Follow @VGK_Buzz Although the Vegas Golden Knights lost their fourth straight game, dropping their record to a pedestrian 9-8-3, there were a handful of positives that came from Wednesday night's tilt with the Chicago Blackhawks (7-7-4). It was a back-and-forth game at the T-Mobile Arena, that saw an early Vegas 2-0 lead quickly cut in half and eventually erased completely. Overall, the team wasn't good enough to get two or even one point from the Hawks, but a few players stood out for their gutsy performances.
Alex Tuch:
His wrist shot was deemed "no goal" and soon after, the Blackhawks tied the game at 2-2. Even sooner after - 43 seconds later to be precise - Erik Gustafson gave the visitors the lead for good. Chicago's five goals were sandwiched between just three from the Golden Knights, but Tuch was one of the few players who had it going in the losing effort. He finished the game with seven shot attempts - four on goal - and two takeaways, in 17:15 of ice time. It's clear the Golden Knights need Alex Tuch.
Nic Hague:
William Carrier's opening, redirection goal, came on a great individual effort from the young blueliner. Hague has been vocal about wanting to engage more offensively and boy did he. Hague walked the blue line, faked a shot to clear a lane, and put a quick shot on net after a few strides into the slot. Carrier was able to get some wood on the shot - perfectly below the crossbar - to open the scoring. Later in the game, the 6-foot-6 behemoth laid a few big checks, something that always gets the home crowd going. Hague is starting to show the endless potential he possesses.
William Karlsson:
Karlsson has had an interesting season to this point, scoring one goal in the team's first nine games. He then scored a goal in three straight to end October, before promptly going through another goalless drought - no goals in his last five games - prior to scoring on Wednesday night. The Golden Knights need more production from their top line, one that has been driven by Reilly Smith all season. Marchessault and Karlsson collected points in this one, but the former completely missed the net on a penalty shot attempt, even after watching the Blackhawks fail on one of their own. The Golden Knights' top line needs to regain their 2017-18 dominance to get this team back in their groove.
With the loss, the Golden Knights find themselves with a shocking sub-.500 record. If it weren't for the loser point, the team would be tied for fifth/sixth place in the Pacific Division, with the Anaheim Ducks. A roster as talented as theirs should not be in this position and despite injuries, good opposing goaltending, and whatever other rationalizations have been thought up, they should be much better than they have been through 20 games.
Last season the team found themselves in a similar spot and ended up just fine. Oddly enough, in both seasons they were forced to play without No. One defenseman Nate Schmidt, for an extended period of time. Now healthy, the team is running out of excuses and need to produce or seek internal/external changes. A weekend back-to-back awaits with a chance to match and exceed their franchise worst losing streak of five games, before Monday.
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