For 40 minutes, watching the Vegas Golden Knights was a treat for Gerard Gallant.
#VGK will want to tighten up in 3rd, ES scoring chances by pd, VGK 12-11/NYR 5-8; VGK 40-34 5v5 Corsi. Regardless, well-deserved 4-2 lead
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) November 1, 2017
Well, you know the rest. The New York Rangers tricked out their Halloween with four unanswered third period goals, dropping the tourists 6-4.
Afterwards, Gallant was pointed in his criticism:
“We’ve got to play a full 60 minutes. We’re not good enough to play 40 minutes and win.… —Gallant
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) November 1, 2017
Gallant said they played a good two periods and then "played like an expansion team."
— Jesse Granger (@JesseGranger_) November 1, 2017
"That's two nights in a row we pissed away points. We are better than that." -Gallant
— SinBin.vegas (@SinBinVegas) November 1, 2017
Tied at four apiece, Brady Skjei took over:
The puck is loose, and William Karlsson claims it. Skjei's defensive posture and New York's positioning leads Karlsson to get it in deep (instead of trying for Theodore).
Skjei recovers the puck, but Karlsson forces a turnover behind the net. However, Skjei's persistent stick and the Rangers' coverage once again limits Karlsson's options.
Karlsson takes a soft wrister from a bad angle. Skjei scoops up the rebound, while Mika Zibanejad accidentally picks Karlsson:
Skjei takes off. However, it's still just a 2-on-2. Colin Miller, a wonderful skater in his own right, is in solid D position.
But then, Skjei gets Miller to bite on a fake, crossing over the Vegas blueliner and turning him inside out.
In response, Miller slashes Skjei.
New York goes on a power play with 6:43 left in the contest, and Zibanejad puts the home team ahead for good with a man advantage marker.
This all came about from a true 200-ft shift from the 23-year-old Rangers defender. Skjei also led New York with 20:43 TOI at 5v5, along with a third-best Score-Adjusted Corsi For % (63.2).
Pluses
As mentioned above, the Golden Knights really took it the home team for 40 minutes, and in all three zones.
In particular, the Marchessault-Karlsson-Smith line was electric. According to Natural Stat Trick, Karlsson led the team in 5v5 Score-Adjusted Corsi For % (75.6) and High-Danger Corsi For % (72.4), while his Score-Adjusted Scoring Chances For % (76.0) was also robust. Their work led to two Smith goals, and by my count, nine of the Knights' 23 even strength scoring chances.
Minuses
Unfortunately, all 23 of these chances happened in the first two periods. That's right, New York held Vegas to zero scoring chances at evens in the final frame.
It really was a defensive hockey clinic, and hopefully, the Golden Knights paid some attention. In a series of small but smart Rangers plays, one in particular grabbed my attention:
Here, Karlsson collects the dump-in. Marc Staal rides him into the corner, knocking Karlsson off balance. Smith tries to fill in, but Zibanejad follows him down, making sure the Knights don't outnumber Staal, swipes the puck, and makes a short but artful pass to a waiting Mats Zuccarello for the easy breakout. It's winning hockey at a key moment; on the next shift, the Knights pulled Maxime Lagace. After that, Michael Grabner potted the empty netter.
On the other hand, Vegas did themselves in once again, like last night, with a series of unforced errors.
Up 4-2 early in the third, Perron took consecutive tripping penalties on the same shift. The second whistle was particularly egregious as a flat-footed Perron stuck his stick out in the neutral zone to take out Pavel Buchnevich.
Chris Kreider scored on the man advantage to cut the Vegas lead in half.
New York tied the game just four minutes later with a Buchnevich tap-in. Jon Merrill won a half wall DZ puck battle, but his pass to safety valve Deryk Engelland, open in front, was too hot or fumbled or both.
James Neal-Cody Eakin-Perron had a tough time; by my count, they were on the ice for the first nine ES scoring chances against.
The 8-3 Golden Knights take on the bear and the maiden fair this Thursday in Boston.
***
Emergency recall Dylan Ferguson backed up Lagace tonight. The 19-year-old took the scenic route to Madison Square Garden:
What a night for Ferguson pic.twitter.com/U0jxRQwZxA
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) October 31, 2017
While Ferguson is unlikely to appear in a game, considering the expansion side's luck in the crease, who knows?
#VGK on pace to use 32 goalies this season pic.twitter.com/m8ZUE8TueQ
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) October 31, 2017
The 2017 seventh-round draft pick has struggled in his first season as number-one in Kamloops. He's 4-9 with a 4.05 GAA and .878 Save %.
"It's not quite his fault," said Paul Figler of Dubnetwork.ca. "He doesn't have a great team in front of him."
At the moment, Ferguson doesn't have a great team in front of him in Vegas either.
Anyway, Oscar Dansk is back in Las Vegas, so he's done for this road trip. Marc-Andre Fleury is traveling with the boys, but he hasn't practiced yet.
Gallant has said that once Fleury hits ice, it'll be 4-5 days before he plays https://t.co/kf47c42VSD
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) October 31, 2017
If this were "Mad Max," George McPhee would tie Vadim Shipachyov between the pipes.
*** Stats as of 10/31/17, courtesy of Corsica, Hockey Reference, Natural Stat Trick, NHL.com, and Sporting Charts. ++++I AM CURRENTLY LOOKING FOR ADVERTISERS! If you, or anyone you know would be interested in placing an ad here at HockeyBuzz, then send me a PM!++++