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Now that was a game! The Vegas Golden Knights and Washington Capitals put on a show last night. Big hits, bigger goals, and all around excitement filled the T-Mobile Arena last night as the Golden Knights won a back-and-forth thriller, by a score of 5-3.
Coming into the game, most hockey fans were anticipating the big match up. No, not the one between the two Stanley Cup Finalists from last season. Anticipation surrounded the meeting of oft-suspended Capital forward Tom Wilson and Vegas tough guy, Ryan Reaves. Reaves took the physicality to Wilson, early and often and even may have crossed the proverbial line himself.
With six minutes left in the first period, holding a 1-0 lead courtesy of his power play goal just two minutes into the game, Reaves got a nice hit in on Wilson in the Vegas zone. Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin took exception, finishing a hard, clean hit on Reaves later in the neutral zone. By the time Reaves skated away from Ovie, Wilson was making his way toward Reaves and was bumped to the ice by the Golden Knight. Reaves simply laughed at Wilson as he approached and again as he fell to the ice, a real embarrassing moment for Wilson.
Soon after the Reaves-Wilson meeting, Washington evened the score with a goal from Jakub Vrana, assisted by Brett Connoly at 15:33 of the first period. Connoly blocked a Shea Theodore shot attempt at the Vegas blue line and raced down the ice, toward Marc-Andre Fleury. Vrana easily beat backside defenseman Deryk Engelland to the slot and hammered a one-timer past Fleury.
Washington took the lead with their second goal just past the midway point of the game, as Ovechkin netted his 20th goal of the season. "The Great 8" collected an errant (or intentionally so) Madison Bowey shot from the back boards, to the right of Fleury, and sent a sharp angle backhand into the wide open net. This is the 14th season in a row, dating back to his rookie season in 2004, that Ovechkin has reached 20 goals. He is truly a generational talent, a bonafide goal-scorer.
Down a goal late in the second, Vegas needed to make something happen. Due to their jump and puck control, the fourth line of the Golden Knights continued to get ample ice time. Unfortunately, that aggression finally boiled over. Tom Wilson ended up with a puck in the Capitals zone and sent it forward for a breakout. Reaves saw an opportunity to get a big shot on Wilson following the pass and barrelled into him, well after the puck was gone. Wilson had his back to Reaves, had no puck, and was hit very aggressively, albeit with no head contact. Reaves received a five minute major for interference (Wilson no longer had the puck) and a game misconduct.
Finding Tom Wilson supporters is a very hard thing to do, even within the Capitals' fan base and media crowd. He plays too close to the edge and typically crosses the line. He is a dirty player. He deserves just about anything that comes his way on a NHL rink. Following his latest 20-game suspension (cut down to 14 games in appeal), Wilson proved that he learned nothing form the suspension. In the Capitals' game last Friday against the New Jersey Devils, Wilson took a run at a Devils player, similar to the Reaves hit on him. It was a strong, dangerous blindside hit to the unsuspecting Brett Seney. Wilson was ejected from the game, but somehow did not receive supplemental discipline or even get a hearing with the Department of Player Safety.
Due to Wilson's reputation, the Reaves hit was amplified in the eyes of the officials. They knew Reaves wanted a piece of Wilson and the two were going at one another all night. Anyone could have predicted that the first step over that line, would get more attention than any other hit during the game. Was Ryan Reaves in the wrong? Yes. Was it worth a game misconduct? Maybe. At the time, Vegas coach Gerard Gallant and Vegas fans alike were up in arms over the call. What they weren't anticipating is that the game misconduct (just over a period's worth of game), most likely saved Reaves from missing any additional games. NHL's Department of Player Safety deemed that the misconduct alone was sufficient punishment, and the hit does not require supplemental review. Wilson left the game and did not return (Concussion protocol).
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Somehow, the Golden Knights' penalty killers were able to kill off the five minute major penalty, 4:18 of it in the second and the remaining 42 seconds to start the third. That penalty could have been disastrous due to the Capitals high-powered special teams, but they couldn't get anything going. Tomas Nosek did a particularly good job shadowing Ovechkin on the back side of the play, the main point of attack for the Capitals.
Back at even strength, Vegas tied the game on a Pierre-Edouard Bellemare tip out front. Bellemare screened Brayden Holtby and redirected Brayden McNabb's point shot into the net. It was a great tip by Bellemare and his celebration certainly showed it. Washington had been in control to that point and once the goal light lit, the roof came off of the T-Mobile Arena. Cody Eakin wasted no time capitalizing on that momentum. Eakin scored on a rebound created by Oscar Lindberg, who was playing in place of the ill Max Pacioretty, taking the lead back just 16 seconds after Bellemare tied the game. The Fortress has never been louder than it was following the Eakin go-ahead goal.
Eventually the Capitals tied the game at three, with another Vrana one-timer from the top of the slot. Fleury was screened by his own man, Nick Holden, and had no chance on the play. Vrana found a soft spot and Evgeny Kuznetsov made no mistake finding him for the goal. With 8:20 left to play, fans were gearing up for a wild finish.
With 1:25 left in the third period and their four-minute power play coming to an end, some sweet revenge was served to the Capitals. Former Capital defenseman, Nate Schmidt scored his first goal of the season, on a sweet wrist shot from the high slot, to put Vegas up 4-3. It was the perfect time for Schmidt's first goal (the eventual game-winner). He scored the goal on his former team, the same guys that beat Vegas for the Stanley Cup last season. Yeah, you could safely say that it felt good. Following the game, Schmidt described the night as "an intense, high speed, high octane game" and he wasn't wrong. Schmidt later added an empty netter from his own zone to seal the game, giving Vegas a 5-3 victory at home.
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Washington's power play went an uncharacteristic 0/4 on the night while Vegas capitalized on their first and last power plays, finishing 2/6. Vegas had the edge in shots on goal (28 to 26) and also won the faceoff battle (59% success rate). With the win Vegas improved to 15-13-1 good for 4th in the Pacific. They are tied with San Jose at 31 points, but have one more game played. Washington slips to 15-9-3, but remains at the top of the Metropolitan Division.
Vegas' next game is on Thursday, at home, versus the Chicago Blackhawks. Chicago hosted the Golden Knights last week and dropped an 8-3 decision. The Golden Knights will be looking for much of the same this time around, to start another win streak, after their five-gamer ended on Saturday in Edmonton.
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