All they do is win, win, win no matter what. Another night, another W for the Vegas Golden Knights and for the second straight night, they may have stolen one. Good teams find ways to win and as I’ve highlighted in the past, it’s easy to do with such solid goaltending. There will be little time to bask in their 4-2 victory over Arizona because the Yotes will be back in the T-Mobile Arena on Wednesday, hoping to return the favor and avenge their first regulation loss of the season.
It is always interesting to watch such a back-and-forth game like Monday evening’s. Typically the Golden Knights outwork the opposition, resulting in severely lopsided Corsi %. Alas, the Coyotes were up to the task at even strength, matching the shot generation and play-driving of the Golden Knights. This is illustrated well in Natural Stat Trick’s Game Flow chart below.
Interesting to see such a close (5v5) Corsi split in a Golden Knights game. #VegasBorn #Yotes pic.twitter.com/vYA3lWk8JS
— Jeff Paul âš”ï¸ HockeyBuzz.com (@JPaul_HB) January 19, 2021
By charging out to a 2-0 lead, it looked as if the Desert Kitties would get a quick series lead on the 2019-20 Pacific Division Champs. Guys like Tyler Pitlick, Clayton Keller, Conor Garland, and Jordan Oesterle had noticeable jam and were wreaking havoc on the Golden Knights. Pitlick struck first with a shorthanded goal, going bar-down on Robin Lehner. Just 1:11 later Nick Schmaltz added the second goal, unknowingly capping the scoring of the night for the Yotes.
Max Pacioretty cut the Coyotes’ lead in half with 2:58 left in the second, giving the Golden Knights something to think about and build on in the final frame. It clearly worked wonders because Reilly Smith and Chandler Stephenson scored tying and game-winning goals in the first half of the third period. Smith would later add an empty-netter on a great defensive play, to seal the 4-2 win.
With the win, the Golden Knights improve to 3-0-0, all at home, while the Yotes slip to 1-1-1. Wednesday’s contest is slated for another 7pm puck drop and it will be interesting to see if any emotion carries over from this one. Until then, it’s time to talk about the win.
Mark Stone is Human:
Stone coughed the puck up near the Coyotes’ blue line, springing Pitlick down the ice. The UFA acquisition made no mistake, using Alex Pietrangelo as a screen and snapping a picture-perfect wrist shot up and over Lehner’s glove. Stone tried to get fancy with a backhand chip to Petro. Instead, Pitlick intercepted it and turned it into a goal against.
For once, Mark Stone looked human. Trade the bum (obvious joke!)!
PP Issues:
Does the team need to find more players that are Power Play inclined? William Karlsson, Reilly Smith, and Mark Stone, are all great on the kill. They are all also featured on the Power Play. Are the killers too inclined to play a different style of game. Is the Power Play too much of a tempo change from their aggressive and fast nature? Anything is possible.
Historically, the Golden Knights have been up and down on the Power Play. In their inaugural season, with James Neal and David Perron, they were very good. Following a down season with big personnel turnover in Year Two (18-19), they topped their 2017-18 mark by a full percentage point (in 2019-20). Let’s hope the up one-down one pattern doesn’t persist.
For now, let’s side with lack of time to prepare. Smith, Stone, and Max Pacioretty would be playing big minutes on any NHL club, they’re that good. Another wrinkle is the recent addition of Nic Hague to the mix and despite how good their d-men are, the coaches have four of them taking up nearly half the PP spots. Putting in a Chandler Stephenson, Tomas Nosek, or the return of Cody Glass could be the boost needed.
Whitecloud’s Confidence
Long talks about his two-way game, his upbringing, and his desire to be a good person had me excited to get to City National Arena for morning practices. Whitecloud is an all-around solid dude, who had the tools then that he is applying now today, as an all-around solid NHL defenseman. Whitecloud is a staple on the PK, has shown off great decision making, good decisiveness, and a nose for the offensive zone.
In last night’s game, Whitecloud jumped for a puck off an offensive zone faceoff scramble and fired it toward the net. His shot caromed off Stephenson - who typically would’ve taken the faceoff (tossed) - and got past Darcy Kuemper. His shot broke the 2-2 tie and gave Stephenson the easiest GWG of his life.
Pete DeBoer raves about Whitecloud and also Hague and Dylan Coghlan. It’s becoming very clear that the pipeline of Golden Knights defense prospects is rich and an organizational strength. Now they need to hope for a high draft pick, not named Nick Suzuki, to hit. For now they’ll enjoy their defensive riches.
Resiliency:
…We have a veteran team that has the confidence to win games late.… -Pete DeBoer on third period comeback wins
I’m sure the team prefers it to go a little more like game one did, with a Jonathan Marchessault goal 1:07 into the game. An emphasis will be placed on getting off to better starts. DeBoer alluded to this following the game.
Solid Goaltending:
Think about that for a second. Asking a professional athlete if he feels a responsibility to step up for the goalie who happens to be playing well. That’s how spectacular Fleury’s good games come off.
Lehner on the other hand is as steady as they come. At no point during last night’s game did it seem that Lehner was either in trouble or particularly standing on his head. No questions arose about performing for Lehner following the game. Complete 180 from a Fleury game/post-game presser.
Taking a closer look, Lehner made multiple huge stops to keep the Golden Knights in the game. Once again, after allowing two goals, he shut the door for good on the opposition. He turned aside multiple breakaways and high danger chances. He was great under pressure and kept his calming demeanor.
He stopped 30 of 32 shots including a perfect 19-for-19 at even strength. Arizona was able to get the Pitlick SH snipe and Schmaltz PPG and nothing more. DeBoer has an abundance of riches in goal and he will continue to use both men while they are hot.
Moving On:
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