LAS VEGAS -- The clock struck midnight on the last undefeated team in the NHL.
Up 3-2, one good period away from a 4-0 start to their season, the Vegas Golden Knights surrendered four unanswered goals in the third period, falling 6-3 to the Detroit Red Wings.
Winning Play
37-year-old Henrik Zetterberg absolutely dominated this shift early in the third, which led to the Anthony Mantha tying goal:
It's a clean defensive zone faceoff win for Erik Haula, back to Colin Miller. But Zetterberg matches the mobile Miller step for step, using a good stick to prevent the probable Miller to Brendan Leipsic to William Karlsson breakout.
Haula covers, rimming the puck back up to Leipsic on the half wall. But two Red Wings have now converged on Leipsic, closing off a chip off the wall. Leipsic is able to retrieve and his best option is to retreat. Note Mantha's excellent positioning, covering high for the pinching Niklas Kronwall.
Instead of the safe pass to the safety valve (Jason Garrison), it looks like Leipsic attempts to surprise the Red Wings by cutting in front of his own net. Zetterberg and his stick aren't having that.
It's a loose puck near the corner, and Gustav Nyquist outbattles Miller and Leipsic, feeding a now-open Zetterberg on the other side of Marc-Andre Fleury. The 6'5" Mantha, who has switched back with Kronwall, is now occupying the front. The 5'10" Leipsic rotates onto Mantha as he should, but it's a physical mismatch.
Then Zetterberg takes over again. Garrison, who looked to be in decent position to block the pass, narrates, "Backhand sauce pass to the middle. [Mantha] was able to pick it up, do a spin-o-rama."
What a shift by the Swede. While this only tied the game 3-3, it forecast Detroit's domination for the rest of the third period.
"He's still here for a reason," said Garrison. "When he's on the ice, you have to be fully aware."
Pluses
For 40 minutes, Vegas played winning hockey:
#VGK 31-28 5v5 Corsi, 17-8 scoring chances, 7-6 high-danger. They are doing some good hockeying
Gallant also liked his team's efforts in the earlygoing, "I thought we played a great game [in the first two periods]. We were the better team."
Going back to the third period of the season-opener in Dallas, Vegas has played some solid hockey. So the upside of a 40-minute effort?
"I think we showed we can play with other teams," Marc-Andre Fleury asserted.
Also, Jonathan Marchessault scored his first goal and point as a Golden Knight. Hopefully, this opens the floodgates for the feisty winger, who has been consistently dangerous so far this year.
Minuses
As good as Vegas was earlier tonight, they were that bad in the third. Questionable puck management was a culprit on every Detroit goal in the final frame:
Full credit to young Anthony Mantha and Dylan Larkin for forcing turnovers, but these could be considered unforced forced errors.
"It was an awful third period," Gallant lamented, "We made some bad plays. We didn't win the one-on-one battles. We gave them some goals. We made some big mental mistakes."
Fleury, who was not sharp, stopped just 21 of 27 shots.
The Golden Knights host the Bruins this Sunday.
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