Down the Frozen River

Tag: William Carrier

  • 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.

  • Vegas cruises to a, 5-1, victory over Colorado in Game 4, series tied 2-2

    Vegas cruises to a, 5-1, victory over Colorado in Game 4, series tied 2-2

    Whether it was the glove side or sheer puck luck, everything went the right way for the Vegas Golden Knights in their, 5-1, win against the Colorado Avalanche at T-Mobile Arena in Game 4 on Sunday night.

    The home team has not lost a game in the series thus far as the clubs are tied 2-2 in the best-of-seven Second Round matchup, while Jonathan Marchessault recorded a hat trick in front of the home crowd.

    Marc-Andre Fleury (6-4, 1.79 goals-against average, .924 save percentage in 10 games played) made 17 saves on 18 shots against in the win for Vegas.

    Colorado netminder, Philipp Grubauer (6-2, 2.25 goals-against average, .929 save percentage in eight games played) stopped 30 out of 35 shots faced in the loss.

    Nazem Kadri remained out of the lineup for Colorado with two games remaining in his suspension after Game 4, while Ryan Reaves returned to Vegas’ lineup after completing his two-game suspension.

    Robin Lehner was also back for the Golden Knights as Fleury’s backup, relegating Logan Thompson back to the press box as a healthy scratch on Sunday night.

    Brandon Saad (6) kicked things off with a goal from the doorstep on a rebound to make it, 1-0, for the Avalanche at 1:50 of the first period.

    J.T. Compher (1) and Andre Burakovsky (3) tallied the assists as the Avs struck first, but would not strike again on the scoreboard on Sunday night.

    Less than a minute later, Patrik Nemeth cut a rut to the penalty box for holding and presented Vegas with the first power play of the night at 2:43 of the opening frame.

    The Golden Knights failed to convert on the ensuing skater advantage.

    Moments later, however, Vegas started to swing momentum in their favor as they were clearly dominating possession and generating more shots on goal than Colorado.

    One shot from Reilly Smith rang the crossbar behind Grubauer and bounced through the crease before William Karlsson let go of a followup shot that deflected off of Marchessault (3) and into the twine.

    Karlsson (4) notched the only assist on Marchessault’s first goal of the evening as the Golden Knights tied the game, 1-1, at 7:07.

    Late in the period, Marchessault was sent to the sin bin after he tripped up Joonas Donskoi at 18:02, but the first skater advantage for the Avs didn’t last long as Cale Makar interfered with Smith at 18:24 and cut Colorado’s power play short at 18:24.

    Neither team managed to score in the ensuing 4-on-4 action as the first period drew to a close with the Golden Knights and Avalanche tied, 1-1, on the scoreboard, despite Vegas outshooting Colorado, 15-9.

    The Avalanche were 0/1 and the Golden Knights were 0/2 on the power play heading into the middle frame.

    Shortly after both teams emerged from the first intermission, Max Pacioretty (3) received a pass on a rush and beat Grubauer clean from the faceoff circle over the far glove side to give the Golden Knights their first lead of the night, 2-1.

    Mark Stone (3) and Zach Whitecloud (2) tallied the assists as Vegas went ahead at 1:11 of the second period and never looked back.

    Midway through the middle frame, Burakovsky was penalized for holding as a scrum ensued, yielding matching minors for Alex Tuch and Compher– each for roughing– at 9:35.

    Late in the resulting power play, Vegas worked the puck to Marchessault (4) for a one-timer from the faceoff dot to the right of the Colorado goaltender.

    Once more, Grubauer was beaten on the far side– only this time Marchessault’s shot sailed under the glove of the Avs goalie.

    Alex Pietrangelo (5) and Karlsson (5) had the assists on Marchessault’s power-play goal as the Golden Knights extended their lead to, 3-1, at 11:28.

    Through 40 minutes of action at T-Mobile Arena, Vegas was dominating on the scoreboard, 3-1, and in shots on goal, 24-14, including a, 9-5, advantage in the second period alone.

    The Golden Knights held the lead in takeaways (10-4) and giveaways (9-7), while the Avalanche led in blocked shots (15-7) and hits (37-31). Both teams managed to split faceoff win percentage, 50-50.

    Colorado remained 0/1 on the power play, while Vegas went 1/3 on the skater advantage entering the second intermission.

    Early in the final frame, Whitecloud sent an errant puck out of play, resulting in an automatic infraction and a power play for the Avalance at 1:54 of the third period.

    The Avs did not convert on the ensuing skater advantage.

    Moments later, Marchessault (5) completed his hat trick with a one-timer setup by Smith through the crease as No. 81 for Vegas wrapped around the net and beat Grubauer from point blank after the Colorado goaltender had lost his stick.

    Smith (4) and Karlsson (6) recorded the primary and secondary assists, respectively, on Marchessault’s third goal of the game– his first career postseason hat trick and the second hat trick in the Stanley Cup Playoffs in Golden Knights franchise history at 6:02 of the third period.

    Vegas had pulled ahead, 4-1, as a result.

    Midway through the third, some controversy emerged as Patrick Brown (2) managed to poke a loose puck through Grubauer’s five-hole, but the initial call on the ice was that there was no goal due to incidental goaltender interference.

    That was quickly overturned by an official review, which deemed that Brown had not done enough to merit an infraction and, thus, Vegas led, 5-1, with Reaves (1) and William Carrier (2) earning the assists at 13:13 of the third.

    But that wasn’t enough to convince Avs head coach, Jared Bednar, as the Colorado bench boss used a coach’s challenge on the grounds that he believed that Brown had, in fact, interfered with Grubauer’s momentum while making the initial save.

    Turns out, the refs didn’t agree as the call that was originally “no goal”, then overturned to a “good goal” remained a “good goal” as the new call was upheld.

    Grubauer was already skating backwards and had too much momentum to keep the puck, if not himself alone, in front of the goal line.

    Confused? Don’t be.

    Vegas made it, 5-1, was the end result.

    Colorado was assessed a bench minor for delay of game– having lost the coach’s challenge at 13:13 of the third period, but the Golden Knights didn’t score on the resulting power play, while Kiefer Sherwood served the penalty in the box for the Avalanche.

    At the final horn, the Golden Knights had won, 5-1, and tied the series at 2-2 as a result.

    Vegas finished Game 4 leading in shots on goal, 35-18, including an, 11-4, advantage in the third period alone, while also leading in giveaways (11-9).

    Colorado wrapped up Sunday’s effort leading in hits (48-44) and faceoff win% (52-48), while both teams managed to amass 18 blocked shots each.

    The Avs finished the night 0/2 on the power play, while the Golden Knights went 1/4 on the skater advantage.

    Vegas outshot Colorado at home in Games 3 and 4 by a combined shot total of 78-38.

    Or for another fun stat…

    The Avalanche managed to last in Game 2 because of their first line. The Avs were stifled in Games 3 and 4 because of a lack of depth scoring and because the Golden Knights kept Colorado’s first line quiet– completely off the scoresheet– in the latter game.

    The series is tied 2-2 heading back to Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado for Game 5 on Tuesday night.

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

  • Avalanche pile on Golden Knights, 7-1, in Game 1

    Avalanche pile on Golden Knights, 7-1, in Game 1

    A little bit of everything in both the good and bad sense happened in Sunday night’s, 7-1, victory at Ball Arena for the Colorado Avalanche in Game 1 of their Second Round series with the Vegas Golden Knights.

    Colorado’s first line scored five goals, Cale Makar (one goal, three assists) had a four-point night and Philipp Grubauer (5-0, 1.60 goals-against average, .941 save percentage in five games played) made 24 saves on 25 shots against in the win.

    The Avalanche were battered, but every player was able to make their way back to the game by the end of the night.

    Vegas opted to start Robin Lehner (0-1, 7.00 goals-against average, .811 save percentage in one game played) over Marc-Andre Fleury with two days off in between Games 1 and 2 from Sunday to Wednesday– giving Fleury more time to rest between a Game 7 victory against the Minnesota Wild and the now ongoing Second Round.

    Lehner, meanwhile, stopped 30 out of 37 shots faced in the loss.

    The Golden Knights also wracked up penalty minutes, including a nine-minute power play for the Avalanche in the third period.

    We’ll get there. Keep reading.

    Nazem Kadri remains suspended for the Avalanche with five games remaining in his eight-game suspension for a blindside hit on St. Louis Blues defender, Justin Faulk, back in Game 2 of the First Round.

    There may be another suspension before Colorado is even involved in another Game 2 this postseason– only this time around, it might not be one of their players on the receiving end.

    Mikko Rantanen (2) beat Lehner with a backhand shot off the post and in on the glove side to give the Avalanche a, 1-0, lead at 4:55 of the first period.

    Devon Toews (3) and Makar (3) tallied the assists on the night’s first goal.

    Moments later, Brandon Saad caught Zach Whitecloud with a high stick and was assessed a minor penalty at 7:26, but the Golden Knights weren’t able to convert on the ensuing skater advantage.

    Instead, Gabriel Landeskog (3) scored on a catch and release goal from the low slot over Lehner’s blocker side to make it, 2-0, Colorado at 10:13 of the first period.

    Makar (4) and Samuel Girard (3) had the assists on Landeskog’s goal as the Avs extended their lead to two-goals.

    Heading into the first intermission, Colorado led, 2-0, on the scoreboard and, 14-8, in shots on goal.

    Vegas dominated in just about everything else, leading in blocked shots (5-4), giveaways (2-1) and hits (12-9), while the Avalanche led in faceoff win percentage (56-44).

    Both teams had a pair of takeaways after one period, while only the Golden Knights had seen time on the skater advantage and were 0/1 heading into the middle frame.

    Valeri Nichushkin fanned on a shot, then dished the puck to Saad (4) for a goal underneath Lehner’s blocker to give Colorado a, 3-0, lead at 1:04 of the second period.

    Nichushkin (2) and Makar (5) tallied the assists on Saad’s goal.

    A few minutes later, Nathan MacKinnon (7) sent a catch and release shot through Lehner’s five-hole to make it, 4-0, for the Avalanche at 4:03, while Ryan Graves (4) had the only assist on the tally.

    Shortly thereafter, Graves hit Mattias Janmark up high, causing Janmark to whack the back of his head off the glass from the force of the check and take a few minutes to get up and off the ice on his own power.

    Graves received a two-minute minor for interference on the late hit, while Tyson Jost and Nicolas Roy picked up matching roughing minors at 8:26 of the second period.

    The Golden Knights couldn’t capitalize on the ensuing 5-on-4 advantage and wound up taking the next penalty at 10:49, as William Carrier received a roughing minor.

    Almost as soon as Carrier was released, he went right back to the sin bin for roughing while trying to get back at Graves at 13:15.

    This time, however, Colorado made the Golden Knights pay on the scoreboard as Landeskog (4) notched his second goal of the night on a doorstep redirection to make it, 5-0, for the Avalanche.

    Rantanen (7) and MacKinnon (4) had the assists on Landeskog’s power-play goal at 14:23 of the second period.

    Less than a minute later, though, Vegas ended Grubauer’s bid for a shutout as William Karlsson (2) knocked down Girard to clear some space for his own doorstep redirection goal– low on the far side.

    Max Pacioretty (1) and Jonathan Marchessault (1) had the assists as Vegas trailed, 5-1, at 14:59.

    Meanwhile, Andre Burakovsky took a high hit behind the play and was left with a cut on his face and bleeding.

    If ever there was a moment for on-ice officials to read the temperature of the game and be proactive, well, it was soon to come.

    Almost two minutes later, MacKinnon (8) created his own breakaway with his incredible speed, utilized his stickhandling skills and elevated a shot over the glove side to give Colorado another five-goal lead, 6-1, at 17:05 of the second period.

    Joonas Donskoi (2) and Landeskog (7) had the assists on MacKinnon’s cheat code goal as the clock ticked down on the middle frame.

    Through 40 minutes of action at Ball Arena on Sunday night, the Avs led, 6-1, on the scoreboard and, 27-17, in shots on goal, including a, 13-9, advantage in the second period alone.

    Vegas led in blocked shots (8-6), giveaways (5-2), hits (17-15) and faceoff win% (54-46), while both teams had four takeaways each.

    The Golden Knights were 0/2 on the power play, while the Avalanche were 1/2 on the skater advantage after two periods.

    Early in the final frame, Pacioretty caught Girard up high with what looked like a cross check at first.

    A crowd gathered and a scrum ensued while Girard took a moment to get off the ice, but upon official review, Pacioretty’s double minor for cross checking was rescinded.

    The Golden Knights winger hadn’t actually made contact with the Avalanche defender– with his stick in an illegal manner, at least.

    Meanwhile, Pacioretty, Nicolas Hague, J.T. Compher and Burakovsky all received roughing minors of their own volition at 3:47 of the third period.

    Each infraction canceled another as they were all deemed “matching minors”, thus rendering the game to remain at full strength while the penalties were being served.

    Then, moments later, it happened.

    After a Grubauer covered the puck and got a whistle, Ryan Reaves delivered a quick shot to the head of the Colorado netminder.

    Whether it was a sucker punch or a cross check, it did not matter to Grubauer, who returned with a quick chop at Reaves’ leg while Graves and other skaters on the ice crowded around Reaves and a scrum developed.

    Reaves got a couple jabs at Graves before tugging him to the ice, whereupon Reaves had the high ground in that he was literally on top of Graves’ head– pushing down on the Avalanche defender’s helmet and driving his head into the ice.

    Graves ended up laying motionless for a minute or two while an on-ice official worked to get Reaves off of the defenseless player as the two teams became entangled with another.

    Reaves was assessed two roughing minor penalties, an attempt to injure minor infraction, as well as a match penalty for his actions against Graves at 8:04 of the third period.

    The match penalty immediate considers Reaves to be suspended until a decision is made by the league commissioner, Gary Bettman, himself.

    To repeat, Reaves is not available to suit up in Game 2 for the Golden Knights until and unless Bettman intervenes, reviews the reason for the match penalty and makes an assessment as to whether enough was done in ending Reaves’ night early on Sunday or whether Reaves should face further discipline for his actions in Game 1.

    Meanwhile, Alex Pietrangelo, Whitecloud, Nichushkin and Saad all received ten-minute misconducts at 8:04 of the third period.

    As a result of Reaves’ minors and major penalty, Colorado ended up with a rare nine-minute power play.

    Despite being shorthanded for almost half of a period, Vegas’ penalty kill did pretty well until Makar (2) buried a one-timer from the point over Lehner’s glove and just under the bar while Compher acted as a screen in the slot.

    Jost (2) and Burakovsky (2) had the assists on Makar’s power-play goal as the Avalanche took a, 7-1, lead at 15:49 of the third period.

    At the final horn, the Avs had won, 7-1, and finished the night leading in shots on goal, 37-25.

    Colorado held the advantage in shots on goal in the third period alone, 10-8, while wrapping up Sunday night’s action leading in blocked shots (11-10).

    Vegas finished Game 1 leading in giveaways (7-3), hits (26-17) and faceoff win% (57-43).

    The Golden Knights went 0/2, while the Avalanche went 2/5 on the power play on Sunday.

    The Avs take a 1-0 series lead heading into Game 2 on Wednesday night. Puck drop in Denver is set for 10 p.m. ET and fans in the United States can tune to NBCSN for coverage, while those in Canada can choose from CBC, SN or TVAS.

  • 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.

  • Tuch ties series against former team in, 3-1, Vegas victory

    Tuch ties series against former team in, 3-1, Vegas victory

    Alex Tuch had a pair of goals– including the game-winner– as the Vegas Golden Knights tied their 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs First Round matchup with the Minnesota Wild in a, 3-1, win at T-Mobile Arena in Game 2.

    The series is now tied 1-1 as Marc-Andre Fleury (1-1, 0.98 goals-against average, .969 save percentage in two games played) made 34 saves on 35 shots faced in the win for Vegas on Tuesday.

    Wild goaltender, Cam Talbot (1-1, 1.48 goals-against average, .957 save percentage in two games played) turned aside 25 out of 28 shots against in the loss.

    Once more, the Golden Knights were without the services of Max Pacioretty on Tuesday.

    No goals were scored in the opening frame, but there was one thing on the event sheet thanks to Alec Martinez’s hooking penalty at 4:13 of the first period.

    Minnesota did not convert on the ensuing power play, however.

    After 20 minutes of action, the score still read, 0-0, while the Wild led in shots on goal, 17-10.

    The Golden Knights held the advantage in takeaways (4-2), giveaways (3-2), hits (20-14) and faceoff win percentage (53-47), while Minnesota led in blocked shots (6-5).

    Only the Wild had seen any time on the skater advantage, though they were 0/1 on the power play heading into the first intermission.

    Midway through the middle frame, Matt Dumba (1) opened the game’s scoring with a shot from the point that beat Fleury over the blocker while Marcus Foligno acted as a screen in front of the crease.

    Jonas Brodin (1) and Jordan Greenway (2) had the primary and secondary assists, respectively, on Dumba’s goal as the Wild jumped out to a, 1-0, lead at 12:07 of the second period.

    It wasn’t long before Vegas evened things up, however.

    In fact, just 18 seconds after Dumba notched his fourth career Stanley Cup Playoffs goal, the Golden Knights shifted momentum their way as Reilly Smith fed Jonathan Marchessault while entering the zone.

    Marchessault (1) snapped a shot over Talbot’s glove, off the post and into the back of the twine to tie the game, 1-1, at 12:25.

    Smith (1) and William Karlsson (1) had the assists on Marchessault’s goal.

    Less than a few minutes later, Ian Cole tripped William Carrier and presented the Golden Knights with their first power play of the night at 15:04 of the second period. Vegas did not convert on the resulting skater advantage, however.

    Minnesota was caught in the vulnerable minute after special teams play, though, as Alex Pietrangelo kickstarted a rush, whereby Mattias Janmark found Tuch (1) for his first goal of the night– giving the Golden Knights their first lead thus far in the series.

    Janmark (1) and Pietrangelo (1) had the assists as Vegas took the lead, 2-1, on Tuch’s first goal of the game at 17:19.

    Heading into the second intermission, the Golden Knights led, 2-1, on the scoreboard, despite trailing, 27-22, in shots on goal (Vegas had the advantage in second period shots on goal alone, though, 12-10).

    The Wild led in blocked shots (21-10), while Vegas dominated in takeaways (8-4), giveaways (8-5), hits (44-32) and faceoff win% (52-48).

    Both teams were 0/1 on the power play heading into the final frame Tuesday night.

    Dumba and Pietrangelo got tangled up almost midway through the third period and received roughing infractions at 7:50 of the final frame, yielding 4-on-4 action for a pair of minutes.

    With 1:53 left in the action, Wild head coach, Dean Evason, pulled Talbot for an extra attacker only to lose the 6-on-5 advantage shortly thereafter when Kirill Kaprizov got a stick underneath Marchessault and tripped up the Golden Knights forward at 18:30 of the third period.

    It didn’t take Vegas long for Chandler Stephenson to to pinch along the boards, work the puck below the goal line, then send a pass to Tuch (2) in the low slot for a one-timer off of Talbot’s pad and through the short side.

    Stephenson (1) and Mark Stone (1) tallied the assists on Tuch’s power-play goal and the Golden Knights led, 3-1, at 19:07.

    Talbot vacated the crease once again with 52.3 seconds left but it was to no avail as the seconds ticked down until the final horn sounded and Vegas had officially sealed the deal on a, 3-1, win in Game 2– tying their best-of-seven series with Minnesota 1-1.

    The Wild finished the night leading in shots on goal, 35-28, including an, 8-6, advantage in the third period alone.

    Minnesota also held the advantage in blocked shots (26-20), while the Golden Knights dominated in just about every other category, including giveaways (11-7), hits (63-46) and faceoff win% (60-40).

    Vegas finished 1/2 on the power play, while the Wild went 0/1 on the skater advantage on Tuesday.

    The series is tied 1-1 heading into Minnesota for Game 3 at Xcel Energy Center on Thursday. Puck drop is scheduled for a little after 9:30 p.m. ET and fans in the United States can tune to NBCSN for national coverage, while those in Canada can catch the action on SN360 or TVAS2.

  • Take Five: Five takeaways from Game 2 of the 2020 Western Conference Final

    Paul Stastny opened the game’s scoring with the eventual game-winning goal as the Vegas Golden Knights shutout the Dallas Stars, 3-0, in Game 2 of the 2020 Western Conference Final to tie the series, 1-1.

    William Karlsson and Tomas Nosek each had a goal in the win as the Golden Knights evened the series thanks to Robin Lehner’s second consecutive shutout– his fourth of the postseason overall.

    So with Game 3 in mind on Thursday night (8 p.m. ET on NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS), let’s review some takeaways from Game 2 and where the series might go from here.

    1. Now that we’ve seen Vegas respond, the obvious “will Dallas respond in Game 3?” must be asked.

    Dallas came out flying in Game 1, despite only scoring one goal and winning, 1-0– Vegas looked flat to kick off the series.

    Just like in 2018, however, the Golden Knights went full throttle in Game 2 of the Western Conference Final, nearly scored four goals (Shea Theodore had a goal disallowed due to incidental contact with the goaltender courtesy of Max Pacioretty on the doorstep of the crease) and notched the shutout to tie the series.

    Now, of course, how will the Stars respond?

    Especially since they were outshot, 8-5, in the first period and, 19-7, in the second period alone. After 40 minutes, the Stars trailed the Golden Knights, 3-0, on the scoreboard (all Vegas goals were scored in the second period– traditionally what has been a better period for Dallas since their comeback over the Calgary Flames in Game 6 back in the First Round) and, 27-12, in total shots on goal entering the second intermission.

    To Dallas’ credit, however, the Stars outshot Vegas, 12-5, in the third period alone.

    In fact, the Golden Knights didn’t even have a shot on goal through the midpoint of the final frame, despite finishing with the advantage in shots on net, 32-24, at the final horn.

    How will Stars interim head coach, Rick Bowness, respond to Vegas bringing out the big guns?

    Especially since Ryan Reaves returned from his one-game suspension and suited up alongside William Carrier and Nick Cousins, which has been an effective shutdown fourth line thus far in the postseason.

    2. Never tip your hand on a good future goalie.

    Stars goalie, Jake Oettinger, made his NHL debut after Anton Khudobin was pulled prior to the third period.

    The Boston University Terriers men’s hockey team standout amassed a league-leading .917 SV% among first year American Hockey League goaltenders in 2019-20 with the Texas Stars (AHL affiliate of Dallas).

    Oettinger was the second goalie to make his league debut this postseason, joining Dan Vladar of the Boston Bruins as the other goalie to do so in the 2020 playoffs and marking the first time since 1937, that two goalies made their NHL debuts in the same postseason.

    Whereas Vladar was fed to the wolves (a.k.a. the Tampa Bay Lightning) without much help in both ends of the ice, the Stars played better in front of their backup goaltender after clearly getting the message from Bowness– that they had let Khudobin down.

    Oettinger only faced five shots and made five saves in 17:09 time on ice.

    Yes, you read that right.

    Despite Khudobin amassing 40 minutes played on Tuesday, Oettinger played less than a full period because Bowness pulled his netminder for an extra attacker with lots of time remaining in the game on the off-chance Dallas could score three quick goals and tie the game, at least.

    They did not, but in the meantime, at least they didn’t rush Oettinger into any NHL action before it became absolutely necessary (though some watchful eyes of the minor leagues might wonder why Oettinger didn’t get a start earlier in the postseason to offset Khudobin’s workload while Ben Bishop is still injured and “unfit to play”).

    Kudos to the Stars for not letting everyone else know about Oettinger’s impressive development thus far, though.

    3. So… Robin Lehner the rest of the way?

    This one should be obvious, but Lehner just had his fourth shutout this postseason (and second consecutive, if you didn’t read earlier).

    Though Marc-Andre Fleury made 24 saves on 25 shots in Game 1, Lehner is the hotter goaltender right now– hands down.

    Fleury’s 2.27 goals against average and .910 save percentage is fine. It pairs well with his 3-1 record in four games in the 2020 postseason.

    But Lehner has a 1.84 GAA and a .924 SV% to go with the four shutouts, as well as a 9-4 record in 13 games played, which, if you’re wondering is better than Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Lightning in GAA and shutouts.

    Vasilevskiy is 11-3 with Tampa so far in 14 games and has a 1.92 GAA, a .930 SV% and no shutouts in that span.

    Yeah, this should be an easy decision for Golden Knights head coach, Peter DeBoer. It’s Lehner’s crease until the team advances or comes up short this year.

    4. They scored a goal (at even strength)!

    The Golden Knights entered Game 2 against Dallas without a goal from their forwards at even strength since the third period of Game 4 against the Vancouver Canucks in the Second Round.

    Thankfully, Stastny put an end to Vegas’ misery at 5-on-5 (or 4-on-4) play with his third goal of the 2020 postseason at 4:53 of the second period.

    Vegas added one more goal at even strength when Nosek scored his second playoff goal this year on a beautiful 3-on-1 rush to make it a three-goal game at 14:32 of the second period.

    Prior to Stastny’s tally, however, the Golden Knights’ last four goals (dating back to Game 6 against Vancouver in the Second Round) included two empty net goals and a pair of goals from Theodore.

    As long as the compete level from Game 2 doesn’t dissipate, Vegas looks to have snapped their even strength skid.

    5. Shutouts galore!

    Vegas’ last four games have all been shutouts.

    The Canucks shutout the Golden Knights, 4-0, in Game 6 of their Second Round matchup as Thatcher Demko emerged as a playoff hero before the Golden Knights returned the favor with a, 3-0, shutout in Game 7– courtesy of Lehner.

    To kick things off in the 2020 Western Conference Final, Khudobin had a, 1-0, shutout in Game 1 for the Stars, then Lehner returned the favor again with another, 3-0, shutout in Game 2 for Vegas.

    Then there’s this to consider– Lehner is the first NHL goaltender to record four shutouts in a single postseason since Fleury did so in 2018 with the Golden Knights on their run to a Stanley Cup Final appearance in their inaugural season.

    Only five goalies in league history have recorded more shutouts in a playoff year.

    Lehner’s extended his shutout streak to 131:44 in the process, which is the second-longest postseason shutout streak by a Golden Knights goaltender since Fleury had a 144:04 shutout streak going in 2018.

    And finally, with both teams earning a shutout through the first two games of the Western Conference Final, Dallas and Vegas joined the Toronto Maple Leafs and Columbus Blue Jackets this season as the only teams to record shutouts in their first two games in a series this year.

    The Stars and Golden Knights also joined a longer list in the process since the NHL’s Modern Era (since 1943-44) that includes the Lightning and New York Islanders in the 2004 Eastern Conference Quarterfinal, the Islanders and Ottawa Senators in the 2003 Eastern Conference Quarterfinal, the Philadelphia Flyers and Senators in the 2002 Eastern Conference Quarterfinal, the Florida Panthers and New York Rangers in the 1997 Eastern Conference Quarterfinal, the New Jersey Devils and Rangers in the 1997 Eastern Conference Semifinal and the Montreal Canadiens and Maple Leafs in the 1947 Stanley Cup Final.

    Here’s to another shutout in Game 3 for either team to make more history, 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.

  • Game of the week: January 21-27

    Whether you measure by games played or the All-Star Break, the middle of the season is upon us. Are you an optimist and see all the hockey remaining on the schedule? Or is the glass half empty, formerly full with games now gone by? While you’re figuring that out, here’s the NHL’s offering of games this week.
    NHL SCHEDULE: January 21-27
    TIME (ALL TIMES EASTERN) VISITOR HOST NATIONAL BROADCAST(S)/ Result
    Monday, January 21
    3 p.m. Nashville Colorado 4-1
    4 p.m. St. Louis Los Angeles 3-4
    6 p.m. Minnesota Vegas 4-2
    7 p.m. San Jose Florida 2-6
    Tuesday, January 22
    7 p.m. San Jose Washington 7-6 (OT)
    7:30 p.m. Arizona Ottawa 3-2
    8:30 p.m. New York Islanders Chicago Blackhawks 2-3 (SO)
    9 p.m. Carolina Calgary 2-3 (OT)
    9 p.m. Detroit Edmonton 3-2
    Wednesday, January 23
    7:30 p.m. Washington Capitals Toronto Maple Leafs NBCSN, SN, SN360, TVAS
    7:30 p.m. Arizona Montréal RDS, SN1
    9:30 p.m. Minnesota Colorado
    10 p.m. Nashville Vegas NBCSN
    10 p.m. St. Louis Anaheim
    10:30 p.m. Carolina Vancouver ESPN+
    Thursday, January 24
    No games scheduled – All-Star Break
    Friday, January 25
    No games scheduled – All-Star Break
    Saturday, January 26
    NHL All-Star Game from San Jose, Calif.
    Sunday, January 27
    No games scheduled – All-Star Break
    As you can see, the fun we gain in having the All-Star festivities in San Jose scheduled for this weekend is largely negated by this week’s half-serving of fixtures. Them’s the breaks, I suppose. As for some of this week’s biggest games, we needed to look no further than Monday’s matchup between Nashville and Colorado, a rematch of the First Round from last April’s playoffs. Also, F Alex Galchenyuk is making his first trip back to Montréal tonight, his former home of six seasons. W Micheal Ferland and D Dougie Hamilton were in the same boat last night in Calgary, their home for four and three seasons, respectively. While Galchenyuk will surely receive a warm welcome this evening, I’m much more interested in a tilt taking place in the Mojave Desert between two Western Conference foes.
    Boasting the second-best record in the Central Division, the 29-18-4 Nashville Predators enter tonight’s game with a bit of a limp. Though they won their last tilt against Colorado 4-1, they’ve only managed a 2-3-1 record in their past six outings – a mark that makes Nashville fortunate it has built up a nine-point lead on third-place Minnesota. What is most alarming about this rough patch for the Preds is that their latest struggles are usually among the team’s greatest strengths. Since January 10, Nashville has allowed an average of 3.67 goals per game and 32.5 shots per game. Those both rank seventh-worst in the NHL in that time – a far cry from the Preds’ season marks of 2.61 goals against per game ([t]second-best) and 29 shots against per game (fifth-best). Is this just a case of the Predators being worn out after 51 games so far this season? Considering the Predators’ entire defensive corps is healthy right now, I’d say this very well could be the answer. They’ll take a four-day bye period in addition to the four-day All-Star Break to recuperate for the final 30 games if that is the case. However, eight days off doesn’t do Head Coach Peter Laviolette any good tonight. He needs to find a way to get his troops to perform better tonight, especially since they’re heading into one of the toughest arenas in the league and taking on a hot team in the Golden Knights. On the season, Nashville’s defense has been headed by D Ryan Ellis (two blocks per game and a team-high 42 takeaways) and W Austin Watson (three hits per game). Watson has maintained his role as the team’s leading hit-thrower during this stretch, but his production has dropped to 2.2 hits per game since January 10. Similarly, Ellis’ blocks-per-game production has dropped to 1.5 in his last six outings, falling behind D Mattias Ekholm and D Roman Josi‘s matching 1.8 blocks per game. With only four takeaways in his last six games, Ellis is still a dominant threat in that department considering his position. However, the Predator that really been creating steals lately is F Filip Forsberg, who has averaged a takeaway per game since January 10. Mix in the fact that he’s averaging almost a point per game during this run, and you find a player who’s not at fault for his club’s recent defensive inefficiencies and lack of results. Regardless of who is taking the blame, one player who definitely isn’t happy about the situation is 18-12-3 G Pekka Rinne. Even though Rinne has been having a solid campaign (made evident by his .915 save percentage and 2.47 GAA on the season, the latter of which is tied for sixth-best in the NHL), he’s been a terrible victim of his team’s defensive effort of late. Rinne has only won one of his last four starts, posting a horrendous .878 save percentage and 4.27 GAA in those outings. Rinne has faced the Golden Knights twice in his career, but is still looking for his first victory against the second-year franchise. In the previous two matchups, he has managed a .928 save percentage and 2.44 GAA, highlighted by a 36-save performance on December 8, 2017 that ended in a 4-3 six-round shootout victory for Vegas. Rinne earned
    After rattling off a seven-game winning streak, the 29-18-4 Vegas Golden Knights have propelled themselves into third-place in the Pacific Division with 10 points separating them from Vancouver. However, those winning ways have gone by the wayside in the last two weeks, as Vegas has alternated results in its last five outings for a 2-3-0 record. Vegas lost to the Sharks 3-2 on January 10, followed two days later by a 4-3 overtime win in Chicago. January 15 saw the Golden Knights lose 4-1 in Winnipeg, but a trip home was just the medicine they needed to beat the Penguins 7-3. Most recently (Monday, to be precise), the Wild came to T-Mobile Arena and emerged with a 4-2 win. Does this pattern mean the Knights are ensured two points tonight? If Vegas wants to take its fate into its own hands, it should surely continue what it is doing on the defensive end. Despite the consistently inconsistent results, one thing that has remained constant is the Golden Knights’ blue line, which has allowed only 27.2 shots against per game since January 10 – the fourth-best mark in the league in that time. Leading that defensive charge is none other than F Tomas Nosek (seven takeaways in Vegas’ last five games), RW Ryan Reaves (4.4 hits per game since January 10) and D Nate Schmidt (two blocks per game during this run), despite the fact that injured LW William Carrier (five hits per game), D Brayden McNabb (1.9 blocks per game) and D Shea Theodore (49 takeaways) lead the team in their respective statistics for the season. A major reason for these inconsistent results is the Golden Knights’ scoreboard does not reflect their positive defensive performance. A major reason for that has been the lackluster play by G Marc-Andre Fleury in his last five starts. Even though he boasts a .911 save percentage and 2.5 GAA (tied for ninth-best in the NHL) for the entire season, he’s managed only a .895 save percentage and 2.85 GAA in his last five starts. In fact, Fleury has allowed at least two goals per game in his last seven outings – a surprising statistic for the netminder whose six shutouts double the eight players’ marks that are tied for second place. If history will decide this tilt, Fleury will certainly bring his A-game against Nashville. He boasts a 9-5-1 record against the Predators, bolstered largely by five-straight wins between 2010-14 during his tenure with Pittsburgh. In those 15 appearances, he owns a career .927 save percentage and 1.95 GAA – dominant marks for any netminder against any one club. Of course, those marks are in the past. Which team enters the All-Star Break with two more points to their credit? Since both teams have managed approximately equal offense since January 10 (the Preds’ 3.33 goals per game is slightly higher than Vegas’ 3.2), I’ll consider that a wash. Instead, I’ll lean towards the Golden Knights earning tonight’s victory on the backs of their solid defensive play.

  • Vegas Golden Knights Forecast Through 40 Games

    It’s not the most recent forecast, since the Vegas Golden Knights played Game 41 of their 2018-19 regular season on Saturday against the Los Angeles Kings.

    Nevertheless, it’s time to take a quick check of the pulse of the Golden Knights– how their season has progressed so far and where it appears to be going from here.

    Thanks to some extenuating circumstances, perhaps Vegas fans will forgive me for not being able to get around to their quick forecasted glance after 20 games played this season.

    Why? Because it would’ve been pretty dismal and you don’t need that kind of negativity in your life.

    Although, now at the halfway mark (officially after the game against the Kings, technically unofficially as of this forecast), things have improved, but with a few concerns remaining.

    Nate Schmidt served his 20 game suspension for a performance enhancing drug and for the most part, Vegas’ blue line got the job done.

    The team’s record wasn’t desirable, but guys like Shea Theodore and Colin Miller continued to rise past expectations in their ability– even more so now that Schmidt is back and solidified the defensive zone for the Golden Knights.

    One thing that has plagued the team all season is subpar goaltending.

    Marc-Andre Fleury isn’t getting any younger and Malcolm Subban regressed quite a bit from his debut season as a backup netminder at the NHL level last season.

    Managing playing time in the crease is something to keep in mind and we’ll take a closer look in a minute.

    For now, Vegas stands in a divisional spot in the playoffs in the Pacific. Not nearly as dominant as last season, but keeping up with the legitimate(?) playoff contenders in an otherwise weaker division compared to the rest of the league.

    Without further ado, here’s a look at the remaining 42 games (now 41) on the season and what to expect from the latest forecast.

    Keep in mind, there are many variables that can and will change what goes down from now through the end of the regular season in April, like trades, injuries, general lineup changes, roster moves and anything else unbeknownst to the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet that generates this forecast.

    My degree is in communication– not math. It’s “not my fault”.

    If a player meets the forecasted stats, then they’ve met expectations. If they exceed their forecasted stats, then they’ve exceed expectations.

    And of course, if a player does not live up to the latest forecast, then something went awry (the player could’ve been injured, been unlucky or regressed– a.k.a. didn’t meet expectations).

    Puck luck cannot be predicted, but general trends and estimated gut feelings can indicate a sense of what’s to come based on the results of each and every scoresheet night-in and night-out.

    Vegas Golden Knights Forecast Through 40 Games (42 Games Remaining)

    (Just click on the image if you’re having trouble seeing it– WordPress changed their layout so there’s no more slideshow options.)

    Every set of blessings comes with a set of curses and this year, that rings truer more than ever before for the Golden Knights. Of course, it’s only their second season in franchise history, but it’s still true.

    William Karlsson (24-26–50 expected totals) is having a “down” year compared to last season’s breakout career-year of 43 goals and 35 assists (78 points). Reaching the 50-point plateau is still respectable, but doesn’t scream any guarantees of being on the first line should the postseason roll around.

    Head coach, Gerard Gallant, has enough top-six forward depth to play around with if Karlsson starts to head south, considering Alex Tuch‘s expected 22-28–50 totals, Paul Stastny‘s expected 14-22–36 totals and Max Pacioretty‘s expected 21-22–43 totals.

    Despite the ever-consistent qualities of Jonathan Marchessault (27-33–60 expected totals) and Reilly Smith (17-32–49 expected totals), this year’s Golden Knights team point spread is more spread out.

    As it is, while Marchessault should lead in goals (27), assists (30) and points (60) and Karlsson should be second in goals (24) and points (50), one would think Smith would be second or third in whatever stats Marchessault and Karlsson aren’t leading in.

    However, Tuch’s expected point outcome (50) is tied with Karlsson for the second-most points behind Marchessault and Tuch is expected to rank third on Vegas’ roster in goals behind Marchessault and Karlsson with Smith a distant 5th behind Pacioretty’s 21 expected goals this season.

    While the offense isn’t as impactful from the forwards, the blue line has really come into its own in Vegas.

    Shea Theodore’s expected 8-29–37 totals will be the best of his teammates and fellow defenders in a Golden Knights uniform, leading Colin Miller (5-27–32 expected totals) and Nick Holden (7-17–24 expected totals).

    Nick Holden. That’s right. Holden is ahead of Nate Schmidt (5-18–23 expected totals) in the latest forecast.

    But that speaks to Holden’s resiliency in his career and the chemistry Gallant has found in his pairing every night– coupled, of course, with the fact that Holden is seeing more time on the ice (in the literal “games played” sense) than he has the last couple of seasons with the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins.

    He is a durable top-four defender that’s still in his athletic prime and it is exactly that kind of depth that can take teams deep into a Stanley Cup Final run.

    In goal, Marc-Andre Fleury should land around a 2.61 goals against average and .911 save percentage in a season in which he has been overworked thus far.

    He will continue to be overworked unless Malcolm Subban regains his footing, Gallant argues for calling someone up from the Chicago Wolves (AHL) or Golden Knights General Manager George McPhee makes an acquisition for a suitable backup option if all else fails.

    Fleury has played in 35 of the 40 games up to this forecast. He’s since played in 35 out of the 41 games played by the club this season.

    Subban has played in six games and is 0-5-0 in that span. His expected outcomes are a 2.76 GAA and .907 SV%– both below average goaltending the backup role.

    Whereas if Vegas wanted to try Oscar Dansk or Maxime Lagace without the pressures of coming into the dressing room in an emergency recall situation– unlike last season– a little healthy competition for the backup role might nudge Subban in the right direction and take off some of Fleury’s workload.

    It’s not that Fleury can’t handle 50-plus games anymore as a starting goaltender, but rather, it’s just that he shouldn’t be relied on for about 85% of the games in the regular season as is his current going rate.

  • Bruins first line leads B’s to 4-1 win over Vegas

    Secondary scoring had its fair share Sunday night at TD Garden, but league leader in goals, David Pastrnak is not done producing by any means as he added a goal and an assist in the Boston Bruins, 4-1, winning effort against the Vegas Golden Knights.

    Jaroslav Halak (6-1-2, 1.72 goals against average, .945 save percentage in 11 games played) made 37 saves on 38 shots against (.974 SV%) in the win for Boston, while Malcolm Subban (2-1-0, 3.17 GAA, .885 SV% in 4 GP) turned aside 33 out of 37 shots faced for an .892 SV% in the loss for Vegas.

    Both teams were playing their second game in two nights, with the Bruins having hosted the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday and the Golden Knights having visited the Montreal Canadiens as part of their four-game road trip.

    Boston finished their four-game homestand, 3-1-0, while Vegas went 1-3-0 on their Eastern Conference swing.

    The Bruins improved to 10-5-2 (22 points) on the season, good enough for 3rd in the Atlantic Division– tied in points for 2nd place with Toronto, but trailing by one regulation-plus-overtime win.

    The Golden Knights fell to 7-10-1 (15 points) so far this season and remained in 7th place in the Pacific Division with the loss– four points ahead of the Los Angeles Kings from the basement of the division.

    Bruce Cassidy made two changes to his lineup on the blue line as a result of an injury, but didn’t mix things up among the forwards. Cassidy announced Sunday morning that Brandon Carlo was “questionable” and would be a game-time decision with an upper body injury.

    Jeremy Lauzon was an emergency recall on Sunday and would be in the lineup in place of Carlo if No. 25 in black-and-gold wasn’t ready to go.

    Matt Grzelcyk slid up to the first defensive pairing with Zdeno Chara, as Lauzon played on the third pair with Steven Kampfer. Torey Krug and John Moore were left together from Saturday night.

    Cassidy also indicated that he expected to talk with Tuukka Rask about his return from a personal leave of absence with a decision in place by Tuesday before the Bruins hit the road for a four-game road trip. Cassidy suspects Rask will rejoin the team on Tuesday, but wouldn’t commit to a definitive answer until having the appropriate time and place discussion with the goaltender.

    Noel Acciari remained a healthy scratch on Sunday, with Urho Vaakanainen (concussion), Charlie McAvoy (concussion) and Kevan Miller (hand) still out of the lineup for Boston.

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    Rushing through the neutral zone early in the first period, Danton Heinen worked the puck to Anders Bjork as the Bruins forwards entered the attacking zone. Bjork flipped the puck back to Heinen (2) for the game’s first goal as No. 43 tipped a redirection past Subban to give Boston a 1-0 lead at 2:54 of the first period.

    Bjork (2) had the only assist on the goal.

    Fellow third liner– and centering the line for the second straight game– Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson had a run in with the penalty calling threshold after he got his stick between the legs of Golden Knights forward and former Bruin, Reilly Smith.

    Forsbacka Karlsson went to the box for tripping at 5:43 and Vegas went on the power play for the first time of the night. The Golden Knights failed to convert on the skater advantage.

    Almost four minutes later, Pastrnak hooked Jonathan Marchessault and was sent to the sin bin at 9:27 of the first period. Vegas failed to score on the ensuing power play.

    For the fifth time in three games, Kampfer found his way to the box with a tripping minor against Ryan Carpenter at 11:55, but the Golden Knights weren’t able to make the Bruins brass pay on the resulting skater advantage.

    Late in the first period the Golden Knights caught Halak out of position and sent a chance through the slot that was intercepted by Moore as the Bruins defender was in the right place at the right time with his stick.

    Moore then sent Sean Kuraly on rush back the other way and with a dump into the corner and Lauzon chasing, Subban came out of his crease to make a play on the loose puck– except Subban overcommitted.

    With a gift sent by the hockey gods themselves, Lauzon (1) had the easiest conversion on his first career National Hockey League goal at 17:51 of the first period. Kuraly (2) and Moore (2) had the primary and secondary assists, respectively.

    William Carrier tripped up David Krejci at 18:29 of the first period and gave the Bruins their first power play of the night.

    Not to be outdone, while on a rush to the net, Brad Marchand got tripped by Subban in front of the goal, yielding a 5-on-3 skater advantage for Boston at 18:58 that would extend into the second period if the Bruins didn’t score by the end of the first.

    Krejci dove to keep the puck in the zone as time was expiring in the opening frame and generated one last chance before the first intermission on all-around dominant 5-on-3 opportunity to close out the period.

    After 20 minutes of game action, the Bruins led, 2-0, on the scoreboard and trailed the Golden Knights, 15-11, in shots on goal. Boston held onto an advantage in blocked shots (3-2), takeaways (5-4) and face-off win percentage (81-19). Vegas led in hits (11-6) after one period and both teams had one giveaway each.

    Entering the dressing room for the first intermission the Golden Knights were 0/3 on the power play, while the Bruins were 0/2. That would change in the first minute of the second period.

    Patrice Bergeron sent a pass to Pastrnak that got bent out of shape just enough by a Vegas defender for Pastrnak’s only option in the low slot to be to send the vulcanized piece of rubber back to Bergeron off a body.

    From there, Marchand (6) was in front of the goal at the right time to receive a quick bumper pass from Bergeron and redirect the puck with elevation into the twine just as the power play was expiring.

    Bergeron (16) and Pastrnak (7) had the assist’s on Marchand’s goal at 58 seconds of the second period and the Bruins led, 3-0.

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    Midway through the middle frame, Alex Tuch stripped Moore of the puck in front of the Boston goal and prior to breaking into the trapezoid, Tuch slid a one-handed pass back to Cody Eakin (5) for a one-timer that beat Halak as Krug was out of position behind the play.

    Vegas was on the scoreboard and cut the lead to two-goals as the B’s led, 3-1. Tuch (5) had the only assist on Eakin’s goal at 10:55 of the second period.

    Late in the second period, Vegas again gave Boston a 5-on-3 power play for 42 seconds after Brayden McNabb was penalized for holding Marchand at 15:05 and Tomas Nosek was called for tripping Bergeron at 16:24.

    The B’s did not convert on either power play opportunity.

    Entering the second intermission, Boston led, 3-1, on the scoreboard and, 28-27, in shots on goal. Vegas had an advantage in blocked shots (6-5) and hits (17-13), while the Bruins led in takeaways (9-6), giveaways (7-3) and face-off win% (63-38). The Golden Knights were 0/3 on the power play after 40 minutes and Boston was 0/4.

    Vegas notched another penalty as a team at 6:42 of third period having sustained a delay of game face-off violation bench minor infraction. Tomas Hyka served the penalty for the Golden Knights and the Bruins went on the power play.

    The B’s did not convert on the ensuing advantage.

    Moments later, Kuraly exchanged words with former teammate and current Golden Knights defender, Colin Miller, at 12:04 of third period and earned himself a minor penalty for roughing. Vegas did not score on the resulting power play.

    Late in the third, the Golden Knights sent themselves back in momentum with two consecutive tripping penalties being called at the same time thanks to Max Pacioretty tripping Bergeron and Deryk Engelland subsequently getting his stick between the legs of Marchand and bringing the Bruins forward down at 15:40.

    Boston converted on the 5-on-3 power play after working the puck around from Pastrnak to Krejci, then across the point to Krug for a bumper pass back to Pastrnak (16) whereby the league’s leading goal scorer one-timed a shot past Subban to give the Bruins a three-goal lead.

    Krug (6) and Krejci (13) had the assists on Pastrnak’s power play goal at 16:08 of the third period and Boston led, 4-1.

    At the final horn, the Bruins solidified a 4-1 victory with a 7-0-1 record when scoring first this season. Boston also improved to 8-0-0 when leading after two periods.

    The B’s led in face-off win% 58-42 and the Golden Knights dominated just about every other statistical category after 60 minutes. Vegas led in shots on goal (38-37), blocked shots (8-7), giveaways (9-8) and hits (25-20).

    Boston finished the night 1/7 on the power play, while the Golden Knights were powerless on the skater advantage, finishing 0/4 on Sunday night.

    One consolation prize for the Vegas franchise is that through 100 regular season games in franchise history, the Golden Knights have the most wins among all expansion franchises in their first 100 regular season games with 58.

    Sunday night was former Montreal Canadien and noted Bruins mood-killer, Max Pacioretty’s first matchup against the Bruins since being traded to Vegas, while it was also Danton Heinen and Sean Kuraly’s 100th career NHL games.

    The Bruins carry a two-game winning streak heading onto the road for a four-game road trip beginning in Colorado (Nov. 14th) and swinging through Dallas (Nov. 16th), Arizona (Nov. 17th) and Detroit (Nov. 21st) before returning home for Black Friday’s matchup with the Pittsburgh Penguins.