat Price over the glove from point blank on a turnover by Eric Staal after Staal gave the puck right to Roy from the trapezoid.

    Roy’s unassisted effort made it, 1-0, Vegas at 3:16 of the second period.

    Less than a minute later, however, the Canadiens answered back in a hurry as Cole Caufield (2) struck on a breakaway– beating Fleury on the glove side after Nick Suzuki set up Caufield for the goal.

    Suzuki (5) had the only assist as Montréal tied it, 1-1, at 3:54.

    Midway through the second period, Kotkaniemi hooked Max Pacioretty and presented the Golden Knights with another power play at 14:31, but Vegas couldn’t convert on the resulting advantage.

    Neither could the Habs when Nosek tripped Jeff Petry at 19:42.

    Through 40 minutes of action, the Golden Knights and Canadiens were tied, 1-1, on the scoreboard, despite Vegas holding a, 30-8, advantage in shots on goal, including a, 13-5, advantage in the second period alone.

    Montréal continued to dominated in blocked shots (15-9), giveaways (17-3) and hits (33-29), while Vegas led in takeaways (3-2) and faceoff win% (56-44).

    As there were no more penalties called for the rest of the night, the Golden Knights went 0/4 on the power play, while the Canadiens went 0/2 on the skater advantage on Friday.

    Alex Pietrangelo (4) put Vegas ahead of the Habs, 2-1, with a shot under Price’s blocker side at 2:22 of the third period as Pacioretty (5) and Nosek (1) tabbed the assists.

    Once more, however, the Golden Knights couldn’t extend their lead, nor could they hold onto the lead as Fleury mishandled a puck and blipped it to Anderson (2) for an unassisted goal to tie the game, 2-2, at 18:05 of the final frame.

    Fleury’s costly error sent the game to overtime as the teams were tied, 2-2, after regulation, despite Vegas leading in shots on goal, 40-21.

    Montréal actually held the advantage in shots on net in the third period alone, 13-10, while the Habs also dominated in blocked shots (17-16), giveaways (24-8) and hits (45-31).

    The Golden Knights led in faceoff win% (51-49), while both teams managed to have four takeaways each.

    Though Vegas dominated possession for most of the night, Montréal hit another gear in the overtime period as they led rush after rush into the attacking zone in the extra frame.

    Eventually, Kotkaniemi sent an aerial pass to Anderson, who gathered the puck out of the air with his stick and flipped it along to Paul Byron for a give-and-go before Anderson (3) wrapped the rubber biscuit around Fleury while the Golden Knights goaltender dove in desperation.

    Montréal had won, 3-2, in overtime thanks to Anderson’s second goal of the night, while Byron (2) and Kotkaniemi (2) tallied the assists on the game-winning goal at 12:53 of the extra frame.

    With the win in Game 3, the Canadiens took a 2-1 series lead in front of their fans, while Vegas finished the night leading in shots on goal, 45-27.

    The Habs wrapped up Friday night’s action leading in giveaways (25-15) and hits (52-36), while the Golden Knights led in blocked shots (21-20) and faceoff win% (51-49).

    Vegas fell to 1-3 in overtime this postseason, while Montréal improved to 4-0 past regulation in the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

    Game 4 is back at Bell Centre in Montréal on Sunday night with a chance for the Canadiens to take a commanding 3-1 series lead or for the Golden Knights to even things up 2-2 heading back out west for Game 5.

    Puck drop is set for 8 p.m. ET on Sunday and viewers in the United States can tune to NBCSN for the action, while those in Canada can choose from CBC, SN or TVAS for game coverage.

  • Golden Knights rout Canadiens, 4-1, in Game 1 of Semifinals

    Golden Knights rout Canadiens, 4-1, in Game 1 of Semifinals

    For the second time in their four years of existence, the Vegas Golden Knights are three wins away from another Stanley Cup Final appearance after defeating the Montréal Canadiens, 4-1, in Game 1 of their Semifinals matchup Monday night at T-Mobile Arena.

    Alec Martinez is no stranger to scoring game-winning goals in the postseason as the Golden Knights defender notched the eventual game-winning goal early in the second period to the pleasure of the home crowd as Marc-Andre Fleury (9-4, 1.84 goals-against average, .927 save percentage in 13 games played) made 28 saves on 29 shots against in the win.

    Canadiens goaltender, Carey Price (8-4, 2.15 goals-against average, .929 save percentage in 12 games played), stopped 26 out of 30 shots faced in the loss.

    On Jan. 18, 2020, less than two months before the ongoing global pandemic began, the Habs beat Vegas, 5-4, in a shootout victory at Bell Centre in Montréal, Québec across the United States-Canadian border.

    That was the last time the two clubs met each other before kicking off their best-of-seven series on Monday night in the first U.S.-based team vs. Canadian-based team matchup of the league’s 2020-21 calendar.

    Jeff Petry, Jake Evans and Jon Merrill were not available for Montréal in Game 1 as the trio of skaters remain out of the lineup due to injury.

    Early in the opening frame, Jonathan Marchessault caught Alexander Romanov with a high stick and presented the game’s first power play to the Canadiens as a result at 2:38 of the first period.

    Montréal was not successful on the ensuing skater advantage.

    Almost midway through the first period, the Habs iced the puck and proceeded to lose a faceoff in their own zone, whereby Vegas worked the puck back to Brayden McNabb for the “D-to-D” pass along the point.

    Shea Theodore (1) unloaded on a slap shot that beat Price on the blocker side while the Canadiens goaltender never saw the rubber biscuit speed past him as there was heavy net front traffic limiting his view from Montréal’s crease.

    McNabb (3) and Chandler Stephenson (6) tallied the assists on Theodore’s first goal of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs and the Golden Knights took a, 1-0, lead at 9:15 of the first period as a result.

    Phillip Danault hooked Alex Tuch late in the period and presented Vegas with the night’s first power play at 18:20, but the Golden Knights weren’t able to convert on the ensuing skater advantage.

    Heading into the first intermission, Vegas led, 1-0, on the scoreboard, despite trailing Montréal in shots on goal, 12-8.

    The Canadiens led in blocked shots (7-4) and faceoff win percentage (56-44), while the Golden Knights led in giveaways (6-1) and hits (23-21).

    Both teams managed to have two takeaways each and were 0/1 on the power play after one period.

    Seven seconds into the second period, Ben Chiarot cut a rut to the penalty box for sending an errant puck over the glass– yielding an automatic delay of game infraction and presenting Vegas with another power play.

    Though the Golden Knights didn’t convert on the skater advantage, they were successful in the vulnerable minute after special teams action as Theodore setup Martinez (3) with a pump fake pass for the one-timer goal from Martinez’s office at the dot while Price overcommitted on Theodore’s look– thereby scoring on the Habs netminder on what was rendered as a de facto empty net.

    Theodore (7) and Reilly Smith (6) tallied the assists on the goal as Vegas pulled ahead, 2-0, at 2:18 of the second period.

    Midway through the middle frame, Joel Edmundson caught Marchessault with a slash at 5:04, but the Golden Knight’s resulting power play was short lived as Theodore tripped up Paul Byron at 5:20.

    After a span of 1:45 at 4-on-4 action, the Canadiens wound up with an abbreviated power play, but couldn’t convert on the short skater advantage.

    Moments later, Brett Kulak tripped up Stephenson at 8:20, but Vegas was not successful on the ensuing power play.

    A few minutes after Kulak’s trip to the penalty box, Montréal went on the power play as William Carrier took his turn in the sin bin for roughing at 11:46.

    The Habs worked quick on the ensuing skater advantage as Corey Perry passed the puck to Tyler Toffoli for a shot that generated a rebound right to Cole Caufield (1) as the young Canadiens forward pounced on the loose puck and buried it in the twine for his first career Stanley Cup Playoffs goal.

    Toffoli (7) and Perry (4) had the assists on Caufield’s power-play goal as Montréal cut Vegas’ lead in half, 2-1, at 12:05 of the second period.

    Less than a minute later, however, the Golden Knights responded on the scoreboard as Mattias Janmark (4) redirected a puck from the doorstep that had already deflected off of Canadien forward, Josh Anderson, to make it, 3-1, for Vegas at 12:58.

    Tuch (4) and Zach Whitecloud (3) notched the assists on Janmark’s goal 53 seconds after the Habs ruined Fleury’s bid for a shutout.

    The Golden Knights, meanwhile, continued to be successful at converting attacking zone faceoff wins into effective offensive markings on the scoreboard.

    Through 40 minutes of play, Vegas led, 3-1, on the scoreboard and pulled ahead of Montréal in shots on goal, 21-17, thanks to a, 13-5, advantage in the second period alone.

    The Habs, however, continued to dominated in blocked shots (12-8), takeaways (8-7), hits (39-30) and faceoff win% (56-44), while the Golden Knights led in giveaways (9-4).

    Montréal was 1/3 on the power play, while Vegas was 0/4 on the skater advantage heading into the final frame, where no penalties were called in the last 20 minutes of action.

    Smith sent a pass to Nick Holden (2) through the high slot for a catch and release goal to give Vegas a three-goal lead, 4-1, at 10:06 of the third period.

    Smith (7) and William Karlsson (8) tallied the assists as the Golden Knights defended their crease for the rest of the night and protected their lead even after Canadiens head coach, Dominique Ducharme, pulled Price for an extra attacker with about 4:35 remaining in regulation.

    Price didn’t remain out of the net for long, however, as he was returned to the crease with about 35 seconds left on the clock, seeing as the Habs were still trailing by a few goals and with nothing left to lose except for pride, if Vegas had found a way to score one more goal on the evening.

    At the final horn, the Golden Knights had won, 4-1, and taken a 1-0 series lead as a result.

    Vegas finished Monday’s effort leading in shots on goal, 30-29, despite trailing Montréal, 12-9, in the third period alone.

    The Golden Knights wound up with the final advantage in blocked shots (16-15) and giveaways (10-5), while the Canadiens exited the building leading in hits (52-44) and faceoff win% (56-44).

    The Habs finished 1/3 on the skater advantage, while Vegas went 0/4 on the power play in Game 1.

    The Golden Knights host the Canadiens for Game 2 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Wednesday night with a 1-0 series lead.

    Puck drop is expected a little after 9 p.m. ET and fans in the United States can tune to NBCSN for the action, while those in Canada can choose from CBC, SN or TVAS for coverage.

  • Vegas to face Montréal in the Stanley Cup Semifinal

    Vegas to face Montréal in the Stanley Cup Semifinal

    For the first time since 2018, the Vegas Golden Knights are heading back to the third round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs as they defeated the Colorado Avalanche, 6-3, on Thursday night as Vegas clinched the series 4-2 on home ice at T-Mobile Arena.

    Marc-Andre Fleury (8-4, 1.91 goals-against average, .923 save percentage in 12 games played) made 30 saves on 33 shots against in the win as the Golden Knights advanced to the 2021 Stanley Cup Semifinal.

    Vegas will face the Montréal Canadiens in their first ever postseason series as the two teams will battle for one spot in this year’s Stanley Cup Final, while the Tampa Bay Lightning host the New York Islanders in the other Semifinal matchup.

    The National Hockey League announced after Game 6 in Vegas, that the winner of the Golden Knights versus Canadiens series will be presented the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl– traditionally awarded to the victor of the Western Conference Final in a non-pandemic timeline.

    Meanwhile, the winner of the Lightning and Islanders series will be presented with the Prince Of Wales Trophy as is usually awarded to the victor of the Eastern Conference Final when the league isn’t forced into a temporary realignment without conferences due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

    The Golden Knights are the first team in league history to win seven playoffs series’ in their first four years of existence.

    At the other end of the rink, Philipp Grubauer (6-4, 2.61 goals-against average, .914 save percentage in 10 games played), stopped 17 out of 22 shots faced in the loss.

    Avalanche forward, Nazem Kadri, served the last game of his eight-game suspension on Thursday, while head coach, Jared Bednar, almost wasn’t available to do his duty behind the bench as a COVID test irregularity prevented him from attending morning skate.

    Bednar was later cleared hours before the game on another test.

    Colorado jumped out ahead of Vegas less than a minute into the opening frame– emulating the Golden Knights’ patented style at home in the postseason– as Devon Toews (1) scored the game’s first goal on a catch and release shot over Fleury’s glove.

    Nathan MacKinnon (6) and Brandon Saad (1) had the assists on Toews’ goal as the Avs pulled ahead, 1-0, 23 seconds into the first period.

    Colorado’s lead didn’t last long, however, as it turns out Vegas can still score within the opening minutes of a playoff game on home ice even if they allow the game’s first goal.

    Nick Holden (1) received a pass from Reilly Smith and floated a shot through Grubauer’s five-hole while the Avalanche goaltender was still looking to the right corner– completely unaware of the puck’s location on the ice.

    Smith (5) and Nicolas Roy (4) tallied the assists on Holden’s goal as the Golden Knights tied the game, 1-1, at 1:15 of the first period.

    Both teams managed to score on their first shot on goal in Game 6.

    Moments later, Vegas almost took advantage of a complete swing in momentum as Alec Martinez rang the post with a shot, but he’d play a factor later in the period regardless.

    Martinez sent a pass through the slot to William Karlsson (4) for a one-timer goal that beat Grubauer low on the short side between his pad and the post to make it, 2-1, Vegas at 15:06.

    Heading into the first intermission, the Golden Knights led on the scoreboard, 2-1, and trailed the Avalanche in shots on goal, 12-10.

    Vegas held the advantage in everything else, however, as they dominated in blocked shots (15-5), takeaways (12-1), giveaways (5-0), hits (23-15) and faceoff win percentage (53-47).

    Neither team had seen any action on the power play after one period.

    Alex Pietrangelo kicked things off in the middle frame with an errant puck over the glass and an automatic delay of game penalty as a result at 2:23 of the second period.

    Colorado took full advantage of the ensuing power play as Mikko Rantanen (5) sent a shot off of Zach Whitecloud’s skate and into the twine after the rubber biscuit clipped Fleury’s blocker on its way by.

    MacKinnon (7) and Gabriel Landeskog (9) had the assists on Rantanen’s power-play goal as the Avalanche tied things up, 2-2, at 3:47 of the second period.

    Midway through the middle frame, Shea Theodore worked the puck to Pietrangelo for the shot and subsequent redirection by Keegan Kolesar (1) as the Golden Knights forward pocketed his first career Stanley Cup Playoff goal and gave his team a, 3-2, lead at 14:27.

    Pietrangelo (7) and Theodore (5) notched the assists on the marker, but Vegas wasn’t able to pull away just yet as Colorado kept things close.

    Andre Burakovsky (1) scored his first of the 2021 postseason off the post and in while Martinez inadvertently screened his own goaltender.

    Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (3) and Cale Makar (8) had the assists on Burakovsky’s goal as the Avs tied the game, 3-3, at 16:52.

    Yet, just as quick as things can be evened up, things can fall apart as the Golden Knights’ forecheck forced a turnover in Colorado’s defensive zone as the Avalanche couldn’t make an exit.

    Vegas worked the puck deep with an intentional shot wide of the net that caromed off the boards to the side of the slot where Pietrangelo (1) pounced on the loose puck for the eventual game-winning goal.

    Alex Tuch (3) and Max Pacioretty (4) added the helpers as the Golden Knights took a, 4-3, lead at 19:42 of the second period.

    Through 40 minutes of action, Vegas led, 4-3, on the scoreboard, despite trailing Colorado, 22-16, in shots on goal, including a, 10-6, advantage for the Avs in the second period alone.

    The Golden Knights continued to lead in blocked shots (24-7), takeaways (16-1), giveaways (12-1) and hits (37-31), however, as both teams managed to split faceoff win%, 50-50, through two periods.

    The Avalanche were 1/1 on the power play, while Vegas had yet to see time on the skater advantage entering the final frame.

    Vegas executed a play unlike any other with tremendous hand-eye coordination as Brayden McNabb let go of a shot that was redirected by Theodore, then by William Carrier (1) on the doorstep on a zig-zag play that extended the Golden Knights’ lead to two-goals.

    Theodore (6) and McNabb (2) had the primary and secondary assists, respectively, as Carrier’s goal made it, 5-3, for Vegas at 11:46 of the third period.

    Less than a minute later, the Golden Knights went on the power play for the first time Thursday night as Ryan Graves cut a rut to the sin bin for tripping Karlsson at 12:33.

    Vegas was unsuccessful on the resulting skater advantage, however.

    It was no big deal, though, as Colorado pulled Grubauer for an extra attacker with about 3:26 remaining in the game, thereby giving the Golden Knights ample opportunity to score at least one empty net goal.

    And that’s just what they did.

    Martinez botched a surefire empty net goal, so Pacioretty (4) cleaned things up by putting the icing on the cake with some extra insurance, 6-3, as a result of his unassisted empty net goal at 16:50 of the third period.

    Bednar pulled his goaltender again for an extra skater, but Colorado couldn’t get another puck past Fleury.

    At the final horn, Vegas had won, 6-3, and finished off the Avalanche 4-2 in the series– eliminating the Avs in six games in the process after Colorado rocketed out of the gate in the series with a, 7-1, win in Game 1 and a thrilling, 3-2, overtime victory in Game 2.

    The Avalanche finished the night leading in shots on goal, 33-23, including an, 11-7, advantage in the third period alone and wrapped up Thursday’s effort leading in faceoff win% (53-47).

    Meanwhile, the Golden Knights exited their own building leading in blocked shots (34-18), giveaways (15-1) and hits (46-42) in Game 6.

    Colorado finished the game 1/1 on the power play, while Vegas went 0/1.

    With the win, Fleury moved into sole possession of the fourth most postseason victories by a goaltender in league history with his 89th career Stanley Cup Playoff win.

    Vegas will have home ice advantage in the Stanley Cup Semifinal and the Stanley Cup Final, should they eliminate Montréal in the Semifinal, by virtue of having the best regular season record of the remaining four playoff teams.

    Game 1 at T-Mobile Arena is set for Monday night at 9 p.m. ET.

    Viewers in the United States can tune to NBCSN for coverage, while those in Canada can tune to CBC, SN or TVAS.

    Meanwhile, the Islanders open up their series with the Lightning on the road in Game 1, Sunday afternoon at Amalie Arena with puck drop set for 3 p.m. ET.

    Fans in the United States looking to catch Tampa and New York can tune to NBC, while those in Canada can choose from CBC, SN or TVAS.

    To summarize, that’s Sunday, June 13th for Game 1 between the Isles and Bolts and Monday, June 14th for Game 1 of the Habs and Golden Knights.

  • Battle of the behemoths in the West set after Vegas downs Wild, 6-2, in Game 7

    Battle of the behemoths in the West set after Vegas downs Wild, 6-2, in Game 7

    For the first time in Las Vegas, T-Mobile Arena played host to a Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and the 2021 First Round matchup between the Vegas Golden Knights and Minnesota Wild did not disappoint.

    Both teams swapped chances early and often before the Golden Knights pulled ahead in the second period and did not look back in their, 6-2, victory over the Wild to clinch the series 4-3 and advance to a Second Round matchup with the 2020-21 Presidents’ Trophy winning Colorado Avalanche.

    Trade deadline acquisition, Mattias Janmark, notched a hat trick in the series clinching game, while Marc-Andre Fleury (4-3, 1.71 goals-against average, .931 save percentage in seven games played) made 18 saves on 20 shots against in the win for the Golden Knights.

    Cam Talbot (3-4, 2.45 goals-against average, .923 save percentage in seven games played) stopped 28 out of 33 shots faced in the loss for the Wild.

    Vegas was without Brayden McNabb (COVID protocol) on Friday, while Max Pacioretty made his series debut after missing some time due to injury.

    The Golden Knights improved to 2-1 all time in Game 7s, while the Wild fell to 3-1 overall in Game 7s. Minnesota has never hosted a Game 7 on home ice.

    Vegas head coach, Peter DeBoer, improved to 6-0 in Game 7s in his National Hockey League career behind the bench.

    Friday night also marked the first Game 7 of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montréal Canadiens heading to a Game 6 in the only remaining First Round series, leaving the door open for another Game 7 on Monday if the Canadiens can beat Toronto in Montréal on Saturday.

    Midway through the opening frame Janmark (1) got a breakaway and drove to the net with two-hands corralling a forehand wrap around Talbot reminiscent of “the Forsberg” if Peter Forsberg had used both hands on the stick and stuck with his dominant shot instead of his backhand.

    Nicolas Roy (1) and Nick Holden (4) tallied the assists on Janmark’s first goal of the night as the Golden Knights grabbed a, 1-0, lead at 5:09 of the first period.

    Moments later, Roy checked Jonas Brodin along the wall and sidelined the Wild defender for the rest of the night in the process with an undisclosed injury.

    Midway through the opening frame, William Karlsson was sent to the box for boarding against Jared Spurgeon at 10:32.

    Minnesota did not convert on the ensuing power play– their first skater advantage of the night on Friday.

    Moments later, Zach Parise (2) sent a no-look backhand shot between his legs and through Fleury’s five-hole to tie the game, 1-1, at 16:49 of the first period.

    Joel Eriksson Ek (1) and Ryan Suter (1) had the assists on Parise’s goal.

    Entering the first intermission, the score was tied, 1-1, despite Minnesota leading in shots on goal, 10-8.

    The Wild also held the advantage in blocked shots (9-6), giveaways (2-1) and faceoff win percentage (56-44), while the Golden Knights led in takeaways (5-2) and hits (24-21).

    Minnesota was 0/1 on the power play, while Vegas had yet to see time on the skater advantage heading into the middle frame.

    Nicolas Hague (1) sent a shot from the point through traffic– beating Talbot clean on the short side over the blocker– off of an attacking zone faceoff to put Vegas ahed, 2-1, at 2:05 of the second period.

    Karlsson (3) had the only assist on Hague’s first career Stanley Cup Playoff goal.

    A couple minutes later, Ryan Reaves cut a rut to the sin bin for interference after he sent Suter face first into his own crossbar at 4:22 of the second period.

    It didn’t take the Wild long to capitalize on the resulting power play as Kirill Kaprizov (2) sent a one-timer past Fleury while crashing the net as Mats Zuccarello fed the Minnesota rookie with a pass while skating through “Gretzky’s office” (no, not TNT) behind the net in the trapezoid.

    Zuccarello (3) and Spurgeon (3) recorded the assists on Kaprizov’s power-play goal as Minnesota tied things up, 2-2, at 4:35 of the second period.

    About a few minutes later, Pacioretty (1) put the Golden Knights in front for good– scoring the eventual game-winner on a one-timer from the slot after Shea Theodore sent the puck around the boards on a dump-in before Chandler Stephenson worked it to No. 67 in a Vegas uniform.

    Stephenson (4) and Theodore (1) had the assists on Pacioretty’s goal as the Golden Knights took a, 3-2, lead at 7:44.

    Midway through the middle frame, Ian Cole was penalized for interference, presenting Vegas with their first and only skater advantage of the night at 10:32.

    Though the Golden Knights didn’t score on the power play, they did happen to catch the Wild in the vulnerable minute after special teams action as Zach Whitecloud (1) sent a catch and release shot over Talbot’s blocker on the far side from the faceoff dot to the left of the Minnesota netminder at 13:38.

    Theodore (2) and Stephenson (5) notched the assists on Whitecloud’s goal as the Golden Knights extended their lead to, 4-2.

    Moments later, Hague and Nick Bjugstad got tangled up and exchanged pleasantries, resulting in coincidental minor infractions for roughing at 17:09 of the second period and two minutes of ensuing 4-on-4 action to close off the first 40 minutes of action.

    Through two periods of play, Vegas led, 4-2, on the scoreboard and, 25-16, in shots on goal, including a, 17-6, advantage in second period shots alone.

    The Golden Knights led in takeaways (10-6), giveaways (5-3), hits (38-34) and faceoff win% (63-37), while the Wild led in blocked shots (17-12) entering the second intermission.

    As there were no penalties that resulting in any skater advantages in the final frame, Minnesota finished the night 1/2 on the power play, while Vegas went 0/1.

    Eriksson Ek, Jordan Greenway, Reilly Smith and Jonathan Marchessault got involved in a bit of a scrum and each received matching roughing minors at 6:00 of the third period.

    The four penalties were the final calls of the night and resulted in no skater advantages for either club.

    Midway through the third, Janmark (2) redirected his second goal of the game past Talbot as Roy’s forecheck on Suter freed the puck for Vegas, leading to the goal.

    Roy (2) had the only assist on the marker as the Golden Knights took a, 5-2, lead at 12:36.

    With less than five minutes remaining in regulation, Wild head coach, Dean Evason, pulled Talbot for an extra attacker.

    It did not go as planned for Minnesota.

    Janmark (3) casually swiped at the puck with a one-handed backhand stroke while diving for possession and buried it into the empty net to give Vegas a, 6-2, lead at 16:53 of the third period– sealing the deal on a Game 7 win, as well as the series victory.

    Alex Tuch (2) and Alex Pietrangelo (3) had the assists on Janmark’s hat trick goal– the first career postseason hat trick for Janmark, as well as the first hat trick in a Stanley Cup Playoff game in Golden Knights franchise history.

    At the final horn, Vegas had won, 6-2, and eliminated the Wild in seven games, clinching the series 4-3 in the process.

    Vegas also became the third franchise to win a playoff series in three of their first four seasons, joining the New York Rangers and St. Louis Blues in the NHL history books.

    The Golden Knights finished Friday night’s action leading in shots on goal, 34-20, including a, 9-4, advantage in the third period alone.

    Minnesota finished the night leading in blocked shots (20-18) and hits (53-49), while Vegas led in giveaways (10-5) and faceoff win% (66-34).

    The Golden Knights are now 2-1 in all time Game 7s after defeating the Wild on Friday and advanced to the Second Round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs as a result.

    Vegas will face the Colorado Avalanche in the next round with Game 1 scheduled for Sunday night at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado.

  • Vegas’ five unanswered goals lead comeback victory in Game 3

    Vegas’ five unanswered goals lead comeback victory in Game 3

    The Vegas Golden Knights gave up two goals in the first period, then scored five unanswered goals over the remaining 40 minutes to complete a, 5-2, comeback victory on the road at Xcel Energy Center in Game 3 of their 2021 First Round series with the Minnesota Wild on Thursday.

    Marc-Andre Fleury (2-1, 1.32 goals against average, .951 save percentage in three games played) made 14 saves on 16 shots faced in the win for Vegas.

    Minnesota netminder, Cam Talbot (1-2, 2.32 goals-against average, .936 save percentage in three games played), turned aside 35 out of 39 shots against in the loss.

    The Golden Knights were once again without Max Pacioretty as they took a 2-1 series lead in their first road game of the 2021 postseason as Fleury posted his 12th consecutive win with two or fewer goals allowed in the playoffs en route to his 83rd career Stanley Cup Playoff win on Thursday.

    Kirill Kaprizov fed Ryan Hartman (1) for a one-timed redirection in the slot to give the Wild a, 1-0, lead at 2:16 of the first period.

    Karpizov (1) and Jonas Brodin (2) had the assists on Hartman’s goal as Minnesota got off to a quick start.

    Less than a minute later, however, Wild defender, Matt Dumba, was sent to the penalty box for holding, presenting the game’s first power play to Vegas at 2:43 of the first period.

    The Golden Knights couldn’t get anything going on the ensuing skater advantage, however.

    Almost midway into the opening frame, Joel Eriksson Ek (2) made it a, 2-0, game for Minnesota as Marcus Foligno (2) and Dumba (1) picked up the assists on Eriksson Ek’s goal at 8:30 of the first period.

    Less than a minute later, Jonathan Marchessault interfered with Kevin Fiala and handed the Wild their first power play of the night at 9:14, but Minnesota couldn’t capitalize on the 5-on-4 advantage.

    Moments later, Hartman slashed Golden Knights defender, Shea Theodore, and cut a rut to the sin bin at 13:31, but Vegas was unsuccessful on the power play.

    Heading into the first intermission, the Wild led, 2-0, on the scoreboard and, 7-4, in shots on goal.

    Minnesota also held the advantage in blocked shots (6-5), takeaways (3-2) and hits (13-12), while both teams had two giveaways each and were, 50-50, in faceoff win percentage after 20 minutes of action.

    Vegas was 0/2 on the power play while the Wild were 0/1 on the skater advantage entering the middle frame.

    Mark Stone (1) caught a pass in the slot from Chandler Stephenson and released a shot in catch-and-release fashion as the Golden Knights cut Minnesota’s lead in half, 2-1, at 8:39 of the second period.

    Stephenson (2) and Brayden McNabb (1) notched the assists on Stone’s goal.

    About half a minute later, Ian Cole tripped McNabb and presented Vegas with another power play that ultimately went by the wayside for the Golden Knights at 9:09.

    Nick Holden sent an intentional shot wide of the net as the puck caromed off the endboards to Patrick Brown in the slot whereby Brown (1) hacked away until he sent the rubber biscuit floating behind Talbot to tie the game, 2-2, at 15:19 of the middle period.

    Holden (1) and William Carrier (1) tallied the assists on Brown’s goal.

    About two minutes later, Vegas took the lead for the first time of the night and never looked back as Reilly Smith (1) got a deflection, then his own rebound to make it, 3-2, Golden Knights at 17:33.

    Holden (2) and William Karlsson (2) had the primary and secondary assists, respectively.

    Karpizov then finished the second period with a tripping infraction as Alex Tuch went for a fall at 19:49. Vegas’ ensuing power play would spillover into the final frame.

    After 40 minutes, however, the Golden Knights led, 3-2, on the scoreboard and, 26-12, in shots on goal, including an astounding, 22-5, advantage in the second period alone.

    Minnesota still dominated in blocked shots (15-12), takeaways (8-4), hits (23-20) and faceoff win% (53-48) despite the Vegas onslaught.

    Both teams had three giveaways each, while the Golden Knights were 0/4 and the Wild were 0/1 on the power play heading into the final frame.

    After the Wild successfully killed off Kaprizov’s minor, they got a chance on the power play when Tuch interfered with Cole at 2:42 of the third period.

    Minnesota, however, couldn’t get anything going as the Golden Knights continued to dominate the game flow.

    Vegas couldn’t convert on a power play at 11:18 of the third period when the Wild were handed a bench minor for too many skaters on the ice, but it was of no matter to the Golden Knights as they simply scored later in the period.

    First, when Karlsson (1) sent a wrist shot under the bar on the short side with assists from Smith (2) and Fleury (1) at 17:36 and again when Stone (2) pocketed his second goal of the game on an unassisted effort into the empty net at 19:01 of the third period.

    The pair of goals had made it, 5-2– giving Vegas five unanswered goals as the final horn sounded and the Golden Knights had won, securing a 2-1 series lead heading into Game 4 on Saturday in Minnesota.

    The Wild wrapped up Thursday night’s loss leading in hits (31-29), while the Golden Knights dominated in shots on goal, 40-16, including a, 14-4, advantage in the third period alone.

    Vegas also held the lead in blocked shots (20-18) and faceoff win% (53-47), while both teams managed three giveaways aside in Game 3.

    The Golden Knights finished 0/5 and the Wild went 0/2 on the power play on Thursday.

    Game 4 is scheduled for Saturday night at 8 p.m. ET from Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. Viewers in the United States can watch on NBC, while those in Canada can choose from SN360 or TVAS2.

  • Bruins “Perfection Line” has residency in Vegas in, 4-3, win

    Brad Marchand scored two goals in the Boston Bruins’, 4-3, victory over the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena Tuesday night, while Tuukka Rask (2-0-0, 2.00 goals against average, .937 save percentage in two games played) stopped 31 out of 34 shots faced (.912 SV%) for the win.

    Golden Knights goaltender, Marc-Andre Fleury (2-1-0, 2.02 GAA, .935 SV% in three games played) made 31 saves on 35 shots against for an .886 SV% in the loss.

    Patrice Bergeron recorded an assist, Marchand had three points (two goals, one assist) and David Pastrnak had a three-point night (one goal, two assists) as Boston’s “Perfection Line” led the way in the Bruins’ comeback win.

    The B’s improved to 3-0-0 (6 points) on the season and are now 1st in the Atlantic Division, while Vegas fell to 3rd in the Pacific Division with a 2-1-0 (4 points) record.

    For the third game in a row, Kevan Miller (knee), John Moore (shoulder) and Joakim Nordstrom (foot) were all out of Boston’s lineup due to injury.

    Bruce Cassidy told reporters late last week that Nordstrom could return at some point on the road trip and indicated prior to Tuesday night’s matchup that the veteran forward was medically cleared and targeting a return to game action on Thursday in Colorado.

    Cassidy made one change to his lineup– he jumbled his fourth line.

    David Backes was inserted on the right wing, Chris Wagner slid over to the left side and Sean Kuraly was placed at center while Par Lindholm was a healthy scratch on Tuesday.

    Lindholm joined Steven Kampfer as Boston’s healthy scratches in the press box of T-Mobile Arena, while the rest of the lineup remained the same.

    Just 35 seconds into the first period, Bruins defender, Matt Grzelcyk, blocked a shot with his left leg and did not partake in another shift in the opening frame. He did return for the second period, however.

    Early in the period, Brett Ritchie collided with the Golden Knights goaltender and was assessed a minor penalty for goaltender interference at 5:15 of the first period.

    It didn’t take Vegas long to convert on their first power play of the night as Mark Stone (2) gave the Golden Knights their first lead of the night, 1-0, with a power play goal.

    Max Pacioretty (2) and Cody Glass (1) notched the assists on Stone’s goal at 6:36 of the first period.

    Less than a couple of minutes later, Reilly Smith (3) sneaked his way past the Bruins defense and elevated a one-timer under the crossbar from point blank, while the B’s defenders were out of position.

    Jonathan Marchessault (1) and William Karlsson (4) tabbed the assists on Smith’s goal at 8:20 of the first period and the Golden Knights jumped out to a, 2-0, lead.

    After a dismal first half of the opening frame, Boston turned on their offensive prowess– kickstarted by a much needed boost from “The Perfection Line” as Pastrnak (1) tallied his first goal of the season.

    Bergeron worked the puck to Marchand, who sent Pastrnak a pass into the low slot, whereby the Bruins right winger scored on a one-timer while Fleury stretched across the crease.

    Marchand (1) and Bergeron (2) recorded the assists on Pastrnak’s goal at 11:21 and the B’s cut the lead in half, 2-1.

    Vegas thought they had pulled ahead with another two-goal lead almost 15 minutes into the first period, but despite Marchessault’s best efforts to redirect Nic Hague’s shot from the point, Marchessault did so with a high-stick.

    Late in the period, Brandon Pirri slashed Danton Heinen and sent the Bruins on their first power play of the night at 17:38.

    Boston found the back of the net less than a minute into the power play thanks to Marchand’s (2) short-range blast that deflected off of Golden Knights defender, Jon Merrill, and found its way behind Fleury to tie the game, 2-2.

    Pastrnak (1) and Torey Krug (1) had the assists on Marchand’s first goal of the game at 18:58.

    After one period in Vegas, the scoreboard was very ill.

    Tied, 2-2, in goals, the Golden Knights led in shots on goal (12-11), blocked shots (7-4) and hits (13-9), while the Bruins led in takeaways (8-5), giveaways (3-2), and faceoff win percentage (59-41).

    Both teams were 1/1 on the power play entering the first intermission.

    Marchand (3) kicked things off less than a minute into the second period with his second goal of the game after picking up the puck in the neutral zone, entering the attacking zone and unloading a wrist shot past Fleury’s glove side.

    Pastrnak (2) had the only assist on Marchand’s goal 33 seconds into the second period as the Bruins took their first lead of the night, 3-2.

    Almost two minutes later, Krug (1) rocketed a shot from the point past the Golden Knights netminder to give Boston a two-goal lead, 4-2, at 2:27 of the second period.

    Brandon Carlo (1) and Kuraly (1) picked up their first assists of the season on Krug’s first goal of the year as the Bruins scored a pair of goals in a span in 1:54.

    About a minute later, Backes was penalized for interference and the B’s were shorthanded at 3:18.

    Vegas did not capitalize on the ensuing power play.

    Cassidy had adjusted his second and third lines when his forwards looked flat in the opening frame and continued to utilize Brett Ritchie on the second line right wing with Jake DeBrusk and David Krejci, while Karson Kuhlman took Ritchie’s spot on the second line with Heinen and Charlie Coyle.

    Through 40 minutes of action, Boston led, 4-2, on the scoreboard.

    Meanwhile, Vegas led in shots on goal (27-24, including a, 15-13, advantage in the second period alone), blocked shots (10-7), takeaways (10-9), giveaways (8-6) and hits (23-20).

    The Bruins led in faceoff win% (56-44) entering the second intermission.

    Heading into the third period, the Golden Knights were 1/2 on the power play and the B’s were 1/1.

    Hague hooked Heinen two minutes into the third period and was sent to the penalty box, resulting in a Boston power play, but the Bruins weren’t able to capitalize on the scoreboard on their second skater advantage of the night.

    Almost midway through the final frame of regulation, Brayden McNabb was penalized for holding at 9:34 of the third period, but once again the B’s couldn’t score on the ensuing power play.

    Late in the game, Marchand was guilty of cross checking McNabb at 14:22, yielding another power play to the Golden Knights.

    This time, Vegas made sure to capitalize on the skater advantage opportunity as Pacioretty (1) scored his first goal of the season from the faceoff dot to left of Rask– firing a shot past the Bruins goaltender’s short side over his glove while Glass acted as a screen in front.

    Shea Theodore (2) and Stone (4) had the assists on Pacioretty’s power play goal at 14:42 and the Golden Knights pulled to within one, 4-3.

    With about 90 seconds left in the action after a stoppage in play, Vegas head coach, Gerard Gallant, used his timeout to rally his skaters and pull his goaltender, but it was too little too late as time expired about a minute later.

    The Bruins had defeated the Golden Knights, 4-3, on road ice.

    Boston finished the night leading in shots on goal (35-34) and faceoff win% (56-44), but Vegas dominated in just about every other statistical category– holding the advantage in blocked shots (14-12), giveaways (12-8) and hits (33-24).

    The Golden Knights finished the game 2/3 on the power play, while the Bruins went 1/3 on the skater advantage.

    Vegas had a 96-56-14 record all time entering Tuesday night and remain four wins away from their 100th in franchise history. They are now 96-57-14 in 167 regular season games in their existence.

    The Bruins are 3-0-0 on their current four-game road trip and will finish their current trip Thursday night in Denver with a matchup against the Colorado Avalanche.

    Puck drop is expected a little after 9 p.m. ET.

    For the first time since the 2001-02 season, the Bruins are 3-0-0 to begin the regular season.

    Boston will take on the New Jersey Devils in Saturday’s home opener at TD Garden.

  • 2019-20 Pacific Division Outlook

    As the entire hockey world awaits training camp action next month, let’s make some (un)educated guesses about the upcoming season that will totally pan out because everything always goes as expected. (It doesn’t.)

    The projected standings below are only a forecast.

    They are based on recent indications– as well as the last few seasons of stats– and cannot account for variations in roster construction (a.k.a. trades and free agency moves).

    There’s a lot of variables that will turn the tables upside down, including transactions, injuries and otherwise. Anything can happen.

    As always, it’s more important to remember 1) the spread and 2) the positioning.

    Just how many points separate the projected division winner from the last wild card spot (the spread) and where a team is supposed to finish in the division standings (the position) can imply that things aren’t always what they seem.

    A team that’s projected to win it all still has to play an 82-game regular season, qualify for the playoffs and go on to amass 16 wins in the postseason.

    Projected Standings After ZERO Months

    Pacific Division

    1. y-Vegas Golden Knights, 101 points
    2. x-San Jose Sharks, 100 points
    3. x-Anaheim Ducks, 96 points
    4. wc1- Calgary Flames, 93 points
    5. Los Angeles Kings, 89 points
    6. Vancouver Canucks, 83 points
    7. Arizona Coyotes, 78 points
    8. Edmonton Oilers, 77 points

    Vegas Golden Knights: Pros and Cons

    Despite a colossal collapse in Game 7 of their First Round matchup with the San Jose Sharks this spring, the Golden Knights are ready for what could be another deep playoff run in 2020.

    A full season of Mark Stone– plus the rest of the original and supporting cast (Jonathan Marchessault, Reilly Smith, Paul Stastny, Max Pacioretty, Marc-Andre Fleury, etc.)– should provide Vegas with enough scoring power, while Nate Schmidt anchors the defense with Shea Theodore, Brayden McNabb, Jon Merrill and adopted Vegas son, Deryk Engelland.

    Aside from working on the penalty kill and the peaceful transition of power from George McPhee to Kelly McCrimmon as General Manager of the organization (effective Sept. 1st), the Golden Knights have had a quiet offseason.

    Sure, they traded Colin Miller to the Buffalo Sabres which hurts their blue line depth in the event of injuries, but Vegas has a few notable prospects with the Chicago Wolves (AHL) in Jake Bischoff, Nic Hague and Jimmy Schudlt that should be ready for a taste of NHL action if necessary.

    Owner, Bill Foley, has his sights set on his original vision for the franchise– winning a Cup within the first three seasons of its existence.

    The only downside for the Golden Knights heading into the 2019-20 season? Goaltending.

    No, Fleury isn’t in decline from his status as one of the better goaltenders in the league, but his time in the crease has to be managed.

    Though he was limited to 46 games in 2017-18 due to injury, Fleury amassed a 29-13-4 record with a 2.24 goals against average and a .927 save percentage. Vegas’ backup goaltender, Malcolm Subban, managed a 13-4-2 record in 22 games played that season with a 2.68 GAA and a .910 SV% in his rookie season.

    Last season, Subban’s numbers took a turn for the worse.

    He had an 8-10-2 record in 21 games played with a 2.93 GAA and a .902 SV%– all while Fleury was forced to carry a heavier schedule load, seeing his stat line slip to a 2.51 GAA and a .913 SV% in the process, but improving his overall record to 35-21-5 in 61 games.

    Vegas added Garret Sparks, who carries a career GAA (3.09) and SV% (.898) that’s worst than Subban in six fewer games played over two full-time seasons as a backup (Sparks appeared in 37 games with Toronto, while Subban’s played in 43 with Vegas since 2017-18).

    Gerard Gallant can’t rely on a fallback plan if one of them doesn’t yield a significant turnaround at this point in their careers (because there isn’t one) and he also can’t overexert Fleury in the buildup to the postseason.

    This is why you can never have too many goaltenders in the system.

    How would the Golden Knights fail?

    If an Uber driver records their players complaining about their special teams play and/or said Uber driver can’t do a better job at not allowing four power play goals against on a five-minute major penalty kill.

    San Jose Sharks: Pros and Cons

    San Jose has about $4.683 million in cap space and Joe Thornton is still unsigned. Are we really ready to live in a world where Thornton isn’t on the Sharks and it’s not 1997-2005 again?

    Also, Patrick Marleau is still unsigned too, but that’s besides the point– plus he spent the last two years with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

    Anyway, the Sharks went all in on Erik Karlsson’s extension, shelling out $11.500 million per season for the next eight years through the 2026-27 season.

    As long as Karlsson can remain healthy (and the rest of the roster for that matter, unlike in this spring’s Western Conference Final run), then San Jose’s blue line remains one of the most dynamic forces of offensive capabilities from an otherwise non-traditional source of scoring production.

    Kevin Labanc is an emerging star in a Sharks uniform and will carry a bigger role this season with the departure of Joe Pavelski to the Dallas Stars via free agency.

    Meanwhile, it’s officially the Logan Couture Era in Silicon Valley– if General Manager Doug Wilson is truly moving on from the days of Thornton and Marleau– with supporting roles from Tomas Hertl and Evander Kane.

    While Karlsson’s cap hit tops the league on an otherwise unnerving contract if something goes wrong, Wilson managed to keep Timo Meier in teal for the next four seasons at an affordable $6.000 million cap hit.

    Other than injuries, the only thing that could scare the Sharks out of the waters of contention is the inconsistency of Martin Jones and Aaron Dell in the crease.

    Despite compiling 36 wins on the season in 62 games played, Jones had a career-worst GAA (2.94) and SV% (.896), while Dell also managed to have a career-worst performance as a backup with a 3.17 GAA and a .886 SV% in 25 games played (of which he won 10).

    Yikes.

    How would the Sharks fail?

    San Jose has had everything imaginable happen to them in the postseason, so what seems irrational, inexplicable and/or unimaginable, because that’s probably how they’d lose (again).

    Anaheim Ducks: Pros and Cons

    The Ducks have about $8.500 million in cap space with a good mix of pending-unrestricted free agents and pending-restricted free agents next summer, which means they’ll only have more money to spend and reallocate to their better, younger players like Troy Terry and Daniel Sprong.

    What’s the bad news?

    It’s Anaheim. They’re suffering from buying out Corey Perry’s contract for the next four seasons ($2.625 million in 2019-20, $6.625 million in 2020-21 and $2.000 million from 2021-23), Ryan Getzlaf is signed through 2020-21 and has a no-movement clause, Ryan Kesler may never play again and is also signed through 2021-22 with a no-movement clause and finally, Adam Henrique has a modified no-trade clause and is signed through 2023-24.

    Yes, Kesler can be place on long-term injured reserve and shelved for the remainder of his contract and/or traded elsewhere (after waiving his NMC) to free up cap space if he truly cannot return, but the fact of the matter is the Ducks are still too tied up to takeoff and fly.

    The depth of prospects is sketchy with the Ducks, considering not much is known about their overall plan.

    Are they overcooking some prospects for a better immediate impact in the NHL or should they just play the kids, wait around near the basement of the standings and rebuild?

    Though this forecast has Anaheim tabbed for a divisional spot, they’re likely to be looking from outside the division with perhaps only the saving grace of a wild card spot thanks to John Gibson’s existence as one of the best goaltenders in the game (until the skaters in front of him let him down).

    At the very least, Dallas Eakins is back as a head coach in the NHL, so all is right with the world (and he did a decent job resurrecting his career with a strong performance in San Diego (AHL) after his dismal days in Edmonton).

    How would the Ducks fail?

    General Manager Bob Murray holds onto his cards for too long, talent development stalls and/or Eakins turns out to not be one of those classic examples of a coach that just came into the league a little too early, then got a second chance and succeeded.

    Calgary Flames: Pros and Cons

    The Flames couldn’t win the Cup with two-time All Star goaltender, Mike Smith, on their roster, so they rolling with David Rittich and Cam Talbot– who joins Calgary from their intra-province rival Edmonton Oilers.

    Speaking of the Oilers, that’s where Smith ended up. Goalie swap! But without any actual trading involved, since Talbot was most recently serving as a “Plan C” for the Philadelphia Flyers if Carter Hart, Brian Elliott and Co. weren’t ready to go down the stretch.

    Anyway, back to the “C of Red”.

    Calgary sent James Neal to Edmonton in exchange for Milan Lucic and ended up saving $500,000 per season for the remainder of Lucic’s contract (signed through 2022-23) in the process. The Oilers retained salary in the trade. You heard that right.

    Matthew Tkachuk and Andrew Mangiapane are still unsigned RFAs and General Manager Brad Treliving has about $7.757 million to work with in cap space.

    Get a deal done with Tkachuk and the Flames will go on without any interruption as a team that pleasantly turned a lot of heads in the regular season last year, then sputtered out in the First Round in five games to the Colorado Avalanche.

    Bill Peters is ready for his second season behind the bench in Calgary and the roster looks set to remain in contention for a divisional berth, if not leading the Western Conference once again.

    How would the Flames fail?

    Simply put, if they flame out at the end of the regular season like they did last season– March was a bad month, which led to their demise in five games against Colorado in the First Round.

    Los Angeles Kings: Pros and Cons

    The good news for the Kings? Tyler Toffoli, Trevor Lewis, Kyle Clifford, Mario Kempe, Derek Forbort, Paul LaDue, Joakim Ryan and Jack Campbell are all pending-UFAs after next season and Carl Grundstrom, Austin Wagner, Sean Walker and Kurtis MacDermid are all pending-RFAs.

    The bad news? Drew Doughty is signed through 2026-27 at $11.000 million per season, Anze Kopitar is making $10.000 million per season through 2023-24 and Adrian Kempe is currently an unsigned RFA.

    General Manager Rob Blake has a lot to sort through this season, but he’s already made some corrections to his blunders in his first two seasons as an NHL GM.

    For starters, he replaced Dion Phaneuf with Ryan in free agency, brought back his stable backup goaltender in Campbell on a one-year deal and didn’t give up on Ilya Kovalchuk, but rather hired an actual NHL head coach fit for the contemporary game in Todd McLellan.

    Though Marco Sturm remains one of the best looking assistant coaches in the league, we’ll let this one slide, Los Angeles.

    Are the Kings actually that much better than they were last season? Time will surely tell, but one thing’s for sure– they can’t possibly be much worse, right? Right!?!

    If anything, the Kings are a wild card team at best or situated behind either Vancouver or Arizona at worst in the standings, but they should be lightyears from the basement in the division this season with some solid additions through the draft over the years in Alex Turcotte, Jaret Anderson-Dolan and Gabriel Vilardi.

    Los Angeles should be able to (somewhat) bounce back from their regression last season, but at the same time, the year isn’t 2012 or 2014 anymore. It’s time to start cutting the chord with former “glue guys” turned placeholders on a roster that needs an influx of youth sooner rather than later.

    How would the Kings fail?

    If Jonathan Quick gets hurt in any fashion and Blake can’t get rid of at least one of the eight players on the 23-player roster over aged 30 or older.

    Vancouver Canucks: Pros and Cons

    The Canucks are looking to make it back into the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2015, but did General Manager, Jim Benning do enough this offseason to set Vancouver back on the right track for 2020?

    Benning went out and acquired J.T. Miller from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for Marek Mazanec, a 2019 3rd round pick and a conditional 2020 1st round pick in June, then signed 29-year-old defender, Tyler Myers to a five-year, $30.000 million contract.

    Miller and Myers are two quality assets compared to previous transactions made in the offseason by the Canucks. For once, Benning didn’t overpay an aging veteran player, but he also hasn’t cleaned up what might be a costly (both in price and on ice) fourth line in a league that runs four lines deep.

    There’s a very real chance that none of the players on Vancouver’s fourth line any given night are making less than $3.000 million per season.

    That’s unfathomable in a salary cap driven sport and only speaks to the number of misguided happenings in asset management by the Canucks.

    Come to think of it, Vancouver only has five players out of a possible 23-player roster making less than $1.000 million per season. Sure, nobody’s making $10.000 million, but all those $2.000 million-plus, $3.000 million-plus, $4.000 million-plus and $5.000 million-plus contracts add up.

    At least Elias Pettersson, Bo Horvat and Brock Boeser are worth watching night-in and night-out. Plus, Thatcher Demko should pan out to be one of the league’s better goaltenders.

    There’s just one concern for Benning as the offseason continues– Boeser and Nikolay Goldobin are still unsigned RFAs.

    And Boeser is certainly worth the four-year, $7.000 million cap hit he’s looking for. Too bad the Canucks only have $5.058 million in cap space though.

    How would the Canucks fail?

    By being close, but not close enough in yet another race for the playoffs. Things are heading in the right direction, however.

    Arizona Coyotes: Pros and Cons

    Mastermind GM John Chayka has landed this offseason’s biggest prize in a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins– two-time Stanley Cup champion, Team USA representative and hot dog enthusiast, Phil “The Thrill” Kessel.

    Kessel brings his goalscoring prowess to the Western Conference for the first time in his career, having been drafted by the Boston Bruins 5th overall in the 2006 NHL draft, then playing with Boston until being traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2009 and then again the Pittsburgh in 2015.

    No. 81 had 82 points in 82 games played last season, which was down from career-high 34-58–92 totals in 2017-18. Additionally, he hasn’t missed a game since 2010.

    Along with Carl Soderberg– another offseason acquisition in a trade with the Colorado Avalanche– Kessel and the Coyotes are revamped and poised to make a run for the postseason.

    Arizona’s only ranked low in this forecast because of nearly a decade of middle of the road rosters and missed opportunities since losing in the 2012 Western Conference Final in five games to Los Angeles.

    The Coyotes haven’t been back to the playoffs since, but they’re trending upward.

    With Nick Schmaltz, Jakob Chychrun and Oliver Ekman-Larsson locked up on long-term contracts, the core has really come into fruition while Chayka remains active in the draft and trade market.

    Now they just need a little luck on their side to avoid losing Antti Raanta to the injury bug again.

    How would the Coyotes fail?

    If this forecast actually turns out to be true and Arizona finished 7th in the division, because otherwise who would actually want to see them fail?

    Edmonton Oilers: Pros and Cons

    Pro: New GM (Ken Holland) and a new head coach (Dave Tippett).

    Con: Another new GM and a new head coach.

    Pro: Connor McDavid!

    Con: Plays for the Oilers.

    Pro: They were able to trade Milan Lucic.

    Con: While acquiring James Neal and retaining part of Lucic’s salary in the process, thereby spending more money than in the first place.

    Pro: They should actually be better this year.

    Con: We keep saying every year, even about a team that has the second-greatest player in the game behind Sidney Crosby on the roster.

    Pro: There’s a lot of pending UFAs and RFAs on the roster.

    Con: That means at least half of them are now going to have a career-year in a contract year and be overpaid either by Edmonton or other teams in the next offseason.

    Pro: Two-time All Star Mike Smith signed a one-year deal to backup Mikko Koskinen.

    Con: The average age of Edmonton’s goaltending duo is 34.

    How would the Oilers fail?

    How there’s any such thing as optimism besides having McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in Edmonton is incredible. If they make it to a wild card berth, it’d take McDavid playing every position, probably.

  • Vegas Golden Knights 2018-19 Forecast Through 62 Games

    Coming off a 3-2 shootout loss to the Boston Bruins on Wednesday, the Vegas Golden Knights (32-25-5, 69 points, 3rd in the Pacific Division) have 20 games remaining in the 2018-19 regular season.

    These aren’t your father’s Golden Knights, as production is down from their inaugural season in just their 2nd season of existence.

    Though Marc-Andre Fleury (29-18-5 record, 2.60 goals against average, .908 save percentage in 52 games played) remains Vegas’ starter on an almost nightly basis, backup goaltender, Malcolm Subban (3-6-0, 2.76 GAA, .912 SV% in 10 GP) has struggled to carry his own weight.

    Despite bringing in Paul Stastny via free agency and Max Pacioretty via trade, the Golden Knights haven’t been immune to the injury bug this season.

    Stastny and Pacioretty themselves have joined Reilly Smith and others throughout the lineup on the injured reserve or out of playing action for various points of the season.

    While the Pacific Division title might be out of reach for Vegas this season, a divisional spot in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs is all but assured as long as the floor doesn’t fallout from underneath Gerard Gallant and his players.

    Of note, the Arizona Coyotes are emerging once again with a late season push for the playoffs– and this time around, they’re doing it without their starting goaltender, Antti Raanta (out for the season due to injury).

    Plus the Vancouver Canucks are still in contention and, well, that’s about it, realistically among Pacific Division teams that still have a chance for the last divisional spot and/or a Western Conference wild card berth.

    Anyway, back to the Golden Knights.

    Here’s a look at the latest Vegas forecast– keeping in mind there are many variables that can and will effect the final outcome, such as injuries and/or being called up, assigned, traded, lucky or unlucky.

    This forecast is just an educated guess. It’s a glimpse of what could be or could’ve been by the end of the regular season.

    As always, my degree is in communication– not math– and hockey is naturally steeped in context and holistic unpredictability. Nothing can account for sheer puck luck, the odd bounce or a blown call.

    If a player reaches the expected outcome, they’ve met expectations. If said player exceeds the forecasted stats, they’ve exceeded expectations (naturally). Of course, if a player does not perform, then they did not live up to expectations.

    On a game-to-game basis, whatever’s on the scoresheet can indicate general trends that can be further broken down into an educated forecast.

    At best, it’s a guess. At worst, well, it doesn’t really matter– it’s not like Golden Knights General Manager George McPhee is reading this and making his roster decisions based on what’s here, right?

    If he is, I’d like a job, please. Thanks.

    Vegas Golden Knights Forecast Through 62 Games (20 Games Remaining)
    WordPress, when are you going to make the ”gallery” option again (and actually make it good like how it used to be)?

    Among forwards, Vegas’ consistent first line last season of Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson and Smith hasn’t had as much consistent luck and skill this season.

    Though Smith has battled injury this season, Marchessault remains one of the Golden Knights most consistent performers expected to lead his team in goals (25) and points (54) with 25-29–54 expected totals.

    Now what about Karlsson?

    Good question, what about him? Things haven’t gone exactly as planned in terms of capitalizing on his breakout season last season with a new contract in the offseason and higher expectations for this season.

    Karlsson’s bridge, one-year, extension last summer coming off the backs of a 43-goal season has only managed 18 goals thus far– including four goals in the last 22 games for the Golden Knights.

    Given his current trend, Karlsson is expected to amass 21-23–44 totals. He’d be tied with Pacioretty for 2nd place in expected goals (21) and 3rd in expected points (44) on the roster, but nowhere near the emergent star in the making that he was last season.

    While he very well could bounce back– similar to Smith in nature, following a good-year, bad-year, good-year, bad-year pattern– the phrase “what have you done for me yesterday” won’t help him in his next contract negotiation this summer unless McPhee gives him the benefit of the doubt.

    Meanwhile, Alex Tuch is expected to finish the season with a career-high 20-33–53 expected totals.

    That’s comforting to hear for a team that needs to rely on secondary scoring in the midst of a recession in primary production.

    Tuch is expected to lead in assists (33), followed by Smith (30) and Marchessault (29), while Marchessault is destined to lead in points (54) over Tuch (53) and Karlsson (44).

    On defense, Vegas’ blue line will finish off the season being led by Shea Theodore (11-21–32 expected totals), followed by Colin Miller (30 expected points) and Nate Schmidt (25 expected points despite missing the first 20 games of the season while serving a suspension for testing positive for a performance enhancing drug).

    In net, Fleury looks like he’s bound to break under the weight of all the minutes he’s been playing and will play this season. A 2.74 expected GAA and .909 expected SV% is not starting goaltender material, unless we’re talking about Sergei Bobrovsky with the Columbus Blue Jackets or something.

    But it’s not like Gallant can really count on his current backup to offset some of Fleury’s load. Subban’s expected 2.70 GAA and .912 SV% isn’t tremendous either.

    If anything, it’s an indication that McPhee could help bolster his team with the acquisition of an extra goaltender by the trade deadline.

    Someone like Ryan Miller, 38-years-old, could help steal some crucial points for the Golden Knights down the stretch if the San Jose Sharks aren’t already in the process of completing a trade for the goaltender with the Anaheim Ducks.

    Growing pains are a fact of life– especially in sports– and Vegas is going through puberty already in its 2nd season. This season’s been full of highs, lows and awkward phases that hopefully will end in a glow up.

    Otherwise we’ll all be looking back at this season shaking our heads at how it could pull off that much denim or something back in the day.