Recap: The Golden Knights traveled east for a four-game road trip beginning with a matchup in Washington, DC. Each teams had chances, including one power play opportunity a piece but neither could convert.
Michael Amadio scored for Vegas to break the scoreless tie 5:29 into the middle frame. Amadio’s fourth goal of the season gave the visiting team a 1-0 advantage. The Golden Knights later killed a lengthy 5-on-3 Capital’s power play that helped preserve their one goal lead.
The Capitals came out shooting in the 3rd period and earned a power play for their efforts. However, Vegas’ penalty kill continued to frustrate Washington’s high end shooters. The Golden Knights then shut down a 6-on-5 opportunity from the Capitals to end the game.
The Golden Knights record improves to 25-15-1 defeating the Capitals 1-0. Vegas will play back-to-back days facing the Carolina Hurricanes tomorrow. Puck drop against the Canes is set for 4 PM. (Recap by Jason)
Analysis: For the first time all season the Golden Knights put in a complete 60 minute effort on the defensive end. They completely thwarted everything the Caps wanted to do. Vegas’ attention to details were excellent starting with their in-zone coverage and accentuated by their backchecking. That’s the type of game that’s been missing from the Golden Knights’ arsenal this season, very important to see they can still do it. (Recap by Ken)
Upcoming stories from the Vegas Golden Knights vs. Washington Capitals game at Capital One Arena.
- The goaltending was great, but it wasn’t just goaltending that earned VGK their first shutout of the year
Ken’s Three VGK Stars
*** Michael Amadio
** Chandler Stephenson
* Robin Lehner
"We don't win tonight unless our goalie was really good. He was our best player tonight." -DeBoer on Lehner
— SinBin.vegas (@SinBinVegas) January 25, 2022
Golden Knights completely took everything the Caps wanted to do away from them. They ran out of ideas on how to score early and Vegas didn't give them anything easy. Brilliant defensive performance and excellent goaltending.
— SinBin.vegas (@SinBinVegas) January 25, 2022
Amadio heading to the right place gets rewarded. He's been very noticeable in this game so far. Couple dangerous passes and now the opener. 1-0 VGK.
— SinBin.vegas (@SinBinVegas) January 25, 2022
These have been two of VGK's best defensive periods of the season. Plus, Lehner has been elite on the PK.
Have to do it for 60 to beat this team though.
— SinBin.vegas (@SinBinVegas) January 25, 2022
Galdom
Not that some criticism towards Lehner has not justified but for tonight…….
Richie-Rich, hdbiker7851, phantom major, DL, Blitz, DL, trade, Justin, Mark, Henderson One
Shhhhhhhhhhhh!!!
Props to Pistol Pete for sticking with Panda and not wanting to run him out of town
SMH
You forgot to add the amazing Darryl to your list! He hates when VGK wins – but will likely still come up with something to troll & whine about.
Hey Darryl – 1.000 (34 / 34). How does that taste?
Daryl
Oh my God, RL finally played a good game!!! Or was it outstanding defense. I can’t tell sometimes as some on here blame the defense for every bad game RL has.
As I’ve stated a thousand times, VGK is good enough to beat every team in the NHL in a 1 game series, but can they do it in a 7bgames series?
I’m glad I’m on your mind so much…. Sounds like you are infatuated with me
Henderson One
No question Lehner played a great game tonight.
Galdom
Tonight‘s game is amazing SMH. Lehner looked so confident. I hope he just shuts down his Twitter account and ignores the haters.
I’ve always thought that Darryl’s arguments were pretty levelheaded. He clearly prefers Fleury and feels he is a better goalie and he may not be wrong about that.
I just think everybody is frustrated this season because 2021 sucks and the lineup is different every single night with this Covid crap. AND I REALLY DO THINK THAT RECENCY BIAS IS A THING.
One point I have always made was that over Lehner’s career you generally know what you are getting out of him. He has been consistent although the exception might be this very season. (Recency bias). I’ve made the point that Lehner at his best is not as good as Fluery at his best but at his worst he is not as bad as when Fleury is really bad.
Panda has a .907 save percentage in 30 games this year in front of what has been Vegas worst defensive team in their short history. They by far lead the league in high danger chances against.
People forget that a couple of years ago Fleury was much worse in a much larger sample size in front of a better structured defensive team.
Fluery was .905 over 49 games in 2019-20 season. It’s easy to make that point because the numbers don’t lie and they are there for everyone to see but it’s also hard to make that point while watching Lehner struggle.
Let’s hope they build on this. A healthy team will go a long way in being better defensively.
knights fan in minny
flower is gone nothing they can do about that waiting to see this team at full strength if its possible
Daryl
It’s not so much they have bad defense in front of RL or any of their goalies… It’s PDB system where everyone rushes in the offensive zone and the defense can’t get back
the REAL TS..REALLY!
Defense was the game tonight. It was satisfying to see the Caps unable to score, esp on the 5-on-3 PP. We showed our “BIG D” is formidable. Lehner was so…consistent! Great effort! Plus he STAYED ON HIS FEET!! And, a SHUTOUT
is a great notch in Lehner’s belt! Confidence- builder for everyone!
THE hockey GOD
^ 🙂
Richie-Rich
I stopped talking about Fleury a while ago. Some people want to keep that narrative and comparison alive. There is no comparison. Fleury is a future HOF goaltender with a Stanley Cup. Lehner is still looking for a home and maybe, hopefully, he has found one here in Vegas. Between 1 Dec and 23 January Lehner has a save percentage of .872. With the exception of this one outstanding performance he has regressed.
Lehner needs to translate last night’s outstanding performance and catapult himself into the hearts and minds of those of us who doubt him.
Bring a Cup to Vegas and everyone will forget Fleury.
That’s the story from my perspective.
Daryl
I completely agree with you. I don’t understand the people on this site. I don’t understand why they must consistently bring up MAF. My comments never have to do with MAF just like the others who criticize RL. It’s those like SMH and thg that always bring up MAF. Why is that????
Blitz
Go fuck yourself! Call me out, you fuckin douche!
Galdom
Blitz, you gotta relax. Read my post again. The very first sentence says that criticism of Lehner has been justified.
You don’t have to swear! I’m not telling you to go fuck yourself because Lehner played well. I’m under the assumption that everybody on here are VGK fans and we would prefer that Lehner plays well.
And so what if I’m calling people out. It’s fun. If you disagree with something I say then call me out.
Galdom
They won Blitz. THATS A GOOD THING. I think the defensive effort was strong especially in the first and second. But there’s no doubt that Lehner stole this game. Especially when they were shorthanded two men and in the third period when Vegas didn’t get their first shot on net until the 13th minute. They literally needed Lehner to stop every single shot this game to win the game. The fan base was calling out for him to steal a game and he did.
hdbiker7851
Give credit where credit is due, and the walrus deserves all the credit coming his way – Great performance on his part and the “A” team showed up this evening. They even played 60 minutes of hockey – just shows it can be done.
Henderson One
No question Lehner played a great game tonight.
Richie-Rich
For sure, Lehner earned a huge congratulations from me for his performance vs the Capitols. Now, let’s see him continue to change my mind! I would welcome that, but he still has a way to go to convince me.
Pistol Pete
Thank you Galdom…thank you
Pistol Pete
34/34–how sweet it is Robin.
Galdom
I have low expectations for tomorrow night. Quite a tough assignment for Brossoit and what is still a shorthanded roster. But anything could happen. Another challenge
Pistol Pete
Galdom are we sure Lehner doesn’t go? He was coming off a three day rest. No matter, Canes are a tall order with the short roster.
Galdom
Maybe
Daryl
I really thought VGK would have switched goalies… Caps are 3-7 and not playing well since Jan 1. I think VGK would have been better going with Lehner against CAR
Pistol Pete
That’s gotta be a confidence builder.
Pistol Pete
And not just for Lehner. That was a tremendous defensive effort by the entire roster.
knights fan in minny
walrus was fantastic he was great on the 2 man advantage he slammed the door tuesdays game will be a tough one
Pistol Pete
Kings nearly made it a three team Pacific Division sweep back east tonight.
knights fan in minny
if rl is feeling confident get back in net tommorow
Pistol Pete
Haven’t watched them yet but some of those PP’s probably would have benefited from the sniping of Pacioretty and Eichel.
DL
SpongeBob played solid, better than the team as a whole, actually stole a game, got the rare shutout, and for once did not drop on the deck and flop like a fish!
Galdom
Great win. Have a good evening everyone. One last thing on Lehner, I understand the criticism. He has struggled and that’s been frustrating. I understand the criticism with Kolesar‘s stone hands. It’s part of being a passionate fan base. I was freaking out on Dylan Coughlan after a game. But, if anybody is rooting against Lehner and angry that he played well then you are not a fan.
phantom major
A couple things…. they play better on the road, because they don’t get as fancy, they keep it simple.
and they won, no thanks to dumbass McNabb, who had plenty of room and time to ice that puck properly. what a dumbass move by him, putting them 2 men short.
and Hague makes a big difference on D
and if that is RL responding to criticism, then good, he needs more of it.
THE hockey GOD
pm , yes the return of 14 was huge, nice post.
great win.
The demise of RL in January was well, not thought through clearly.
The Washington announcers on NHL Network kept trying to “jinx” RL. IT was pathetic and feeble attempt although they tossed accolade after accolade upon him started from opening face offs. I will not share all of them but one tidbit is that RL father is a goalie trainer and was the personal trainer of one of NHL greats. Henrik Lundqvis. And that his style was more of old time goalie. I can respect that.
Expect him to start again tonight since the team has been well rested.
Team played better with Smith out of line up. The call up from AHL had a decent game.
I Agree no. 3’s air mail was not good, sometime it is difficult to see in a rink that players are not used to playing in. Or have infrequently played in, due to lights and fan background. I don’t know why he air mailed it. Maybe hooked it off his stick. The fan in stands was sent off in ambulance. Refs did right thing in delaying the game.
Frank
Not a fan of Lehner really, but he won us that game! We need more of this with all the offensive power sidelined. Go knights go!
THE hockey GOD
PK did a great job against a flailing, still potent, CAP PP unit
Justin
Well played game for sure, especially defensively. Knights played extremely structured, weave literally nothing really to caps.
For those jumping up and down about RL relax. He literally had no high danger chances against him. Pretty much every shot was right at his chest, and when there was a rebound the knights d cleared it immediately. The shutout is thanks to very high level d, leaner did not need to make tough saves. That’s the d the knights need with Lehrer in goal to have any chance against any team. It was lucky tonight that no shot was at a corner, or over his glove, or under his glove, or over his blocker, or at the 5 hole, or required any quick lateral movements. If we can talk every team into shooting like that there may be hope…
Galdom
Wow. Disappointing
Pistol Pete
“He literally had no high danger chances against him.”
That’s not accurate.
THE hockey GOD
Usual negative nilly suspects posting.
Don’t know what game you were watching, but
were the two off cross bar high danger chances ? (by no3 and no 13) one off post by no. 20.
from natural stat trick website.
Golden Knights 1 Final 0 Capitals
Corsi: 39, Fenwick: 28, Shots: 20, Scoring Chances: 13, High Danger Chances: 5, Expected Goals: 1.49
Corsi: 36, Fenwick: 28, Shots: 23, Scoring Chances: 20, High Danger Chances: 12, Expected Goals: 2.32
no 26, wilson on PP,, no 21 tried to go five hole on RL.
Logan Thompson is on the trip.
Tim
Lehner must have been reading our posts on how lousy he’s been playing. Tonight he got in the phone booth as Clark Kent took off his suit and glasses put on his cape an emerged as Superman. What a performance that says it all.
Tim
There are some players I like and some I’m beginning to like case in point. Nick Hague first game back looked pretty good. The more games Coghlan plays the more confidence I see. Jonas R. looks good he’s earned next man up recognition and will probably make the team next year. and Janmark is always on the move hope we don’t trade him he’s got a lot of heart. Overall we played a great game.
Pistol Pete
Tim, I may have said it before, I tweeted it last night before the game started, Rondbjerg is my number one pick at the HSK. If my hope materializes Dorofeyev will be up there with him by next season. Rondbjerg is taller and heavier than Leschyshyn and seems to have more finesse in his offense.
Rondberg has blossomed over at HSK with the confidence he got playing the 15 VGK games (2 G/2 A/+3). Compared to last HSK season, he’s scored three more points in exactly half the games, half of them goals. The guy can score.
https://theahl.com/stats/player/7760/73/jonas-rondbjerg
THE hockey GOD
no. 15 is on the road trip, so is logan thompson
Vic
I was fearing the worst this week, but this was a great win and start to the trip. Lehner was terrific along with just about everyone else.
*Let’s get over the goalie nonsense as the team will live and die with #90. Fleury was wonderful, but he’s gone and likely to be an enemy soon on another team out west.
*Refs and linesman were more annoying than usual…..faceoff messes, not picking up sticks in the way, getting in the way again, and missing some calls.
*Jane Hathaway and Ovi needed to be popped by someone…maybe next time. Wilson was clean, but these two guys were chippy.
*Patrick is hopeless. Need to work Rondbjerg into the lineup now.
*Welcome back Nic Hague….very noticeable difference with him in there.
THE hockey GOD
i agree Vic, the best thing patrick has done so far is trim his long girly hippie hair
Ovi had a few dirty hits, I was not happy with Wilson wiping out carrier from behind, but that is what he does.
knights fan in minny
agreed patrick shows nothing cap room to get rid of
Julie
Every time I watch a Vegas game, they win. As for Lehner, glad he showed up and didn’t display his penchant for allowing a few goals like he seems to usually do. Perhaps he got a memo that if they really want the SC like VGK management has been saying they do, that they need to act like it. They won’t get rid of Lehner for several reasons, but they can tell him to get his stuff together. As for the Fleury vs Lehner comparisons, Fleury would be the last guy to say he is better than Lehner. But he would say, “it’s just one game” and the key will be if Lehner can keep doing it. That has not been his history, but that’s the hope of hockey.
Pistol Pete
Lehner has been consistent before. His playoffs stats are really good and last extended road trip vs. BOS, NYI and NJD he allowed just 6 G. He can do it. My own opinion is VGK stands as good a chance with Lehner as they did with Fleury. If goaltending stands in the way of postseason success they’ll make a change. Until then it’s one game at a time, defense first. No matter Lehner or Fleury, good five man defending is the key. DeBoer has the right idea.
Pistol Pete
That was btw the seventh consecutive road win, a team record.
Pistol Pete
Hague and Whitecloud lead D’s this season in +/- (+12 and +13 respectively).
Hague earned the +1 he got last night.
Mike StG
They played pretty well for a team without 4 of their Top 6 Fs and half of their top 4 Ds. L4 looks like a solid ‘go to’ depth line. The fact that Howden & Patrick played together before is evident when you watch them. It’s very possible that KM was aware of that and it may have been a factor in picking them both up via trade in the off-season. Their chemistry plus Amaddio makes a good line that has speed, plays hard and is a threat to score. When the PP is repopulated with the usual players Patrick will be even better net front as well.
Galdom
True. You try not to use injuries as an excuse but when it’s to your elite players it is a thing. I’d like to see how Washington would do without Ovechkin, Backstrom, and John Carlson.
Mike StG
More like Tampa Bay without Stamkos, Point, Kucherov and Palat on offense, and Sergachev and McDonagh on D.
Daryl
Pens played without Crosby, Malkin, Letang, W other Forwards and 3 other Dmen. And they were still winning. It’s all about how the team gels wroth the replacements.
Pistol Pete
Hopefully tonight sees Pacioretty and Martinez. We could use Patch’s shot and are eagerly awaiting Eichel’s.
Will Eichel be the Eichel Tower as he was called in Buffalo?
THE hockey GOD
maybe no. 10 took a hard shot and limped off in last night’s game, didn’t see him return to ice
also took another holding penalty
hdbiker7851
With back/neck surgery he could turn out to be the Leaning Tower after a few hits – I hope not for his sake.
THE hockey GOD
last night results Pacific Division against Eastern teams
VGK won against Caps
Ducks killed bruins
Kings tied, lost in SO (a long SO) to Rangers, all away games.
Flames annihilated Blues on home ice
Arnold Rothstein
yesterday
live odds VGK @ Caps
VGK -237 on the spread
and +120 on moneyline
today live odds Vegas @ car
VGK -135 on the spread
+175 to +180 on moneyline
Team Arnold chomping at the bit, dead cat bounce ????
THE hockey GOD
broadcasters quote of the night – nhlnetwork, on Eichel’s return.
“Maybe the VGK
are hoping the
NHL will be raising the SAL CAP
to 100 million’.
🙂
knights fan in minny
that was good
DMR
Awesome game by Lehner and all-around great effort! Anytime you beat the Craps, it’s a great day for me!
THE hockey GOD
Jesse Granger
@JesseGranger_
·
14h
Robin Lehner said Ovechkin broke his mask with that shot that hit him up high.
“It was probably the hardest shot I’ve taken to the head. It was a little scary, as I felt the cage bend.”
Pistol Pete
McDavid edges out Eichel in the 2019 speed contest. He does it on the corners—Eichel has huge stride on the straightaways. Eichel crushed McDavid in the 2015 Combine though along with everybody else.
What should separate the two in the real world is Eichel playing for a good team and McDavid not.
Pistol Pete
Here’s the link I forgot lol.
https://youtu.be/ZyqPV_yLKoI
Daryl
While the defense, and goalie, played great, I was very disappointed n the offense. I really thought Caps would win 4-3. I didn’t see a low scoring game at all. Caps have been giving up points left and right so it’s a little disappointing that vhk only scored 1. But at the same time, the blueliners didn’t jump up in the offensive zone like they have been. So, does mean VGK is changing their strategy to help out RL?