Recap: It was New Years Eve on the Strip so the Vegas Golden Knights hosted the Anaheim Ducks for an afternoon faceoff. The Ducks got on the board first, but their lead wouldn’t last long. Mark Stone tied the game 1-1 with his third goal in his last two games. Alex Tuch jammed one through with :20 seconds left in the 1st period to give his team the 2-1 lead.
Reilly Smith scores the only 2nd period goal, taking advantage of another Ducks mistake. Smith registered his 15th goal of the season, stretching Vegas’ lead to 3-1.
Jonathan Marchessault extended the lead to 4-1 with his first penalty shot of the season. The Ducks would get one back to get within two but Vegas would come away with a 5-2 victory.
Vegas’ record improves to 22-15-6 winning their last game of 2019. They’ll next take the ice on Thursday night against the Philadelphia Flyers. Game is scheduled for 7 PM. (Recap by Jason)
Analysis: A dominant 1st period looked like it was headed for a frustrating deficit but a couple fortunate plays helped get Vegas the lead they deserved. From there they controlled the game completely and were never really in any danger of losing it. An easy win that continues to remind us of how good this team can be when they are playing well. (Analysis by Ken)
Upcoming stories from the Vegas Golden Knights vs Anaheim Ducks at T-Mobile Arena
- 1st place on New Year’s Day, what does it mean in terms of winning the division, the playoffs, and the Cup?
Ken’s Three VGK Stars
*** Reilly Smith
** Mark Stone
* Jonathan Marchessault
A gold old fashioned VGK beatdown of a Pacific Division team. Thank goodness for geography.
— SinBin.vegas (@SinBinVegas) December 31, 2019
The Ducks' defense, in a word, sucks.
— Steve Carp (@stevecarp56) December 31, 2019
Grown. Ass. Man.
Mark Stone.
— SinBin.vegas (@SinBinVegas) December 31, 2019
easy ed
Ken – did you notice the comment after the game by the coach – “you can’t teach that, it comes from the inside”. If I am not mistaken he was referring to a winning attitude – it’s attitude that can and will make this team “special”. Guess there is more to our observations than you would like to believe. No problem – keep up the good work. Go Knights Go – Happy New Year to one and all.
Ken Boehlke
Gallant has said many times in post game pressers that the most important thing to his team is to “have fun.” So no, I’m not convinced by winning coach speak.
Still waiting for someone to point out shifts where they can see a lack of motivation.
Tim
Good game tonight the new zone defense looks like it’s working. It’s likely the Blue Jackets will be out of the playoff by the trade deadline. I’ve mentioned this before I’d go hard after Seth Jones good young two way d-man were building for now and the future and he’d fit right in..
Easy ed
Ken does that mean by your definition you can’t have fun and a winning attitude. I hope that’s not what you meant. They are a much happier bunch when they win and their attitude is 180 degree different than the one even YOU can see when they lose. I am sure being the hockey buff you are you can see the difference between team 1 and the other [both the vgks] in how they play that is attitude and motivation it is really that simple. Yes you can equate attitude to motivation . Happy New Year here’s to another win tomorrow night.