Recap: The Golden Knights hosted the expansion Seattle Kraken for the start of the 2021-22 season. Vegas jumped on Seattle early in the opening period. Max Pacioretty scored the season’s first goal 3:10 in and Jonathan Marchessault added one a few minutes later. Goaltender Robin Lehner stopped all nine shots he faced in the first period.
Pacioretty tipped in a Nic Hague laser in the middle period giving the home squad a commanding 3-0 lead. However, Seattle woke up and scored two goals in 1:12 to get within one. After 40 minutes of play the Golden Knights held a 3-2 advantage.
Seattle surprisingly climbed all the way back to tie the game 3-3 in the third period but Vegas would catch a break to regain the lead. Chandler Stephenson legally deflected a puck into the Krakens net off his skate making it a 4-3 contest.
The Golden Knights win their first game of the 2021-22 season 4-3 over the expansion Seattle Kraken. Vegas will head to LA for their first road game of the season on Thursday night. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 PM. (Recap by Jason)
Analysis: The Golden Knights were in for quite a fight taking on the expansion team in their first game. They hung in there as the Kraken came out flying and waited for their chances. When they came, VGK buried three of them. Then, as Seattle stormed back, Vegas stayed under control, kept their heads and found a way to get the lead right back. That’s an experienced great hockey team beating an inexperienced one. (Recap by Ken)
Upcoming stories from the Vegas Golden Knights vs. Seattle Kraken game at T-Mobile Arena.
- Goalie Interference
- SinBin.vegas Podcast
- A deeper dive into the debuts of Nolan Patrick and Evgenii Dadonov
Ken’s Three VGK Stars
*** Alex Pietrangelo
** Mark Stone
* Max Pacioretty
What a great hockey game.
VGK hung in there against what looks to be a dangerous team.
1-0-0. 1st Place. See ya Thursday.
— SinBin.vegas (@SinBinVegas) October 13, 2021
The Golden Knights played 56 regular season games and 19 playoff games last year. They failed to record at least 42% of the shot share in just 3 of them.
Through 2 periods, they are sitting at 41.51%.
— SinBin.vegas (@SinBinVegas) October 13, 2021
Alex Pietrangelo has been everywhere since that 2nd SEA goal.
— SinBin.vegas (@SinBinVegas) October 13, 2021
VGK continuing to just feast on the openings SEA are giving them. Excellent patience on the puck by Stone to find the trailer and then it was time to…
Release the Haguerbomb.
3-0 VGK
— SinBin.vegas (@SinBinVegas) October 13, 2021
The pregame show is back on the ice and it is epic!!! pic.twitter.com/vj6ahh4OC2
— SinBin.vegas (@SinBinVegas) October 13, 2021
Daryl
I saw the replay Granger showed from a different angle and the officials completely blew that goal. I don’t even think it was close.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1448147623693766656
For most of the game, VGK was out played. Petra looked great jumping up in the offensive zone, but by doing so, he was also responsible for several odd man rushes. He’s going to score, but he’s also going to cost VGK some goals.
RL let in one really soft goal and another that was on him thanks to his rebound control.
The PP looked better at times but they still can’t score… how many games has it been now? How many PP minutes without a goal?
And for the record, I called Patches scoring the first goal of the season!!!
Overall, I think VGK was out played most of that game, especially early on. Yeah they were up 2-0 but only b/c they were able to take advantage of the opportunities they got
Keith Waldrop
The rule is distinct kicking motion toward the goal. It’s almost physically impossible to to that with the outside of the skate. Good call. Good goal.
Daryl
Did you look at the link I posted from Granger? Not sure how you could say that wasn’t a kicking motion??? The original video from the game I thought could have gone either way but when I saw this angle, it was very obvious to me he kicked it. If that wasn’t a kicking motion then you won’t see a call like that get overturned the entire season
I’m sure by later today there will be several on here calling me negative but those are the same who think VGK almost never does anything wrong.
SMH
Congratulations on being dead wrong. As Ken explained in detail, per the way the rule is written, it’s a good goal without debate. Stephenson did not “kick” the puck, he re-directed it. You can argue with the way the rule was written, but not with the ruling which was correct. But then again, when you are one of those on this website who hates anyone & anything not associated with the inaugural year team, I understand why you so desperately want to damn the Knights for anything you can possibly think of. And such a classy move by trying to cover your ass with the stupid statement at the end of your post where you say that anyone who doesn’t agree with you is a VGK apologist – guess that includes the referees, the NHL, Ken… and me. Cheers!
Daryl
Congrats on being a douche. Funnt thing is Granger doesn’t agree with you either so he must be one of those people also. You must not have looked at Twitter either because more than half of them felt it was a kicking motion. As I stated, if that wasn’t a kicking motion then they’re won’t be an overturned call all season. So unless we see a FG type leg motion, it isn’t considered to be a kicking motion. Got it.
As for me hating everyone, you gotta love the new dumbasses who come in here and think they know posters. I’ve been very critical in a few matters but have been very supportive in others. You must be one of those who thinks you came be negative about anything or you must not be a real fan!!! You gotta love new hockey fans
Richard Santomauro
I was directly behind Grubauer about 12 rows back. He definitely made a motion to kick the puck – period. Was it a field goal type kick? No. But the puck DID NOT simply bounce off his skate. Stephenson kicked it. Period.
It’s a non-issue now. Moving on.
It’s 2 points in the win column.
The Knights played better all night long with the exception of goal where 2 softies got passed the Whale.
Mister Mister
What a kick by Chandler! GOAaaaaaaaaaaaallllllllll.
Pistol Pete
Legitimate call by the refs. Anyways, VGK won the game because they were the better team that game. One can downplay the win to their heart’s content but winning is winning.
THE hockey GOD
toronto control center made call, not refs on ice, btw
Richard Santomauro
Just win baby! And win they did!
On to LA! That will be a major test.
THE hockey GOD
I think that motion was more of a combination of the time warp, electric slide, and side step dance moves than an outright kicking motion.
https
youtube
watch?v=9r1ouqasDbA
put the dots in, somehow this won’t post with link it like on Daryls post.
The team is missing a third and fourth line, this is unsustainable. In the true sense of the word, not the woke green culture
Richard Santomauro
The Stephenson goal appeared to be a kick to me. Indisputable? No and that’s why they ruled it good.
You’re right, the lack of scoring ability on the 3rd and 4th lines is a major problem. I would continue to give the two 20 year old players (#16 and #18) time. You can see the potential there.
I don’t hold out much hope for Kolesar or Carrier to rack up any goals this year. Kolesar is either just a bad shot or jinxed (maybe both).
THE hockey GOD
“The Stephenson goal appeared to be a kick to me. ”
” think that motion was more of a combination of the time warp, electric slide, and side step dance moves than an outright kicking motion.”
see video link I posted above, to get a better idea of what I am talking about.
Tim
For me it’s official Lehner scares the hell out of me. When he’s flopping around he’s leaving half the net unprotected. The last 3 games against a weak Arizona team, a weak San Jose teams and now the expansion Seattle team and he’s given up 10 goals. He’s just not the lock down goalie of yesteryear.
Daryl
2 of the 3 goals were on RL… the other goal was just a great shot/lucky bounce situation. But I do agree… if you shoot straight at him, he is great but if you get him moving, it’s a scary show to watch
Pistol Pete
Some preseason games and one regular season. Too early to tell but apparently it’s yet another thing to whine about.
Richard Santomauro
Lockdown goalie? I don’t think that describes Lehner’s career. He’s a good goalie for sure. He’s horrible laterally and that is his major problem. Once he’s laid out on the ice – forget about it – he ain’t getting up until the whistle blows or the puck is cleared.
hdbiker7851
Tim – a man with an eye for problems and yes the walrus is a huge problem. The team was outplayed and he did nothing to help. It’;s goiung to be a long season and if the Knights are depending on the Walrus to take them to the promise land (SC) they are dreaming. His performance in the exhibition games was a joke and should have been a wake up call to mgt they have made a huge mistake,
Daryl
I’m sorry everyone (@SMH). VGK looked amazing last night. PDB shuffled the lines which turned out great, the PP looked amazing, RL played one of the best hake of his career and most of all of this was attributed to good ice!!!
Is that better
Blitz
SMH = Doc
Daryl
I was actually thinking the same thing…
Richard Santomauro
Doc trolling eh?
effing loser.
Richard Santomauro
??? Lehner played the best game of his career? On the PP we were 0-3 (that’s not great). Granted the PP looked improved but on 1 out of 3 of those they had a tough time getting into the zone. Otherwise the strategy in the ozone did look much improved. Credit the Kraken, they played well on the PK.
The ice was great because we have the best and hottest ladies cleaning it up!
Daryl
That response was to SMH who said I was only negative…. so I changed it up so I could look at stupid as some who think everything is great in Vegas
Richard Santomauro
Got it Daryl.
I gave some credit and criticism where it was earned in my analysis. Granted, I am not a hockey professional, just a fan, but I have been around hockey my entire life.
Arnold Rothstein
Kraken + 1 1/2 (ignored all covid protocol spin)
was a lock, JERRY , a lock. Next up LA KINGS, and parley still working .
AR
where you don’t bet your life !!
Richard Santomauro
Here were my predictions for this game! I should have laid a big bet on the strip!
For me, it is now a toss up with so many Kraken likely out. Therefore, I have changed my prediction from a Kraken win to a VGK win 4 to 3. Pray we don’t go to a shoot out!
***Well, I got this one right. 100% spot on. And Lehner gave up two softies just like I predicted he would (softies in my opinion). He also did his version of the beached whale this evening. The Panda is the Panda. There’s no upside from what we’ve seen out of him the past few games. If you go back and look at the Stephenson goal, you do see a slight kicking motion. This game easily could have gone to OT and maybe even a shootout. Did they blow that call? I think so, but it doesn’t matter.
Things to watch:
1. How many soft goals will Lehner allow?
ANS: 2
2. Will Lehner do a beached whale impression this evening?
ANS: YES HE DID!
3. How many power play goals will VGK get?
ANS: NONE: 0-3 (will continue to track this). I have to say that I do see some changes and improvement but so far PP% = 0%.
4. How many giveaways?
ANS: 6, not bad I have seen worse. I think one of those led to a goal.
5. How many breakaways, 1 or 2 on none?
ANS: I saw 2 or 3 and I have to say Lehner did okay on those except for the softie goal that he failed to stop.
6. Will the VGK be guilty of a too many men penalty tonight?
ANS: 0, but the Kraken got caught once.
7. My prediction of VGK Stars (1) Smith, (2) Patrick, (3) Karlsson
ANS: Got this one wrong. Stars all went to the top line, although Line 2 played great as well. Patrick had 2 high danger chances, Smith had several as well.
8. Will the top line score any goals at all?
ANS: They stepped it up even though the Stephenson goal was questionable.
9. Will Theodore and Carrier be active?
ANS: Theodore YES, Carrier NO
10. Will Whitecloud take another dumb penalty at a critical juncture?
ANS: YES, but it was a holding call and they killed it.
I have to admit that all 4 lines played well. I was impressed with the play of both Doroyevev (sp?) and Krebs and hope they get a chance to become regulars. At 20 years of age they both have a lot of upside.
Kolesar continues to be stumped by the net. He simply cannot solve his lack of scoring.
Dadanov played well, not spectacular on offense but played well defensively.
The effort was there for 60 minutes, so credit DeBoer for getting this team ready and motivated. I rarely give him any credit but the team responded well to a poor showing in preseason.
The high danger chances were there for VGK last night and they banged the pipe at least 3 times. The score could have been 8 or 9 to 3 had they gone in.
VGK FO – I have to give them some credit today. The depth improvement at Forward may have given the top 2 lines some relief. They definitely should be looking to trade Carrier, and if Kolesar doesn’t start finding the net……..
Lehner? What can I say? He played just as I predicted. He’s on track to losing his job by mid-January if not sooner. You cannot have 2 softies per game and be a starting goalie in the NHL.
LAK, on Thursday, will be our first major test of the season. I predicted that the Kings would win the division. I think they had the best offseason.
THE hockey GOD
panda’s don’t do the beached whale routine, walrus’s are more
apt to, though .
Richard Santomauro
Hmmm, have to give that some thought. Beached whales don’t normally slither much they just lie there in the sand. Walruses though? That’s exactly what Lehner looks like when horizontal. Got it.
Maria
No question about it. When upright and in position, Lehner does well. Once he goes down, it’s like watching someone move in quicksand. His size is not an asset when he topples over. Pretty true of most X-Large NHL goalies, beat them by getting lots of movement in front of net hoping they lose position. If I can see it, then so does all the other NHL teams. Still wondering why VGK management thinks this goalie is less scary then a Vezina winning goalie who was way more acrobatic.
Richard Santomauro
Bringing in Lehner and dumping Fleury was more about the $2.5 million in savings. That’s it. Even at his age, Fleury was more mobile in net. Better? Having seen both play the past year, Fleury is better. Lehner will never be as good but at $5 million versus $7 million he is somewhat of a bargain in comparison. If VGK can win a cup with Lehner it will be a miracle in my opinion.
THE hockey GOD
“VGK FO – I have to give them some credit today. The depth improvement at Forward may have given the top 2 lines some relief.” disagree with this one, they sorely missed patrick brown in this match up. And there was no fourth line after PDB benched the rookie Russian and dman moved to forward, both of which saw maybe two or three shifts totally each no more than four minutes. And the third line was spotty at best with no. 18 showing some future ability but bumped off the puck much too often. I think PDB sent the FO a message after FO inserted these two into the lineup. I like the Russian kid, but he needs more seasoning in AHL.
Richard Santomauro
Just having Carrier off the ice is an improvement.
100% agree, Patrick Brown would have (should have) been out there. You’re right about the Pavel kid (#16) but he’s got a lot of upside and I thought he held his own out there. To tell you the truth, I thought Krebs needed another year in the AHL as well until the last few games.
I also think that Miromanov will bring some offensive punch that is lacking when the 3rd and 4th lines are out there.
on further review
I guess WHEW! is the reaction…they nearly blew it to a fledgling team. No surprise since you can’t coast thru the preseason and then think you can just flip the switch on Oct 12…that game had some carryover of the bad habits of the preseason for sure.
the Vgk looked sloppy and disorganized in their own zone, especially in the first period.
the top 6 forwards will have to carry an even bigger load this season with Tuch out, because the bottom 6 look weak and crappy, with Daddynot a total waste of $5mill cap hit.
Lehner looks leaky and inconsistent, solid at times and shaky at other moments.
the good news is that the Stephenson line looked good and won that game for them, along with Petro, who was everywhere, and he dominated the puck.
the PP continues to frustrate, as Theodore gave up another breakaway on the first PP they had.
the Vgk hit the post several times, so could have scored more with luck.
the 4th goal was a NOT a distinct kicking motion, and that was the right call. 20 simply re-directed the puck, which is perfectly legal even if you do it intentionally.
THE hockey GOD
upon further review, I think you got it, old boy (said in my British accent) . The PP was spotty but showed good movement. VGK took advantage of misplays by newly organized team. Will there off season rustiness prevail against the better LA Kings team or will their timing be back ?
WHERE IS THE FOURTH LINE !!
mia. The rookie Russian got four minutes, and Coghlin was buried so deep on the bench the janitors had to order a drill rig to find him after the game was over. To his credit PDB recognized the liability early, maybe he’s sending a message to FO who made the call to insert these two into his lineup ?
Richard Santomauro
All good analysis. The game Thursday will be the first MAJOR test.
We barely survived the Kraken. Defensive breakdowns in the 2nd and 3rd periods! Do that against the Kings with Mr. Softie Walrus in goal?
We shall see.
Richard Santomauro
The Kings should be focusing all of their firepower on that 4th line.
on further review
yep, no question that the cap shenanigans by the f.o. left them with a benchwarmer 4th line.
they need the 5 missing forwards, Tuch, Janmark, Roy, Carrier, and Howden healthy, or else that supposed “depth” on the team looks a lot thinner like last night. No way can the top 6 forwards carry this load all 82 games, with Stephenson playing over 20 mins, and Stone almost 22. By comparison, Stephenson played about 18, and Stone about 19 in the reg season last year
Daryl
I was very excited to see NHL back on ESPN (even though I’m not a fan of ESPN) but the commentating during that game was HORRIBLE!!! ESPN needs to get rid of Cohn. She is absolutely clueless! Even after they corrected the Hague goal she continued into the 3rd saying it was his goal. Sorry, but when it comes to hockey, they need to find someone new.
As for my other opinions on the game. Stephenson looked great and again shows to me he is the better defenseman on the ice anytime. Petra looked good and was all over the ice but as usual, it leads to odd man rushes. Its really bad when both Stephenson and Petra jump up in the zone. They both will definitely score some goals this season, but they will also give up many odd man rushes. The top line looked good and seemed to be in regular season form.
The PP unit looked better, but that isn’t saying much. I still think it’s a huge issue which will eventually cost VGK.
Even though VGK was up 2 after the first, I think they were out played by a lot. The turned things around in the 2nd but again, they took part of the 3rd off which they simply cannot do against good teams.
RL plays great when you shot directly at him but if you has to move, it’s a crap shoot. And his rebound control is still horrible.
But like some of you have stated, this was the first game of the season and the rest of the season shouldn’t be judged off this one game alone.
THE hockey GOD
@Daryl , i watched the replay !! It took the idiot announcer(s) – who said the place was like a nightclub about a half a dozen times – kids at a nightclub ? Come on ! Anyway it took them two periods to get Reilly Smith’s name right, they kept calling him Robbie Smith. Doh.
Tim
We played well we didn’t play well you can make a case for either.In the real world you have to understand that was the Kraken’s first game ever and for the sake of there fan base you knew they were going to go balls to the wall. It worked out there fans saw an entertaining team almost dump the Knights play hard and have a good feeling about themselves mission accomplished. This Pavel D if you recall when we first drafted him and he came to the rookie camp they were amazed how good he was. I’m glad he had a taste of the NHL should keep him hungry to make the team full time. His buddy Ivan the Terrible should come over this spring when the KHL is done and my understanding is as they say this kid can play.
I think we have 2 big issues and it has a lot to do with goal scoring #1 say what you want about the PP were 0-3 going into game 2 so we lose a chance to put teams away. #2 Lehner giving up 1 or 2 soft goals a game and with no PP will contribute to our downfall. Both problems may be unfixable time will tell.
Blitz
Agree!!
LVsc
Vgk just recalled Jonas Rondbjerg and Jake Leschyshyn (eye chart spelling bee) (let’s just call them Jonas and Jake)
Dugan and Pavel D were sent down to Henderson
Blitz
I was pretty unhappy about Cogs as a forward going into last night, but the reality is he didn’t really play. I want to say I saw one or two shift from him as a forward and a couple shifts as a D guy. The choice of lines 3/4 last night were strange. I was trying to figure out. L3 sometimes seemed to be march/patrick/dad then sometimes it was kolesar/patrick/dad. Not sure i saw Krebs on that line at all, which is what I thought it was going to be. I will be glad when we have more of a gelled L3. I really want to see firepower from Patrick/Dadonov, but for the most part unnoticeable in Game 1.
Krebs/Kolesar on the PK looked great for the shift I noticed them. They even stole it and had a great short handed chance. Bottom 6 guys on the PK!!
Krebs looked great in my opinion. He did get knocked off the puck a couple/few times, but he was very noticeable out there. The guy is around the puck and 100% GO energy every shift. He made a sweet move to beat a guy 1:1, but couldn’t settle the puck to make a good shot on goal. High quality stuff though. I am big on the kid. 3 or 4 NHL games in and green as hell. Give him 50 more games and a 100 after that. He has lots of room to be the future (of buffalo…kidding).
Patrick – I didn’t “notice” patrick as much as I did krebs just watching the game on TV, but there is a crafty-ness to his game. He gets legitimately in front of the net for good opportunities. Had a couple of deflections or up close chances that didn’t go, but damn nice to see a guy there looking for opportunities and rebounds. This is very refreshing from last years team. He also showed some nice passing including a niffy between the legs pass that hit his linesmate on the tape for zone entry.
Dadonov – not much to say honestly. Saw him quite a bit in puck battles in the d zone, didn’t notice much offensively. I want to say he had one good quick shot on goal that had a chance and, I think, a good pass to Patches for a missed one-timer. I am sure he will be fine, but would love to see more dangerous attempts from him.
L1 and L2 – what I expect from them. They are the heart of the team and why they are competitive every game.
I too think the winning goal was a kicking motion, even after reading the rule, but to me its the speed/energy he was traveling real time that makes it more of a deflection. If he was standing in the crease during a scramble and did the same kick motion I would imagine it would be considered a kick. Regardless, you win some and lose some. I am ok with the out come this time.
Justin
Vgk has verry little chance of going deep into postseason w RL in goal. Way too many softies. As mentioned he’s quite bad side to side but those that think he’s great when you shoot right at him I couldn’t disagree more. How many times have you seen goals shot straight at him go right over his glove, like last night’s third goal. This happens all the time, along with ones shot right at him that go under his arm, as well as so so many shot right at him that go through the 5 hole. It’s maddening. Can’t understand what the m managers see in him, I just don’t see it. Reminds me of Suban. Our best hope is LB is recognized as the better goalie and starts as the #1 sometime soon.
Richard Santomauro
My prediction is that a change will have to be made by mid-January if not sooner.
Daryl
Do you honestly think they will make that change if it is indeed warranted? It would make PDB and the FO look really bad and I don’t know if they are willing to admit defeat. I especially question the move if anything mental is brought up as that would make VGK look even worse
Richard Santomauro
If, by January, Lehner bombs as I predict he will be replaced/benched. We will likely see some sort of trade, or at the worst Lehner will be backing up Brossoit.
I had thought the best goalie tandem would have been Fleury and Thompson. But, here we are with a $5 million and a $2.5 million dollar goalie tandem. But, I see the FO dilemma. They messed up by bringing #90 in, and they won’t be able to get any ROI on him. He’s at best a very good back up goalie.
Lehner – prove me wrong by mid-January.
hdbiker7851
Hi Daryl – no question mgt would have to admit they screwed up big time and that they did. The walrus is just that a walrus – he is incapable of the movement necessary to stay ahead of the play. They had to get rid of Fleury as they couldn’t admit being wrong about the walrus and besides I seriously question if they could have found anyone to take him off their hands if they even tried. They certainly haven’t improved their chances at going all the way in fact a case could be made the opposite is true.
Mike StG
Well, they won the game with 5 of their bottom 6 forwards out injured, forcing them to play one prospect who had never even played a preseason game and a young defenseman as a forward. Today they sent Dorofeyev and Dugan back to HSK and called up a couple different prospects. Good chance to see a few more kids maybe get some NHL time.
I do like TNT’s approach, more so than ESPN. Broadcast teams were good. And it’s good to see more humorous commercials with NHL stars. This one was absolutely hilarious – https://youtu.be/Wve4fwIOOpQ