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Duck Hunt, Anyone?

November 14, 2018, 12:33 PM ET [1 Comments]
Jeff Paul
Vegas Golden Knights Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Tonight, the Vegas Golden Knights (7-10-1, 7th Pacific) take on the Anaheim Ducks (8-8-3, 5th Pacific) at 7:30 in the T-Mobile Arena. The game will be broadcast nationally on NBCSN. A return home could be just what the Golden Knights needed, on the heels of a four-game road trip in which they compiled a 1-3 record. Vegas dropped a 3-1 decision to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday, won 5-3 in Ottawa Thursday, and dropped both games in a weekend back-to-back against Montreal (5-4) and Boston (4-1). Anaheim is led by Rickard Rakell (3g, 10a) and Captain Ryan Getslaf (4g, 8a) while Vegas is paced by first-liners Jonathan Marchessault (8g, 7a) and William Karlsson (4g, 10a). Erik Haula, who was injured in the Leafs game, has officially been put on IR pending a second opinion on his apparent knee injury. There is no timetable for his return.

Upon their return home, Vegas held a practice Monday, took an off day on Tuesday, and will hold a morning skate today at City National Arena. Monday’s practice was nearly at capacity, despite the team’s struggles early on this season. Fans piled in for the chance to see a familiar face. Ever the sight for sore eyes, Nate Schmidt practiced with the team on Monday, ahead of his activation from suspension. He is eligible to play on 11/18, on the road in Edmonton. A meeting with Connor McDavid (10g, 16a) will be a tough task for Schmidt, in his first taste of game action this season. The Vegas defense misses him dearly, as he is their unquestioned #1 defenseman and invaluable in the locker room.


Photo: William Zaragoza

Anaheim should be flying high tonight, with momentum from a win against the Nashville Predators on Monday. The Ducks won the home tilt in a shootout, by a score of 2-1, backed by another brilliant performance from goaltender John Gibson. Early on this season, Gibson has my vote for league MVP. Gibson has been the driving force behind Anaheim gutting out an 8-8-3 record. In Monday’s game, Gibson went toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the league, making 10 saves in overtime alone. His strong effort afforded the Ducks a chance to grab a shootout victory. Gibson finished the game with 36 saves on the night.

In their last meeting with Anaheim, Vegas took 45 shots, with only two beating Gibson. Marchessault later added an empty netter to secure a 3-1 victory in front of the home crowd. The win pushed Vegas goalie Marc-Andre Fleury into 10th on the NHL’s all-time wins list, with win number 408. Naturally, Fleury diverted credit to the good teams he was able to be a part of.

In order to come away with a win, the Vegas shooters will need to find a way to beat Gibson. Simply getting pucks on net won’t work, considering the high level he is currently playing at. Vegas likes to put a high number of pucks on net and utilize a strong forecheck. Their strategy can and has worked against this Anaheim team, but poor shot quality has hindered Vegas all season. Vegas has been outshot just four times in 18 games yet find themselves with a losing record. In his post-practice interviews, Schmidt said “We aren’t playing the fast game we are accustomed to and you can take that and branch it off into every part of your game.”

Essentially, Schmidt is implying that Vegas needs to play faster which will lead to more scoring and more wins. On the contrary, this could actually be their problem, not their solution.
Vegas continues to play a game reliant on speed and transition. Although they added players that don’t necessarily fit into that mold, Pacioretty in particular, they have utilized a strong forecheck and a good neutral zone transition to generate a high number of shots. Vegas currently ranks 3rd in shots per game at 34.7 shots per game and is a league best in shots allowed per game at 26.0 shots allowed per game. Shot creation and suppression have both been strong suits for Vegas. Their 8.7 shot differential only trails the Carolina Hurricanes. Simply playing fast isn’t working anymore. Opposing teams seem to have adjusted to Vegas’ play and successfully keeps them to the perimeter, allowing a high number of shots from the outside. Over-simplicity of offense combined with periodic, big defensive breakdowns have been the two main downfalls of the Golden Knights. There must be a reason that proven goal scorers Tomas Tatar and Pacioretty have failed to uphold their scoring output when joining the Golden Knights.

Whatever Vegas determines to be the problem, it needs to be fixed fast. Although they are a mere four points from a wildcard spot in the Western Conference, the Golden Knights need to start building positive momentum. With so many teams ahead in the standings, their work is cut out for them for them the remainder of the season. A quick four or five-game win streak can get Vegas back into the mix. Tonight’s game could very well come down to the goalies. Neither team has been overly dominant offensively thus far. In this match-up of Gibson and Fleury, a shut out is certainly in play. Vegas is looking to snap a two-game losing streak and has lost five out of their last seven.

**Join the conversation tonight on Twitter, @VGK_Buzz, for in-game updates, observations, and analysis**

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