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"I look at Nashville as one of the best teams in the league," gushed Gerard Gallant, before the Golden Knights set off for Music City.

We're still trying to figure out what Vegas is. But last night, they went toe to toe with the defending Western Conference champs, knocking them out in a 4-3 shootout.

Vegas is like a slightly crappier clone of Nashville (and that's a huge compliment). This is fun as hell.

— Travis Yost (@travisyost) December 9, 2017

Winning Play

Nick Bonino has just scored. There are five minutes left in the game. You need a goal to tie things up.

Naturally, Gallant turned to the Pierre-Édouard Bellemare line. And naturally, like everything Gallant has touched this season, it was a golden move.



Bellemare is patient with the puck, which allows Tomas Nosek to build speed through the middle. Nosek almost beats Pekka Rinne. Kevin Fiala retrieves, but Oscar Lindberg's forecheck is a bad influence on the 21-year-old. Delay of game penalty, Vegas power play.

The Knights never looked back. Over the course of the Bellemare line's shift, the resulting power play, then pulling the goalie, they pounded Rinne 10-0 in shots, culminating with Erik Haula tying it.

The Nosek-Bellemare-Lindberg line did lead the team in 5v5 shot attempts and scoring chance control last night. The "energy" line certainly sparked the Knights on this pivotal shift.

Pluses

Malcolm Subban is talented enough to take Marc-Andre Fleury's job right now.

He won't -- Fleury will be given every opportunity to re-establish himself as number-one -- but boy, Subban was lightning when moving across the crease last night, striking down 41 of 44 shots. It's no exaggeration to say that he won the game for the Knights.

To this untrained eye, he can do things in net that most goalies can't.

Malcolm Subban is a pleasure to watch. pic.twitter.com/o0hXsUTSdn

— Ryan Quigley (@RP_Quigs) December 9, 2017

View post on imgur.com

It's been only 10 games, but what a terrific 10. The 2012 first-round pick is 7-2-1 with a league-leading 94.39 5v5 Save % (of 39 qualified goalies, 400+ 5v5 minutes). His +1.51 dSv% ranks fifth in the NHL.

(dSv% indicates Save % above or below Expected Save %)

Of course, 10 games does not a career make. Consistency and focus are much easier to flash in small sample sizes. The 23-year-old hasn't proven able to handle the daily grind of being an NHL starting keeper...yet.

But Subban's day might be coming sooner than expected. He's clearly well ahead of what was projected for him earlier this season.

Remember that when George McPhee claimed Subban and traded Calvin Pickard, he noted, "Not quite sure [Subban is] ready for this level." Subban only had two NHL games on his resume at the beginning of the season.

Minuses

Make no mistake, Nashville was the better team last night. While Vegas had its stretches, the Preds were just rolling until the Fiala penalty. They owned a 40-24 shots and 19-12 even strength scoring chances edge up to that point. Credit the Knights for the late blitz.

Shea Theodore coughed up the puck which would become the Bonino Bonino Bonino 3-2 strike. The last time that Theodore made such an egregious mistake was against Toronto, and he sat for the next three games.

I hope that's not the case here.

The 22-year-old is the team's most talented defender and needs to be allowed to learn from his mistakes. His potential to impact both ends of the ice is unmatched on this team.

Just minutes after his gaffe, Theodore was doing this:

View post on imgur.com

Skating, puck poise, and a perfect pass.

His usage after the Bonino goal didn't seem any different, so this is probably much ado about nothing.

***

From the battle of the Subbans to James Neal's return to Nashville, this was no common regular season tilt:

Jam-packed pre-game at Bridgestone: Subbans' first game against each other at any level, James Neal's return to Nashville, and they're celebrating Kevin McCarthy's 1500th game behind the bench #VegasBorn #Preds

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) December 9, 2017

It's a Subban family takeover! pic.twitter.com/TaBgUkbH2B

— NHL (@NHL) December 9, 2017

The Real Deal IS the real deal.#VGKvsNSH pic.twitter.com/oZJiOws16G

— FOX Sports Tennessee (@PredsOnFSTN) December 9, 2017

#VegasBorn dads! pic.twitter.com/uXWFatTBS1

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) December 9, 2017

Credit to Subban (PK) who while retreating, keeps it in, draws Tuch and Eakin out of the zone. Won't get an assist, but he deserves one #Preds

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) December 9, 2017

Good call lmaoooooooo pic.twitter.com/DbHYKFyap5

— Ryan Quigley (@RP_Quigs) December 9, 2017

Malcolm Subban stops PK Subban, then appears to look back at his brother. PK's only shot on goal so far #VegasBorn #Preds pic.twitter.com/y6x44KcVKp

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) December 9, 2017

Malcolm Subban flashes sensational smile after terrific toe save on Filip Forsberg #VegasBorn pic.twitter.com/I3ORPfSAr8

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) December 9, 2017

***
Stats as of 12/8/17, courtesy of Corsica, Hockey Reference, Natural Stat Trick, NHL.com, and Sporting Charts.

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