Down the Frozen River

Tag: Marc-Andre Fleury

  • Golden Knights defeat Sharks 5-3 in Game 5, can clinch spot in WCF on Sunday

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    The Vegas Golden Knights are one win away from their first Western Conference Finals appearance. Is it worth mentioning that it’s only their inaugural season/postseason? Asking for a friend.

    Vegas topped the San Jose Sharks, 5-3, on home ice in Game 5 on Friday, scoring four unanswered goals before the Sharks almost forced a comeback at T-Mobile Arena. The Golden Knights now have a 3-2 series lead heading into Game 6.

    Marc-Andre Fleury made 27 saves on 30 shots against for a .900 save percentage in the win for Vegas, while San Jose’s Martin Jones stopped 27 shots on 31 shots faced for an .871 SV% in 48:33 time on ice before being replaced by Sharks backup goaltender, Aaron Dell.

    Dell went on to stop all seven shots he faced for a 1.000 SV% in his relief appearance that lasted for 10:24 TOI.

    James Neal (3) opened scoring in the closing seconds of the first period, collecting a garbage goal by pouncing on a rebound and putting the puck in the open twine behind Jones. Shea Theodore (3) and David Perron (5) notched the assists on Neal’s goal at 19:57 of the first period to make it, 1-0, Golden Knights.

    Vegas had a 15-7 advantage in shots on goal after one period.

    Colin Miller took the game’s first penalty, as the Golden Knights defender was called for holding San Jose’s Chris Tierney at 2:07 of the second period. The Sharks did not convert on the ensuing power play.

    San Jose’s Tomas Hertl shortly followed up with an interference minor against Miller a couple minutes later.

    About a half-a-minute later, Alex Tuch (3) found the back of the net on a power play goal assisted by Reilly Smith (9) and Jonathan Marchessault (7) at 4:52 of the second period. Tuch’s goal put the Golden Knights up, 2-0.

    Erik Haula (3) added a goal of his own about four minutes later, making it, 3-0, Vegas. Perron (6) and Ryan Carpenter (2) amassed the assists on Haula’s goal at 8:59 of the second period.

    Shortly thereafter, Justin Braun was guilty of tripping Tuch and was subsequently sent to the penalty box. Vegas did not convert on the power play and play continued rather tamely until Joe Pavelski roughed up Marchessault and took a trip to the sin bin for roughing at 16:40 of the second period.

    Through 40 minutes of play, the Golden Knights led, 3-0, on the scoreboard and, 28-17, in shots on goal.

    Theodore opened the final frame with a cross checking penalty against Hertl 84 seconds into the third period. A few minutes later, Theodore and Hertl got into it again, this time with Theodore delivering a swift slash to Hertl, leading to another Sharks power play at 4:11 of the third period.

    San Jose did not convert on either player advantage opportunity.

    Almost midway through the third, Tuch (4) scored his second goal of the night, giving the Golden Knights a run of four unanswered goals to lead, 4-0, at 8:36 of the third. Cody Eakin (1) and Oscar Lindberg (1) notched their first assists of the postseason on the goal.

    As a result of the mountainous lead for Vegas, Peter DeBoer replaced his starting goaltender, Jones, with backup, Aaron Dell.

    Less than a minute later, Neal slashed Sharks fourth line center, Eric Fehr. San Jose converted on the ensuing power play 29 seconds later, as Kevin Labanc (1) notched his first goal of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

    Logan Couture (6) and Hertl (3) picked up the assists as the Sharks finally got on the scoreboard and trailed by three goals with over half a period left in regulation.

    Nearly two minutes later, Hertl (6) fired the puck past Fleury to bring the Sharks within two goals at 11:44 of the third period. Mikkel Boedker (5) and Couture (7) notched the assists and San Jose trailed, 4-2.

    Four minutes later, Boedker (1) scored his first goal of the postseason to bring the Sharks within one and put Golden Knights fans on edge at their own arena.

    Couture (8) capitalized his third assist of the night on Boedker’s goal at 15:44.

    With about two minutes remaining in the game, DeBoer pulled Dell for an extra skater. The Sharks were not able to complete the comeback as Marchessault (3) fired one into the empty net at 18:39 of the third period to seal the deal for the Golden Knights, 5-3.

    Tensions escalated in the final minute as the undisciplined Sharks continued to fall apart late in the game. Marc-Edouard Vlasic slashed Eakin, then added an unsportsmanlike conduct minor penalty next to his name on the official event sheet, yielding a four-minute power play to Vegas.

    Almost 20 seconds later, Golden Knights defender, Deryk Engelland, and San Jose blueliner, Brenden Dillon, got into it and were served matching misconducts that led to a 12 second head start on hitting the showers before their teammates.

    At the final horn, Vegas had defeated San Jose, 5-3, on the scoreboard and finished the night leading in shots on goal (39-30), blocked shots (24-18), hits (53-35), giveaways (15-7) and faceoff win percentage (51-49). Both teams finished the night 1/4 on the power play.

    The Golden Knights can eliminate the Sharks on the road at SAP Center on Sunday night in Game 6 and advance to their first Western Conference Final (conveniently also in their inaugural season). Puck drop is expected to occur a little after 7:30 p.m. ET and United States viewers looking to tune in can do so on NBCSN. Meanwhile, Canadians can set their TVs to CBC, SN or TVAS.

  • Down the Frozen River Podcast #104- Vigilantes, Speed & Skill

    Down the Frozen River Podcast #104- Vigilantes, Speed & Skill

    Bill Torrey, Thursday’s trade, finalists for three more awards, front office musical chairs (or lack thereof), Draft lottery, Tom Wilson and what’s a good save percentage these days? Nick and Connor review the latest news and notes from around the NHL thanks to our unofficial sponsor, Pepperidge Farm.

    Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) and/or on Stitcher.

  • Jones Shuts Out Knights; Evens Series at 2

     

     

     

     

     

    The San Jose Sharks got quality goaltending from Martin Jones and buried the Vegas Golden Knights 4-0 to send the series back to Las Vegas tied at two.  Jones had 34 saves on the night and bested Knights goalie, Marc-Andre Fleury, who seemingly had Sharks circling him all night long.  The loss was the first shutout loss in the playoffs for the Knights.

    The Sharks’ first goal came off of an impressive skating exhibition by Marcus Sorensen who outmaneuvered four of the Sharks skaters and Fleury to put the puck top shelf with under five minutes left in the first period.  The Knights felt there was interference (effectively a pick on one of their defending players), but the referees apparently felt otherwise.

    The Sharks may not have got back Joe Thornton, but they did get back Joonas Donskoi and he didn’t waste time getting back on the scoresheet.  In the dying minutes of the first period, Donskoi skated down the ice with two Knights back to defend, but managed to shoot the puck through Brayden McNabb‘s legs and Fleury had no hope to stop it.  Fleury managed 30 saves and was better than his save percentage might suggest on the night.

    In the second period, Tomas Hertl cashed in on chaos in front of Fleury after a shot by Mikkel Boedker.  At that point, it was all over but the shouting.  “Little” Joe Pavelski would add a power play goal in the third and that was the final nail in the coffin.

    This was the first game of the series where the Sharks had a better Corsi-For percentage than the Knights.   The Sharks looked faster than Vegas and the Knights seemed unable to establish the forecheck.  The Vegas power play went 0-for-5 and they have to be a little concerned by the lack of offense.  James Neal still only has one goal for the series.   The Sharks have evened the series without much from Evander Kane to this point.

    With that said, Vegas regained home ice advantage in Game 3 and now they head home for a critical Game 5.  They have to generate more offense and part of that has to come on the power play.  If they can do that and/or have Fleury play out of his mind, they have a good change.  But if they continue being out skated by San Jose and allowing the Sharks to take shots from high danger areas, the clock will strike midnight for Cinderella.

  • Both power plays roll, Vegas wins 4-3

     

     

     

     

     

    Having suffered their first-ever playoff loss Saturday, the Vegas Golden Knights rebounded in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs’ Second Round to beat the San Jose Sharks 4-3 in overtime at SAP Center to reclaim a one-game advantage in their series.

    Play was back-and-forth across all 200 feet of the rink in the opening 10 minutes, but San Jose certainly had the upper hand in terms of shots on goal. The Sharks’ nine scoring attempts easily eclipsed Vegas’ four, but First Star of the Game G Marc-Andre Fleury was more than up to the task of keeping that attack at bay.

    Soon after, action turned decidedly in the Sharks’ favor as the Golden Knights struggled to get the puck into their attacking third. Starting at the 9:24 mark, the Knights went 5:54 without firing a shot on G Martin Jones in the second half of the first frame, due in large part to some stellar play by San Jose in the neutral zone. The only reason that skid came to an end is due to W Mikkel Boedker sending the puck over the glass, taking a delay of game penalty and giving Vegas a power play.

    Further proving San Jose’s defensive abilities, it yielded only one shot against on that man-advantage.

    However, no matter how well San Jose controlled play in the first period (the Sharks’ final shot differential for the frame read 16-10), the game remained scoreless at the first intermission. As such, the frame belonged to Fleury, who saved all 16 of those shots as a part of his 39-for-42 save performance (.929 save percentage).

    That tie finally came undone at the 6:59 mark of the second period when W Timo Meier (C Chris Tierney and Boedker) scored a power play wrist shot. Taking advantage of W William Carrier committing a tripping penalty against Boedker 1:31 earlier, the Sharks completed some excellent one-time passes to set Meier up for a tic-tac-goal from the right face-off circle.

    Meier’s was the first of three-consecutive power play goals scored in the third period, but unfortunately for the teal-clad fans, the next two belonged to the visiting Knights.

    D Colin Miller (W James Neal and W David Perron) tied the game only 2:41 after Meier’s goal with a power play wrister, taking advantaged of D Brenden Dillon‘s holding penalty against Perron at the 7:56 mark.

    Known for his scoring ability, Neal drew a lot of attention once he ended up with possession along the goal line to Jones’ left. With Sharks swarming towards him, he crossed a centering pass to Miller across the crease, who then returned a wrister towards the far post to give Vegas its first lead of the night.

    With the Knights’ second power play unit striking gold for the club’s first goal, it was first unit that got its time to shine when Third Star F Tomas Hertl was caught roughing Neal with 7:13 remaining in the second period. F Jon Marchessault (RW Alex Tuch and W Reilly Smith) buried a wrister only 22 seconds after Hertl took his seat in isolation to give Vegas a 2-1 advantage.

    The Golden Knights had one more trick up their sleeves in the third period, but this one they managed to pull off under even-strength conditions. Smith (Second Star C William Karlsson and Marchessault) set the score at 3-1 only 1:17 after Marchessault’s marker with a slick backhanded shot on Karlsson’s centering pass, his first marker of this postseason.

    However, these Sharks were far from ready to turn their attention to Game 4 just yet. Though they officially failed to capitalize on D Jonathon Merrill‘s crosscheck against D Dylan DeMelo at the 5:45 mark of the third period, LW Evander Kane‘s (D Brent Burns and DeMelo) wrister 2:04 later was completed before the defenseman could rejoin play. Kane fired his shot from the right face-off dot, beating Fleury over his glove.

    Vegas Head Coach Gerard Gallant challenged for goaltender interference against F Logan Couture, but it was ruled that the screening forward was outside the crease and enough time had passed since any previous contact that Fleury was able to recollect himself to prepare for the save on Kane’s wrister.

    It also didn’t help that much of the previous contact was due to Fleury crosschecking Couture in the back when he had been in the crease, but those facts are neither here nor there since Fleury came out on the winning side of things.

    As for forcing overtime, San Jose did that with 1:57 remaining in regulation when Hertl (D Justin Braun and RW Kevin Labanc) somehow sneaked a wrister past basically every skater on the ice and used them as screens against Fleury. After D Deryk Engelland blocked Braun’s shot from just above the crease, Fleury had no idea where the puck went until it ended up behind him.

    In terms of shots on goal, overtime was an even affair considering both squads managed three shots on goal apiece. However, it was Vegas’ third and final offering that earned it the victory.

    Karlsson (Neal and Marchessault) provided that breakaway snap shot at the 8:17 mark of the overtime period.

    A quick stretch pass is all the Golden Knights needed to set up the league’s third-best goalscorer from the regular season. Marchessault’s pass from the right corner found Neal at Vegas’ defensive blue line, and the runner-up in last year’s Stanley Cup Final dumped a pass to the game-winner at the red line before sitting back and watching him do the rest of the work. Karlsson turned on the NOS to set up a one-on-one against Jones, firing his snapper from the top of the right face-off circle to beat the netminder to the far post.

    Game 3 was an important match for the Golden Knights, as they’ve now reclaimed home-ice advantage in this playoff series. Jones and the Sharks now face the difficult task once again of needing to win a game at T-Mobile Arena – the very place they lost 7-0 in Game 1.

    Puck drop for Game 4 from SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. is scheduled for May 2 at 10 p.m. Eastern. The match will be broadcast on CBC, NBCSN and TVAS.

  • Undisciplined Knights take first playoff loss

     

     

     

     

    After losing Game 1 7-0, the San Jose Sharks have miraculously stolen home ice away from the Vegas Golden Knights after a Game 2 4-3 double-overtime victory at T-Mobile Arena.

    Between its inability to stay out of the penalty box and lack of success at defensive zone face-offs, it’s almost a surprise Vegas was able to extend this game to the 85:13 it lasted.

    As for the former note, no Golden Knight takes as much responsibility for his club playing shorthanded as W David Perron. He took a game-high six penalties in minutes, all for unruly infractions like slashing (against D Brenden Dillon with 3:56 remaining in the first period), holding the stick (against D Dylan DeMelo 1:56 into the second period) and roughing (against the aforementioned Dillon with 6:36 remaining in the second period).

    Fortunately for Perron, only one of his infractions ended up costing the Knights a power play goal – but it was a big one, considering it started the Sharks’ trend of success off set plays. On the immediate face-off in Vegas’ defensive zone following Perron’s infraction against DeMelo, F Joe Pavelski won the scrum and fed the puck to Third Star of the Game D Brent Burns, who ripped a nasty slap shot from the blue line – with the help of a lucky bounce off F Pierre-Edouard Bellemare‘s skate – past G Marc-Andre Fleury‘s right pad, snapping the netminder’s perfect 144:04 goalless streak.

    Burns’ goal set the score at 2-1, canceling out one of Second Star C William Karlsson‘s two markers. The Swede potted his first of the night (D Colin Miller and D Nate Schmidt) on a snap shot with 2:01 remaining in the first period, capitalizing on a missed slap shot-turned-assist by Miller that bounced off the endboards and right into his lap.

    Karlsson’s offering was the Knights’ fifth and final shot of the first period, as the Sharks’ defense was doing an excellent job all night keeping the hosts’ attack at bay. In the more than 85 minutes played all night, Vegas managed only 29 shots on G Martin Jones – well below the (t)10th-most 32.8 shots on goal per game it averaged all regular season. Of those, he saved 26 for a .897 save percentage.

    In a mirror image of registering his club’s last shot of the first frame, Karlsson also fired the Golden Knights’ first shot on goal of the second period, and he found just as much success. Only 26 seconds into the frame, he set the score at 2-0 with a snapper assisted by W Reilly Smith that probably should not have reached the back of the net. Jones was late sealing off the near post, allowing the puck to barely squeak past his arm to set off the T-Mobile Arena goal horn.

    As for how Vegas overcame its shortcomings, one needs look no further than the goaltending crease. Though he is the only player judged by a personal win-loss record, Fleury absolutely stood on his head in this contest just like he has in his last five playoff showings. The man nicknamed “Flower” did not wilt under the Sharks’ pressure, as he saved 43-of-47 shots faced for a .915 save percentage.

    That being said, the second period was a tough one for him, as it was in those 20 minutes that he let in all three of his regulation goals against. Not only was Burns’ marker part of that total, but so too was First Star F Logan Couture‘s (F Tomas Hertl) snapper with 8:52 remaining in the period and Burns’ (W Timo Meier and Pavelski) wrap-around 2:59 after.

    Just like his first goal of the game, Burns’ second was also the result of another set play from the face-off dot. Pavelski won the draw and shoved the puck to Meier, who quickly dished to San Jose’s favorite defenseman so he could get to work. Burns rumbled up the right boards and into the trapezoid, eventually getting rewarded with a gaping cage when Meier literally crashed into Fleury’s left post. Head Coach Gerard Gallant challenged for goaltender interference, but it was ruled he was shoved by a Golden Knight and was not responsible for any contact he made with the netminder.

    For those keeping score at home, Perron was also in the box for this goal against, but Dillon took a corresponding roughing penalty to even play at four-on-four.

    Anyways, that left the score at 3-2 going into the second intermission (during which it was revealed the Buffalo Sabres will be drafting first overall and the Carolina Hurricanes won the lottery by jumping up nine spots into the second pick at the NHL Entry Draft), and that’s where it remained at the midway point of the third period.

    Having yet to experience a playoff loss, the Vegas crowd was beginning to grow antsy – that is until Schmidt (D Shea Theodore and F Erik Haula) took a page out of Burns’ book and ripped an impressive clapper from the blue line following a resumption of play.

    The play was a mirrored-image of Burns’ second tally, as Perron won the draw and shoved the puck to Haula along the boards, who returned the play to Theodore at the point. The defensemen quickly connected after that, allowing Schmidt to line up a perfect clapper past Jones’ blocker to tie the game at three-all.

    Some excellent goaltending extended this game into the second overtime period. In total, 16 shots on goal were fired in the frame between the Golden Knights and Sharks, but none found the back of the net thanks to the incredible play of Fleury and Jones.

    Well, that’s technically not true.

    F Jon Marchessault thought he had scored the game-winning goal with 3:02 remaining in the first overtime period, but it was ruled he interfered with Jones in the blue paint and inhibited his ability to make a play on the shot. That took the score off the board and left the game raging on into the cool desert night.

    The contest finally reached its end at the 5:13 mark of the second overtime when Couture (RW Kevin Labanc and Burns) took advantage of D Jonathon Merrill‘s hooking penalty against Meier to bury a power play wrister behind Fleury.

    Completing the theme of the night, Couture’s play was the direct result of Hertl’s face-off victory only moments before. After the play was set up with Burns at the point, he dished to Labanc heading towards the right face-off dot. The sophomore would have been well within his rights to attempt a shot through traffic, but he instead elected to sling a pass through the zone to Couture at the opposite dot, who elevated his writer over Fleury’s blocker.

    With the exception of another stellar performance by the three-time Stanley Cup champion, Vegas has only itself to blame for this loss. Perron and the Golden Knights will need to put an emphasis on staying out of the penalty box in their upcoming games, especially considering the next two are away from the comforts of home.

    After a quick 90-minute flight from Sin City to San Jose, Game 3’s puck drop is scheduled for 10 p.m. Eastern on Monday, April 30. Hockey fans that can’t snag one of the 17,562 tickets into The Shark Tank that night should tune their televisions to CBC, NBCSN or TVAS.

  • Golden Knights take bite out of Sharks, 7-0, in Game 1

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    Seven different goal scorers and yet another Marc-Andre Fleury shutout powered the Vegas Golden Knights to a 7-0 victory over the San Jose Sharks on home ice Thursday night in Game 1 of their 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs Second Round matchup.

    The T-Mobile Arena crowd was delighted to Fleury’s third shutout of the 2018 postseason as the Vegas goaltender turned aside all 33 shots faced for the win. San Jose’s Martin Jones made eight saves on 13 shots against for a .615 save percentage in 23:26 time on ice before being replaced by backup, Aaron Dell, in the loss.

    Dell made 19 saves on 21 shots against for a .905 SV% in 36:18 TOI.

    San Jose gave up four goals to the Anaheim Ducks over the course of their entire First Round series (four games). The Golden Knights scored four goals on the Sharks in the first 12 minutes of Game 1 in the Second Round.

    Jonathan Marchessault took a high-stick from Tomas Hertl and Vegas went on the power play 63 seconds into the game. While the Golden Knights didn’t convert on the man advantage, they took complete control of the game’s momentum fast and early.

    Brayden McNabb was responsible for the series clinching goal in Los Angeles against the Kings and the Vegas defender was responsible for firing the first shot on goal that would eventually end up in the twine in the Second Round.

    Cody Eakin (2) tipped in McNabb’s shot from the point to give the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead at 4:31 of the 1st period. McNabb (1) and David Perron (2) notched the assists on the goal.

    The fans at T-Mobile Arena didn’t get to sit back down for long after Eakin’s goal as the Golden Knights struck again 26 seconds later on a goal from Erik Haula (2).

    Alex Tuch rushed in the offensive zone and dropped a pass back to Haula who got a quick release past Jones on the far side to make it 2-0 Golden Knights at 4:57. Tuch (2) and James Neal (2) were credited with the assists on Haula’s goal.

    Having created their own 3-on-2 in the offensive zone thanks to good, quick, short passes, Marchessault (1) fired one past Jones to give Vegas a three-goal lead, 3-0, at 6:02 of the first period. That’s three goals in a span of 1:31, mind you. Reilly Smith (4) picked up the only assist on Marchessault’s first goal of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

    The Sharks earned their first power play of the night after Tuch got a stick up high on San Jose blueliner, Justin Braun. They did not convert on the man advantage.

    Kevin Labanc was sent to the sin bin at 9:26 of the first period for hooking Tuch. Brent Burns shortly followed Labanc’s ruts to the penalty box with a minor penalty of his own for delay of game after he sent the puck clear over the glass at 10:14.

    San Jose killed off Labanc’s penalty, but was quickly thwarted of attempting to kill off the remainder of Burns’s minor as Tuch (2) broke free of the Sharks defense and shot one past Jones’s blocker to give the Golden Knights the 4-0 lead on the power play.

    William Karlsson (2) and Smith (5) had the primary and secondary assists on Tuch’s power play goal at 11:43.

    Smith received a minor penalty for goaltender interference at 12:09 of the first period and the Sharks went on their first 5-on-3 man advantage at 13:29 when former Shark turned Golden Knight via waivers this season, Ryan Carpenter, tripped up Burns.

    San Jose did not score on the ensuing power play.

    Through one period, the Golden Knights led, 4-0. Meanwhile, San Jose led in shots on goal, 17-9. Vegas led in blocked shots (15-2), hits (22-13) and giveaways (5-2). The Sharks were 0/3 and the Golden Knights were 1/3 on the power play after 20 minutes of play.

    Shea Theodore (2) opened scoring in the second period after receiving a cross ice pass from Smith and redirecting the puck past Jones. Smith (6) and Marchessault (3) had the assists at 3:28 of the second period.

    As a result of Vegas’s newfound, 5-0, lead, Peter DeBoer replaced his goaltender, Martin Jones, with San Jose’s backup goalie, Aaron Dell. The relief appearance was Dell’s Stanley Cup Playoffs career debut.

    Jon Merrill caught Logan Couture with a high-stick and the Golden Knights were shorthanded at 6:10. The Sharks did not score on the ensuing power play.

    Eric Fehr caught Theodore with a high-stick of his own about a couple of minutes later and Vegas was not able to convert on the ensuing man advantage.

    Late in the second period, Timo Meier (tripping) and Chris Tierney (holding) were penalized about four minutes apart. The Golden Knights did not score on either power play, despite James Neal having thought he scored— the goal was immediately waved off and reviewed, as it appeared Neal had punched the puck into the net with his hand.

    As such, the call on the ice was not reversed.

    Vegas went into the second intermission with the lead on the scoreboard, 5-0, and trailing in shots on goal, 25-24. The Golden Knights led in blocked shots (18-11), hits (36-23) and takeaways (8-4) after 40 minutes of play. San Jose was 0/4 on the power play and Vegas was 1/6.

    Sharks captain, Joe Pavelski, was guilty of interfering with McNabb 68 seconds into the third period and the Golden Knights found themselves going on the power play for the seventh time on the night.

    Just as quick as Pavelski was released from the box, the San Jose forward found himself going back to the box as he let the best of him go undisciplined— slashing Vegas defender, Nate Schmidt at 3:25 of the third period.

    Evander Kane tangled with Pierre-Edouard Bellemare after the whistle and delivered a swift cross check to the Vegas forward’s face resulting in a five-minute major penalty and game misconduct for Kane that will undoubtedly result in at least a hearing with the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety (given the precedent set by Winnipeg’s Josh Morrissey cross checking Minnesota’s Eric Staal in the head in the First Round).

    It didn’t take long for Vegas to capitalize on the ensuing 5-on-3 advantage as Colin Miller (1) shot a one-timer past Dell to give the Golden Knights a 6-0 lead.

    Karlsson (4) and Marchessault (4) had the assists on the goal at 4:32 of the third period and the Golden Knights’s power play continued.

    At the goal line from just to the side of the net, Neal (2) swung around in front of the goal and beat Dell from point blank to give Vegas yet another power play goal and increase the lead, 7-0.

    Perron (3) and Haula (1) notched the assists on the point-after-touchdown goal at 8:09 of the third period.

    The Golden Knights had matched their entire offensive output against the Los Angeles Kings in the First Round in less than 60 minutes against San Jose.

    At the final horn, Vegas won, 7-0, and grabbed the 1-0 series lead in what was Fleury’s 13th career postseason shutout.

    The Golden Knights led the final shots on goal total, 34-33, as well as blocked shots (26-13), hits (48-33), giveaways (10-8) and faceoff win percentage (52-48). San Jose went 0/5 on the power play and Vegas went 3/10 on the night.

    Game 2 is Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena, where the home team, Golden Knights, look to go up, 2-0, in the series. Puck drop is scheduled for a little after 8 p.m. ET and viewers in the United States can catch the action on NBC. Fans in Canada can follow along on CBC, SN or TVAS.

  • Down the Frozen River Podcast #103- Good Two See You

    Down the Frozen River Podcast #103- Good Two See You

    Second Round predictions, Minnesota needs a new GM, Calgary’s got a new coach, award finalist reactions, a Game 7 breakdown between Boston and Toronto, and where do the Leafs go from here? All that and more as Nick and Connor discuss on the latest DTFR Podcast.

    Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) and/or on Stitcher.

  • Down the Frozen River Podcast #102- Carolina, Calgary, Vezina and Selke

    Down the Frozen River Podcast #102- Carolina, Calgary, Vezina and Selke

    Nick and Connor discuss Bill Peters’s future as a head coach, what the Calgary Flames should do, who should take home the Vezina Trophy and Selke Trophy, as well as revisit the San Jose Sharks and Vegas Golden Knights advancing to the Second Round of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

    Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) and/or on Stitcher.

  • Golden Knights sweep Kings, win 1-0 in Game 4

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    The Vegas Golden Knights are the first team to punch their ticket to the Second Round of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs having swept the Los Angeles Kings in the First Round. Vegas defeated Los Angeles, 1-0, in Game 4 at Staples Center on Tuesday night.

    Marc-Andre Fleury picked up his second shutout of the postseason with a 31-save performance in the win for the Golden Knights, while Jonathan Quick stopped 20-of-21 shots faced for a .952 save percentage in the loss.

    Neither team scored in the first period, keeping up with the trend of low scoring throughout the entire series.

    Adrian Kempe took the only penalty of the night for Los Angeles at 14:05 of the first period. Vegas failed to convert on the ensuing power play and was outshot 14-8 after 20 minutes of play.

    Early in the second period, former Kings defender, Brayden McNabb (1) was the first and only player in the game to score after the Golden Knights skated into the offensive zone on a three-on-two breakout. McNabb’s first career Stanley Cup Playoff goal proved to be the game-winner after all was said and done and came against his former team. Reilly Smith (3) and William Karlsson (1) were credited with the assists on the goal at 4:04 of the second period.

    James Neal took the first penalty of the night for Vegas at 11:12 after slashing Kings blueliner, Oscar Fantenberg. Los Angeles couldn’t make anything happen on the man advantage.

    After 40 minutes of play the Golden Knights led 1-0 on the scoreboard, but were being outshot by Los Angeles, 21-15.

    Entering the third period, Vegas was 20 minutes away from completing the swept and advancing to the Second Round as long as Fleury continued to stand tall and the Golden Knights could muster enough of an effort to win.

    Smith tripped Dustin Brown past the midway point in the period, but Los Angeles failed to convert on their second power play of the night.

    In all 82 games of the regular season— with five different goaltenders— the Golden Knights failed to record a 1-0 shutout. After the final horn at Staples Center, Fleury and his Vegas teammates racked up their second 1-0 shutout of the series.

    The Kings finished the night leading in shots on goal (31-21), hits (41-37), giveaways (10-9) and faceoff win percentage (55-45), but Vegas had the 1-0 advantage on the scoreboard and led in blocked shots (20-7). Neither team scored a power play goal in Game 4 with the Kings finishing 0/2 on the night and the Golden Knights failing to convert on their only power play of the game in the first period.

    Sweeping a series is pretty rare these days as only 12.5 percent of all Stanley Cup Playoff series’s since 2009 have ended after four games, so the league’s newest franchise can add that to a long list of accomplishments.

    Speaking of accomplishments, the Golden Knights join the 1970 Pittsburgh Penguins as the only teams to go 4-0 in their first four postseason games. The Golden Knights, however, are the first team in NHL history to sweep a Stanley Cup Playoff series in its inaugural season (excluding total-goals series that were a thing from the league’s inception through the 1936-37 season).

    The Golden Knights await the winner of the Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks First Round matchup. San Jose leads that series 3-0 and can sweep the Ducks Wednesday night on home ice.

  • Golden Knights hold commanding 3-0 series lead

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    James Neal played the role of Mr. Clutch in the regular season— scoring the first goal in Vegas Golden Knights history— and it seems he’s found his clutch-touch once again. Neal’s goal late in the third period put the Golden Knights ahead of the Los Angeles Kings for the first time in Game 3 and it only took fellow teammate, William Karlsson, 21 seconds to add an insurance goal.

    That insurance goal came in handy when the Kings scored with the goalie pulled, but ultimately it was too little, too late.

    Vegas beat Los Angeles, 3-2, on Sunday night at Staples Center and the Golden Knights are now one win away from advancing to the Second Round of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

    Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 37 out of the 39 shots he faced for a .949 save percentage in the win, while Jonathan Quick made 23 saves on 26 shots against for an .885 SV% in the loss.

    Drew Doughty was back in Los Angeles’s lineup after serving his one-game suspension for an illegal hit to the head of Golden Knights forward, William Carrier, in Game 1. David Perron was inserted into Vegas’s lineup in place of Tomas Tatar, who sat out on Sunday as a healthy scratch.

    The league’s newest rivalry got off to a quick-tempered start with five straight combined penalties before the game’s first goal in the first period at Staples Center.

    Los Angeles forward, Kyle Clifford, tripped up Golden Knights defenseman, Shea Theodore, 5:33 into the first period and Vegas went on their first power play of the night. Shortly after the power play expired, it was the Golden Knights who were guilty of the next infraction— a bench minor penalty for too many men on the ice.

    Whereas Clifford and Theodore exchanged some words and went their own way after the first penalty was called, this time, William Carrier and Clifford got involved in a minor scuffle after the whistle.

    Though the gloves came off, Carrier and Clifford were assessed matching minors for roughing to coincide with the too many men penalty against Vegas at 7:35 of the first period. Los Angeles would get their first chance of the night on the power play.

    The Kings were on the power play for all of six seconds until Dustin Brown tripped Vegas blue liner, Brayden McNabb, and just like that it was 4-on-4 hockey, with the Golden Knights outshooting the Kings (4-1) and the Kings leading in the physical department (Los Angeles had 11 hits nearly eight minutes into the game).

    Finally, at 13:17 of the first period, Alex Iafallo (1) roofed a shot past Fleury that went so quick in-and-out of the net at first glance that the refs had waved off the goal. After review, video replay confirmed Iafallo’s first career Stanley Cup Playoff goal and the Kings had their first lead in the series— let alone their first 5-on-5 goal this postseason.

    Iafallo’s goal was assisted by Anze Kopitar (1) and Brown (1).

    After 20 minutes of play, Los Angeles was leading 1-0. Shots on goal were even at eight aside, with the Golden Knights barely leading in blocked shots (7-6). The Kings, on the other hand, led in hits (28-13), takeaways (2-1), giveaways (5-0) and dominated the faceoff dot, winning 59% of the faceoffs in the first period.

    Both Vegas and Los Angeles were 0/2 on the power play after one period.

    The game’s intensity continued through the second period as Fleury and Quick made save after save.

    Neal picked up a slashing minor at 6:19 of the second period and the Kings were not able to convert on the man advantage.

    Almost ten minutes later, after Kopitar had knocked down Game 2’s double overtime game-winning goal scorer, Erik Haula, the Golden Knights forward reciprocated by butt-ending Kopitar in the face. Neither of the refs penalized Haula, nor was there any indication that they had seen what occurred, but thanks to the power that is television, replay exists and Los Angeles head coach, John Stevens, was not pleased.

    Oscar Fantenberg shot the puck out of play at 17:57 of the second period and was handed a delay of game minor penalty. The Kings killed off the ensuing penalty and went on the power play with 1.1 seconds left in the period after Golden Knights forward, Jonathan Marchessault, was guilty of high-sticking Los Angeles defenseman, Drew Doughty.

    Though the power play carried into the third period, the Kings were unable to convert on the man advantage.

    Cody Eakin (1) tied the game, 1-1, on a shot that beat Quick 6:10 into the third period. Ryan Carpenter (1) and David Perron (1) picked up the assists on Eakin’s first goal of the postseason.

    A little over a minute later, Kings defenseman, Jake Muzzin, tripped Vegas’s regular season leading goal scorer, William Karlsson, and served two minutes in the penalty box.

    Marchessault had a chance on a break-in on the ensuing power play that went by the wayside after ringing the post and play continued as normal.

    It wasn’t until 14:23 of the third period that either team was able to break the tie, but it was then that Neal skated up along the right wall, got to about the faceoff dot in the offensive zone and fired a shot through Quick’s five-hole to give the Golden Knights their first lead of the night and make it 2-1.

    A mere 21 seconds later, Reilly Smith won a battle off a faceoff and threw the puck to an excited Karlsson (1) waiting in the low slot to one-time it past Quick and give Vegas a 3-1 lead. Not only was it 21 seconds later, but the two goals for the Golden Knights came on consecutive shots.

    Nate Schmidt (1) and Alex Tuch (1) had the assists on Neal’s goal. Meanwhile, Smith (2) and Marchessault (2) had the assists on Karlsson’s first goal of the 2018 postseason at 14:44 of the third.

    Just 13 seconds after Vegas went up by two goals, Perron was guilty of tripping Doughty and the Kings had their biggest power play chance of the night with almost five minutes remaining in regulation. It also helped that, despite the Golden Knights having scored back-to-back goals, the Kings were outshooting Vegas in the game, 36-25 at 14:57 of the third period.

    But with a little over two minutes remaining in regulation, Los Angeles had yet to convert on the man advantage, so while the Golden Knights resumed full-strength action, Stevens pulled his goaltender for an extra skater.

    The move gave the Kings a spark of life as Kopitar (1) redirected a shot from Fantenberg to cut the lead in half and make it a 3-2 game.

    Smith had failed to clear the puck out of the defensive zone before Fantenberg got to the puck and threw it towards the goal, where Kopitar was screening Fleury and ultimately changed the direction of the vulcanized rubber biscuit. Fantenberg (1) picked up the only assist on Kopitar’s goal.

    Quick skated to the Los Angeles bench once again with about a minute left in regulation, but the Kings were not able to score again on Fleury with the extra attacker.

    With the final horn the Golden Knights secured a 3-0 series lead by virtue of a 3-2 win on road ice in Game 3. Vegas became the first team to win their 1st three postseason games as a franchise since the 1996 Florida Panthers did just that.

    In fact, Vegas is only the 3rd team in NHL history to win their first three Stanley Cup Playoff games, joining the 1996 Panthers (3-0) and 1970 Pittsburgh Penguins (4-0), as well as the first team to do so in its inaugural season.

    Despite leading in shots on goal (39-26), blocked shots (19-18) and hits (45-40), the Los Angeles Kings dropped Game 3 on home ice and have yet to win a playoff game at home since they raised the Cup in Game 5 of the 2014 Stanley Cup Final at Staples Center in June 2014.

    Neither team was successful on the power play Sunday night, as the Golden Knights finished Game 3 0/4 and the Kings went 0/5 on the man advantage.

    Game 4 is set for Tuesday night at Staples Center, where the Golden Knights will have a chance to sweep the Kings on the road. Puck drop is expected a little after 10:30 p.m. ET and fans interested in catching the action can tune to NBCSN in the United States and CBC or TVAS in Canada outside of the local markets.

    Only four teams in NHL history have ever come back from being down in a series 3-0. The 2014 Los Angeles Kings were the most recent team to rally from a 3-0 series deficit (against the San Jose Sharks) and win it in seven games.

    Los Angeles has been outscored through three games in this series by a combined score of 5-3.