Recap: It may have been an exhibition game but Vegas fans cheered like it was Game 1 of the regular season. The Golden Knights hosted the San Jose Sharks for their first preseason game of the year from T-Mobile Arena
San Jose took the first lead of the game 15:29 into the first period and added another 1:02 into the second frame. Down two goals, Vegas’ Paul Cotter took advantage of his ice time and flipped one by Sharks goalie Adin Hill. Cotter received a nice pass from linemates Jack Dugan and Brett Howden to finish off the rush to put the Golden Knights on the scoreboard. San Jose would score again to take a two goal lead into the second intermission.
Newcomers Evengii Dadonov and Nolan Patrick had some strong plays on 5-on-5 and the Power Play. Dadonov made a nifty move in front of San Jose’s net collecting the puck and trying to jam it through Hill’s pads. Patrick had a beautiful tip attempt on the side of the Sharks goal that just missed the open corner of the net. On the power play both players were involved cresting a nice slot opportunity for Dadonov.
Patrick would register a power play point early in the third when Max Pacioretty chopped in a loose puck to get Vegas within one. Dadonov and Pacioretty connected later for a great chance midway through the third that was stopped by San Jose. The Sharks would regain their two goal lead 4-2 with a quick goal on a late game power play. Vegas fought down the stretch but couldn’t close the gap.
The Golden Knights drop their first preseason 4-2 to the Sharks. Vegas prepares to take on the Colorado Avalanche this Tuesday at T-Mobile Arena. Puck drops at 7 PM PT. (Recap by Jason)
Analysis: Golden Knights looks out of sorts for a good portion of this first preseason game. A few times here and there they’d get good shifts (mostly from the middle-six) but for the most part it was few and far between. They lost the fake shootout too.
Upcoming stories from the Vegas Golden Knights vs. San Jose Sharks preseason game at T-Mobile Arena.
- The new interpretation of the cross-check could actually help an area where VGK have struggled
Ken’s Three VGK Stars
*** Max Pacioretty
** Evgenii Dadonov
* Paul Cotter
This is the first time the Sharks have beaten the Golden Knights in 675 days… And it doesn't even count!
Ha!!!
— SinBin.vegas (@SinBinVegas) September 27, 2021
Preseason game, so don't take this to be anything about VGK but more hockey in general.
This game shows what it looks like when you can't string multiple shifts together. Every time VGK have a good shift the next line can't build on it. Makes getting consistent chances hard.
— SinBin.vegas (@SinBinVegas) September 27, 2021
VGK projected lineup for tonight's preseason game vs SJS.
Pacioretty-Stephenson-Stone
Janmark-Patrick-Dadonov
Cotter-Howden-Krebs
Baertschi-Quinney-DuganMcNabb-Theodore
Hayes-Coghlan
Cormier-WhitecloudThompson
Vikman— SinBin.vegas (@SinBinVegas) September 26, 2021
Richard Santomauro
So, the good news is that our season tickets were moved up from Row T to M in Section 11.
The bad news?
1- Stone got head slapped with a puck in the 1st period and it looked pretty bad. He did not return.
2- Cotter played extremely well. I was also very impressed with the presence on the ice of Zach Hayes. Nothing flashy, just in the right spot at the right time and very solid.
3-Logan Thompson played great despite the poor play in front of him.
4-Speaking of poor play….the most excitement of the evening came from the speakers. The team was not only flat but outplayed. I would say that the Sharks outplayed the Knights for 55 of the total 60 minutes tonight. There was absolutely zero excitement and very little to cheer for. There was hardly any sustained offensive zone time.
5- In the 3rd period the Knights went from about 9 minutes to 5 without even cracking the neutral zone. Yes, the play was that poor.
6- There was a flash of the old Knights for about the first two minutes of period 3 but wasn’t sustained.
7- I have to say it. Whitecloud did not look very good out there
To be fair, the 2nd line was out and the ice was full of newbies with the exception of Janmark, Patches, Whitecloud, McNabb and Theodore. I have to check but I don’t think McNabb and Theodore got much ice time.
However, the overall summary is that the newbies just are NOT very good and the future doesn’t look very good at all.
I was especially disappointed in the play of both Krebs and Patrick. Both of these guys skated fairly well. Krebs was much faster. But both seemed pretty much lost out there and hardly ever in the right spot.
My 3 Stars of the Game:
1- Cotter
2- Thompson
3- Hayes
Honorable Mention- none going to veterans
Quinney
Dugan
If this is the best these newbies can do then the future is not very bright for Vegas.
Mike StG
Richard – sorry I have to disagree and I think your take borders on ridiculous. First of all, it’s a preseason game and means nothing.
Second, the Sharks had the benefit of having a development camp, which Vegas and the other playoff teams did not. It’s no surprise that San Jose played with more continuity and was more in sync as a group.
Third, Patrick and Dadonov were good (especially considering it was their first game with the team). Dadonov was constantly moving in the slot area and had a low slot shot in the first PP that hit the post (pass from Patrick). Patrick basically parked himself net front during PP and attacked the net in 5v5 play. Narrowly missed a tip-in on Whitecloud’s shot. Howden was also very good both 5v5 and on the PK. Patrick and Howden both had assists. All 3 players are doing exactly what the FO brought them in to do. And it’s only their first game. What more do you want?
Man, the hypercritical comments and pessimism this site generates is almost beyond belief. You remind me of the Pens game I went to at TMA, where a Pens fan sitting nearby was shouting insults and bitching at Sid from his seat (when he was actually having a good game). I can imagine if someone handed you a bag of cash you’d probably complain that the bills weren’t crisp, new and bundled in numerical order. Sheesh!
Daryl
As I replied to on the other thread, offensively the new guys didn’t looked too bad but what I was worried about when they were picked up was our defense. It appears as though the FO is sacrificing defense for offense. Is that a good strategy? I don’t know but I don’t think so, especially when the offense isn’t a huge upgrade. None of the new guys looked good defensively and that worries me. So again, this isn’t negative, it’s just starting a concern I have
Richard Santomauro
I am watching a rerun of the game this morning. My analysis was based on my initial feelings about the overall play from my view which is in Section 11 right behind the visiting team goalie in periods 1 and 3.
Other than Cormier who was a 2020 4th round selection, these guys should have been more productive, especially Krebs who turned in a poor game.
I want to take a closer look at Patrick and Dadanov’s performance especially.
Pistol Pete
For whatever reason(s), somebody just does not like this team lol.
Pistol Pete
Mike StG, I agree. Not only were there plenty of bright spots in the game but as I posted below the Knights are way deep.
Blitz
Gonna have to agree with the others, Richard, your analysis is pretty off the mark and holy negative batman. And I am not one to shy away from negativity.
I watched the game via stream and saw alot of positive from young/new players. Patrick and Dadonov especially stood out to me as something to look forward to and even had a couple of good chances together.
You really need to take these games for what they are, preseason games. Very sloppy and the lines changing constantly. It was almost chaos at times and that is ok. I chose to watch players individually and not the score. Didn’t bother me one bit the Sharts won or scored etc. Thompson got lit up, but made some great saves too and that’s ok. The dude is left handed WTF. Talk about a brain twister.
Richard Santomauro
Like I said, this was post game analysis. I am looking at the rerun and I am able to see some good things out of both Patrick and Dadanov.
Whitecloud and Krebs were pretty awful.
I am going to watch all of the preseason games now before commenting as we will all have a better feeling about the performance by then. Next up is Colorado!
LVsc
1st period they looked sluggish and slow
2nd period they made numerous mental mistake giveaways in their own end and right in front of their own net.horrible
3rd period they finally began to look like the VGK, but it was too little too late.
among the young guys, a particularly disappointing performance by Krebs, but a very encouraging game by Cotter
a night to forget, with Stone also getting hurt.
Richard Santomauro
Cotter’s stock went up significantly tonight. He played great. Krebs showed off his speed, but he was almost never in the right place at the right time. Poor anticipation, poor stick handling. Patrick wasn’t much better at all.
Richard Santomauro
I have Logan Thompson the 2nd star because he was absolutely hung out to dry. He made quite a few saves standing on his head with 1-1 chances for San Jose. The score easily could have been 7 or 8 to 2. EASILY.
goalie trade
Thompson is one of my favorites, but he needs to play further out at the top of the crease. He is too thin to play on the goal line like a walrus. He needs to play the angles more, and give the shooter fewer openings to see.
Daryl
I agree and I think that will come as he gains confidence
Tim
It was unanimous with all posters Krebs was out of his league. He’s still young maybe a full year in the AHL will help but he’s not ready now. I thought Kormier, Howden, Cotter. Hays, and to a lesser degree Dugan looked decent. Tuesday we’ll see the other half of the team and see how those rookies fare. It’s early so patience is a virtue.
Mike StG
Tim – not unanimous on Krebs. He looked to me like he was trying too hard and needed to relax and just play his game. A few more games will be enlightening as to his future this season.
Cormier was obviously not ready, the game just seemed a little too fast for him. A lot of criticism has been leveled at Whitecloud, but it looked tome he was affected a lot by Cormier and was constantly covering or compensating for him. It’s no surprise they sent Cormier back to junior. He has a great shot, but needs some development.
Cotter wasn’t bad, but you’d expect him and Quinney to be in better sync than they showed, considering they were both on HSK squad last year. Dugan looked pretty good at times, I agree. I thought Howden was really good, not just 5v5 but on the PK too.
I thought Patrick & Dadonov looked really dangerous on the PP. The Stevie-Patrick-Dadonov bang bang play would probably be a goal 90% of the time if Dado doesn’t hit the post. I also loved how Patrick played in front of the net. Reminded me of JVR. He’s big, skilled and not afraid to go there (which was one of my concerns about him given his injury history – puck to the head, concussion, migraines, etc).
Overall I’m much more optimistic than I thought I’d be at this early point.
Rob S.
Come on guys, give it a rest for just a few days. They’ve practiced for three whole days, half the team didn’t play, and, of the ones that did, only the first line had played together last year. (And they only had two or three shifts together before Stone got hurt.) So they’re not in mid-season form…so what? This is the first of seven…count ’em, seven preseason games. There are a number of young players that need to be evaluated and there are many player combinations–including the newly acquired veteran players–that need to be tried.
So they didn’t look good as a team and there were lots of turnovers…what were you expecting? There were some bright spots: Cotter looked good, Dugan had some good passes, Thompson looked pretty good considering the turnovers and spotty defense in front of him, Krebs was all over the place trying to make plays (though he had some bad turnovers), and the scheme and movement on the power play was better than anything we saw last season. Patrick and Dadonov actually looked competent in front of the net.
There are a lot of moving pieces but there is plenty of time to get it all pulled together before the season starts. Relax.
Pistol Pete
Janmark/Patrick/Dadonov looks to make a strong 3rd line. Massive number of choices for strong 4th, heightened even more when Tuch returns. Depth on D too.
This team has impressive depth. Nice work by management.
Richard Santomauro
Cotter’s line looked very good out there. I think that includes Dugan and Howden.
Richard Santomauro
My revised analysis the next morning…..
1-Hope Stone is going to be okay
2-Krebs needs a lot of work
3-Cotter looked very good, Dugan, Hayes as well
4-Dadanov played better than Patrick, but both were spotty. Grade their performance as “fair”. Same for Cormier.
5-Disappointed with the performance of Whitecloud last night.
6-Thompson – very good rating despite the 4 goals
Indeed, this was a hot mess and I guess expected given the amount of time together practicing. On the other hand, the Sharks looked very coordinated and played the neutral zone trap to perfection at times.
While you cannot grade the future of VGK on one game, this one was a complete unexciting dud.
THE hockey GOD
krebs = glass = dean, not shooters not much stock.
no. 40 was outgunned on defense, may be better as forward. Rest of the newbies didn’t show much consistently. Cotter got bigger and stronger.
The “no development camp” excuse is getting old, since some of these have played three games with practices in the rookie face off.
Thompson did not come up with big saves when needed while the San Jose goalie did , both were left out to dry. Although Thompson a tad more deadly. VGK rookies need to do a better job of taking care of puck in their own defensive zone.
I though Patrick played better than Glass. And no 40 played a bit better as game progressed. Some of these players did not warrant a second look in another game but coach will likely give them another chance.
I hope 27 and Stone are OK
THE hockey GOD
ratings
Pacioretty (C) -Stephenson (C) -Stone (I)
Janmark(C) -Patrick(c+)-Dadonov(B-)
Cotter(b)-Howden(C)-Krebs(c-)
Baertschi(I)-Quinney(d)-Dugan(c-)
McNabb(I)-Theodore(i)
Hayes(c+)-Coghlan(D)
Cormier(d-)-Whitecloud(b)
Thompson(c)
Vikman(I)
i = incomplete, or did not play a full game or didn’t see much of play or much of impact
Richard Santomauro
I like the grading system, even though it is difficult to grade this mish-mash of newbies.
Pacioretty (B) Stephenson (B) Stone (I)
Janmark (C) Patrick (D) Dadonov (D)
Cotter (B) Howden (B) Krebs (D)
Baertschi (D) Quinney (C-) Dugan (B)
McNabb (D) Theodore (I)
Hayes (B) Coghlan (C+)
Cormier (D) Whitecloud (D-)
Thompson (C)
THE hockey GOD
i could have given pac and steph higher, I don’t see why you gave whitecloud a D minus though. Was he really the worst player out there ?
Richard Santomauro
This wasn’t Whitecloud’s best. He had a decent shot on goal from between the circles and completely missed the net in the 1st period. His defense was a D grade in my opinion. He got knocked around a bit as well by Shark forwards.
Richard Santomauro
Also, correct me if I have it wrong, but Whitecloud’s penalty led to a Shark power play goal as well. I think it was a dumb tripping penalty in the d-zone.
Richard Santomauro
Patrick (D)
THE hockey GOD
I miss Stormy, at least she didn’t have to wear a face mask (opps !)
why can’t Vegas hold this position, it seems like a rotating door. The first one went on to LA which seems like a big move up.
THE hockey GOD
sorry that wasn’t very nice, i apologize.
Blitz
Stormy was the sideline reporter for the Ducks football game on ESPN Saturday night. She is very good at that role and was with the VGK too. Too bad she move on.
knights fan in minny
we all miss stormy
Walt23
a definite D for Janmark. He was directly responsible for the 1st goal against, with his weak stick getting tied up when he could have cleared the puck on the PK. also, his passing was terrible too.
also. dadonov’s weak ass attempt on the shootout was an embarrassment. he just softly flipped the puck right into the goalie’s chest
let’s put it this way…if Herb Brooks was behind the bench, the Vgk would still be doing skating drills after the game
again, again
Walt23
oh, and I see that one thing certainly has not changed….the Knights continue to be the team that would rather make a fancy pass than shoot the puck. including the newest players to the team.
That is the same mindset that cost the team bigtime in the playoffs the past couple of years. Fancy perimeter passing, instead of shoot and rebound and go to the net and draw penalties.
THE hockey GOD
“Fancy perimeter passing, instead of shoot and rebound and go to the net and draw penalties.” that is exactly what SJ did on final PP, someone is paying attention !
Daryl
Petra started doing that in the playoffs last year, prob the only thing I like about his play… too bad he couldn’t hit the net most of the time. Now if we can just get Theo and the other guys to shoot instead of looking for the perfect pass
Contact Tracer
As far as watching hockey games go, that was bordering on torture. And MGM charging and peeps paying $300 per seat in some sections for that debacle? LOL. Glad I don’t spend even a red penny on NHL anymore (or any sport league for that matter.)
I think the slaves at In-N-Out burger or any other job where people actually work a 365 day per year schedule turn in better performances than some of these pampered millionaires.
The crowd apparently don’t care about masks, just put this whole BS scenario to bed. Search Dr. Ted Noel on Brighteon for a demonstration of how totally worthless those virtue signaling devices are.
IMO Vegas didn’t get much better in the off season but other teams in the division did. Vegas is going to have their hands fuller than they ever have this year. Dare I say Curse of the Misfits? LOL
Pete Turner
I’m with Richard but I felt he was too generous with the team’s performance. Newbies or rookies are no excuses. Sharks had more of them then we did. Heck they even had a second team playing the Ducks on the same day. Everyone is playing for a spot on the roster. No doubt some folks got shaken coz’ of the Stone injury and then started playing to ensure their health and longevity in the league but in general, Richard’s analysis is spot on. The rest of you who weren’t there at the game but watching it on TV, you didn’t see the game. You didn’t see who was where when the cameras were not focusing on them. Rich and I were at the game and we saw a few things more. Dadonov wasn’t impressive sad to say. Apart from a few body checks, he plays like “hey give the puck to me and I’ll score”, otherwise he doesn’t defend, doesn’t play 200 ft. That’s typical KHL style that won’t past muster here in the NHL. The entire 4th line needs to be gone, Cormier and Coghlan need to go back to the Silver Knights. Krebs and Patrick, much was expected of these guys but it was an overall let down. Krebs needs to bulk up. He’s being pushed around like little kid by the Sharks. Patrick needs to remind Krebs how shiny prospects easily become has-beens. Both need to shine soon or they’re gonna be watching the games from the press box. Whitecloud had a bad game but he was the only one on ice that gave a damn. Between showing the rookies the ropes and getting endlessly harassed by shark bait, he did all he could on the ice.
Don’t you folks ever question our loyalty to this team. We have season tickets. We support VGK 110% but we don’t blow smoke up their ass just because. We tell it like it is. You want to question our loyalty, put your money where your mouth is and pony up for tickets at the stadium.
Mike StG
Pete – no one questions your loyalty, just your judgment. You call Patrick a ‘has been’ when he played right out of the entry draft and was injured and unable to play for a szn and a half, and he just turned 23 last week. You say Dadonov ‘won’t pass muster in the NHL’ when he’s been playing for 6 full seasons and scored 25+ goals 3 times. You apparently expect every forward to be a 200 foot player, but the fact is many scorers are not very good defensively. There aren’t many Crosby‘s, Marchand’s or Bergeron’s. Vegas needs scorers and that’s not easy to find. Last year they were #1 defensively in the league. They can sacrifice some D for the sake of improved scoring.
If you can’t see the positives in the added players then you’re just jaded. Like I said previously you would probably say Sid or Geno should be fourth liners if you were a Pens fan and they weren’t in top form in their first pre-szn game. These guys are new to the team and have never played real time in a game with each other, much less on the same line. But you’re entitled to your opinion like the rest of us. 🙂
Pete Turner
I am calling the game as it is. I’m not going to presume Dadanov is really really awesome maybe 2 weeks down the road. He might be, he might not be. I judge based on his performance in our first preseason game. Of course any one of them could end up being a super star later in the season but I don’t have a crystal ball, do you?
I’ve seen Dadanov’s highlight reel. I know what he’s capable of but if he insist on being an Ovechkin circa 2012=2016 where he only plays offense and no defense, then it’s not going to be a good mix for VGK, IN MY HUMBLE OPINION. Why? Because team cohesion is very important in my book. How would the rest of the team feel if they see one guy who only plays offense and doesn’t help out with defense? Well if he can do it, why can’t I ? right? In the end no one will play defense. Even the best scorers play their role defensively. Patrick Kane at 5’11 would back check and throw down with forwards bigger than him. Jonathan Toews/Sidney Crosby/Patrice Bergeron/Mark Stone and even Patches play the 200ft game. These are the kind of players we want. Even Ovechkin realized he needed to be a 200ft game player and that’s why they finally beat us to hoist the cup after so many years of being President Cup winners but no Stanley Cup. But I’d rather the VGK team be built like the 3 time winning BlackHawks and the 3 time winning Pens, 3 time winning Bolts and 2 time winning Kings than decades long awaited winning Caps.
VGK has been through more KHL players than the CIA. The closest we got was Nikita Gusev but talented as he was, he wasn’t a 200 ft player. I hope Dadanov realizes he can’t just play offense on this team and get with the program. If he does, we’re gonna have a great season.
Daryl
I completely agree on your last statement. If any of us make a negative remark then we are said to not be true fans or we should fine another team to root for. It’s as if we have to agree with everyone else and think things are just rosey or we are t real fans. I kind of understand when the Comme ts are directed at me since I’m a Pens first fan, but still…
Pete Turner
We want what any true fan wants. For our team to play it’s best. If we win the CUP, so be it. But we don’t want to see the team not live up to their potential. As fans, we may bitch and moan about a play or a player but in our hearts we want the team to succeed and get along. Like right now, I don’t want any awkwardness between the Captain and McNabb. It was an accident, pure and simple. Was it necessary? Well, some would argue McNabb should have calculated the odds before taking that shot and maybe made another play. But who knows. I just don’t want this accident to sour the relationship between two veteran VGK players. I am aware Brooks Orpik only lasted 1 more season as a Penguin after hitting Crosby in his face in 2013 but I hope this doesn’t end up like that is all.
Daryl
As a Pens fan I never really liked Orpik. He delivered too many cheap shots and would not fight his own battles, he usually left that up to Engo and others. He was a good defensive player though.
Vic
You would think when they trained the new rink side reporter, Ashali Vise, they would have told her the team is not the Las Vegas Golden Knights. We’ll give her a chance though.
As for the game, it was a training game with 1/2 of a team, and was very ugly. Cotter (3 shots, 6 hits, 2 takeaways and one goal) was among the few who held onto the puck, made some passes and hit the net. 70% of the team sleepwalked through the game. Sharks kids looked good. Will this rivalry ever be the same without Reavo and the SJ gambler/wife beater?
sb
Over the past two years, some of the dumbest comments on the Knights have come through this site such as, “Glass will win the Calder.” “Glass will center the Number 1 line.” “Duggan is ready for the NHL.” “Krebs will win the Calder.” “Thompson is NHL ready (his prior experience was TWO shots in the NHL).” “VGK need Fluery to ‘mentor’ Thompson.” “Why did MGT waste nearly $3 mil on the goalie from the Jets?” Last night, Logan Thompson stopped 24 of 28 shots, .857%SA, against one of the weakest teams in hockey. VGK MGT knew what they were doing when they signed Brossoit. Like all these other AHL’ers, Thompson has a LONG way to go.
Daryl
You might be right, but he had absolutely NO help in front of him. That was one of the worst played defensively games I’ve seen in a long time. Nobody o here said Thompson was ready to lead this team from the start. Yeah some said by mid season he would be the starting goalie, but not on day 1. If our defense plays that way all season, ts going to be a very long season
Richard Santomauro
I wouldn’t be too worried. Cormier isn’t likely to make the team. Coghlan actually looked pretty good. I still question Whitecloud at times. I did like Zach Hayes who registered a +2 while on the ice. Both Whitecloud and Cormier were -2.
Daryl
I’m not too worried about Whitecloud… I think his problem in this game was trying to do too much to cover for his partner and other players. Get him back with his regular crew and he will be fine
Mike StG
Daryl – I agree with you on Whitecloud. Cormier was struggling, though he did have a few good moments. The game just seemed too fast for him, and Zach was constantly covering or compensating for him and the mistakes he was making. Get him back with Hague or pair him with McNabb and he’s fine.
THE hockey GOD
@ daryl, I guess you missed some comments trashing the trade for back up goalie and wanting that back up goalie to be Thompson to start the season. There were several, you plainly missed them or forgot about them or ignored or you are being facetious.
Richard Santomauro
I was one of those who believe that Logan Thompson would have been a better choice to back up Panda. VGK could have signed him for at least 1 or 1.5 million less.
By the way, all 4 of the Shark goals were from point blank range and 3 of those were snap shots off of a dumb turnover. The 1st was a brain fart by Whitecloud leaving his man uncovered and loose right between the circles.
I gave Logan Thompson a grade of A for his play in Sunday’s contest.
Mike StG
Richard, I like Thompson too and think he has a future on the team in a year or two. But I defer to the opinions of ex-goalies or people who at least understand the finer points of playing the position. Both Mike McKenna and Jesse Granger felt that Brossoit was a good choice for backup. And, that Thompson needs to work on the details of his game and develop. So he needs playing time and he’ll get lots of that with HSK, as compared to the time he would get as VGK backup. I hope to see him possibly take on the role in Brossoit’s 2nd year (of his 2 year contract). Hopefully Logan will have the patience to deal with that reality. He’s only 24, still a little young for an NHL goalie.
Richard Santomauro
Logan Thompson will be long gone to another team if he isn’t picked up and signed this year or in the off season.
Daryl
@Mike
Last year several in the know people stated they felt Thompson was ready to take on the back-up roll of VGK decided to part ways with one of their goalies. Thompson may not be the better goalie but for the price I think he would have been the better option
Daryl
I was one of those people who thought it was a waste of money and still do. Thompson will be fine as a backup goalie if given a chance. Yes some said Thompson might start by midseason but not to start the season
I guess you can’t read too well in your old age
Richard Santomauro
What I said was, we will know whether Panda is the real deal or not by mid-January. If he can turn in 3 months of solid goalie performance then I will be on the bandwagon. For now, his worth remains unrealized potential.
Richard Santomauro
I am on board with Daryl. Logan Thompson at $1M or $1.5M would have been just fine as a back up. Now VGK takes the chance of losing him at the end of this season.
Richard Santomauro
On second review. I took a much deeper look at last nights preseason game versus the Sharks. I watched the first two periods and about 4 minutes of period 3. Here is my revised analysis.
Overall, with the exception of some very bad turnovers, VGK actually played pretty well. The power play actually looked pretty good and Nolan Patrick played extremely well around and in front of the net.
I still think the top two stars of this game were
1- Cotter
2- Thompson
But I would say the 3rd star is shared between
3- Dadanov, Dugan and Patrick
The bonehead plays go to Whitecloud, Cormier and Krebs – all 3 were either mistakes or turnovers that led directly to an easy point blank goal in this game.
However, on second look Cormier didn’t play as bad as I had originally thought. Krebs was bad for most of the night except on the one quality power play chance he had in the 3rd period.
I am revising my grades significantly as a second look at this game was a much better performance than originally thought. Still, I do recall that VGK did very little after the 16 minute mark of the 3rd period.
Pacioretty (B+), Stephenson (B), Stone (I)
Dugan (B), Howden (B+), Cotter (A)
Janmark (B), Patrick (B+), Dadanov (B+)
Krebs (D-), Baertschi (C), Quinney (B)
McNabb (B), Theodore (B)
Whitecloud (C-), Coghlan (C)
Cormier (C-), Hayes (C)
Thompson (A) despite the 4 goals against
Mike StG
Richard – okay, I’m on board with your latest assessment. And I underestimated how well Cotter actually played. He was very good. I think I was paying so much attention to the new guys I sort of ignored his play. I did notice that he and Quinney weren’t very much in sync at times. A couple of times they almost ran over each other. That was unexpected considering they played together all last year for HSK.
I wonder if the lack of offense in the 3rd was related to Shea & Nabber being out and the team basically playing with 4 Dmen. They had to be a little gassed and that could’ve affected their impact in driving offense and clean breakouts.
I’m looking forward to seeing which young ‘uns make it. I see a lot of potential in this team, especially in fixing some of the chronic problems they’ve had the past 2 seasons. We can only watch and hope. 🙂
Richard Santomauro
As I see it, right now it looks like the pecking order for making the team would be:
Forwards
1-Cotter
2-Patrick
3-Dadanov
4-Howden
5-Dugan
6-Quinney
7/8-Baertschi & Krebs
Defense
1-Coghlan
2-Hayes
3-Cormier (but he really doesn’t even rate this after game 1)
Mike StG
I think 2, 3 and 4 are a given to make the team, so Cotter currently would be #4 imo. I agree with your 5 thru 8 on forwards. I really hope Dugan makes it sometime this year. He’s got great passing skills, and if they could convince him to shoot more will be a solid middle 6 winger. Also, I like a player who plays with a chip on his shoulder.
VGK already announced Cormier is going back to his junior team. But, he’s got a future in the NHL if he keeps learning and puts some pounds on. I’m curious if Korzack gives Coghlan a run for his money as 7th defenseman. Or Hayes as well. He’s mature, plays at an NHL level, and can lay hits pretty well. I guess it’s a good thing to have so many players who can legitimately compete for a roster spot.
Richard Santomauro
I agree with what you say, except Cotter’s stock really rose high last night. I am not sure how you get all four of them into the line up on a regular basis. Both Hayes and Coghlan are good. I was pretty impressed with Haye’s defense in this game. Will need to see more of them going forward. I am looking forward to seeing Korzack in action myself.
Thompson was very impressive. I am a huge fan. It is a comfort knowing that he is a Silver Knight and available if things don’t pan out in goal. We’ll know by mid-January. I would hate to lose Thompson. I would like to see him on the roster as the back up sooner rather than later. In the meantime he will be getting more experience with HSK until that day comes.
THE hockey GOD
i think you went way too positive this time around ! Flip flop like liz cheney !
Richard Santomauro
Come on man! If I were Liz Cheney I’d be calling for war against some third world country for profit.
THE hockey GOD
VGK crowd at game were 50% selfish jerks, they were told to wear masks and they brought them, and they didn’t wear them or wore them as chin diapers. Very poor sportsmanship and superspreader event. IF this keeps up the VGK will have no choice but to 1) send in Australian police brigade and start beating people up or 2) have a VAX mandate which would be constitutionally illegal and no one really wants.
Terrible display and lack of consideration and decency by some of most stupid fans in entire world.
Daryl
Considering you can get and spread covid even if you are fully vaccinated, what exactly is the point of wearing a mask? And considering edifice has proven wearing a mask as long as people are made to is actually a health hazard, good for those people
Mike StG
Daryl, you answered your own question. The ‘point of wearing a mask’ is exactly that ‘you can get and spread Covid even if you are fully vaccinated’. It’s less for the benefit of the vaxxed person than it is for the unvaxxed person who might get it. Vaccinated people who do get Covid are less likely by a mile to develop severe symptoms, and death in such cases almost never happens. The overwhelming percentage of current hospitalizations are of the unvaxxed (like 95%+) and all the deaths as well. So in essence the vaxxed population are wearing masks to protect the unvaxxed. You’re welcome. 🙂
Contact Tracer
What a steaming pile of bullshit. MSM tool …..
Mike StG
So very Christian of you, to love your neighbor enough to do this simple thing for their benefit. Guess you think they’d be better off in heaven. Lol.
FYI – it’s not the MSM, it’s hospitals and the national & state health agencies reporting these numbers. I doubt that OAN or the all-vaccinated Fox News hosts and anchors would present these facts to their viewers.
I’ve always masked up for that reason – to protect others – even before vaccines were available. I’m not afraid of dying. I’ve had cancer twice so I’ve faced my mortality and am lucky to still be alive. I just happen to care about my fellow neighbors and citizens, whether they appreciate it or not.
Daryl
Problem with everything you just said is that the masks people are wearing are o ly effective for direct exposure, ie sneezing/coughing on someone. Those masks are also supposed to be single use masks. Tell me, how often do you dispose of your mask and get a new one?
Richard Santomauro
Let’s not forget that most of us have a 99.9% chance of recovering from COVID. If you’re immune system is compromised you probably shouldn’t be going to a game during the beginning of flu season anyway!
If you’ve been vaccinated, your risk is virtually zero! ZERO.
The mask mandate is more about power and control than it is about safety or science. Masks provide less than minimal protection. They are practically worthless in terms of preventing infection. How many of you actually wash your hands every time your in the bathroom. Do that and you’ve already made yourself much safer than wearing these cloth masks.
You want to wear one? Go ahead. I do ONLY because it is mandatory, but not because I agree that they work.
Mike StG
Well, I’m glad to have the expert opinions of you folks here. Much more reliable than the CDC, NIH, and multitude of doctors who recommend masks. Heck, since masks are no big deal I think surgeons shouldn’t wear them during surgery either. They’re probably charging us $300 for the mask in our hospital bills!! And what’s with all this hand washing crap they do?? Probably charging us $500 to scrub up and wear surgical gowns as well. They’re all a bunch of money-grubbing thieves!
BTW – I wear mostly multilayered cloth masks with the VGK designs. They’re washable. But paper masks are one time use, particularly in a crowded venue where people are screaming and cheering.
Daryl
You do realize it was the CDC who came out and suggested wearing multiple masks because single masks and cloth masks don’t work??? And you can easily find multiple doctors who have said opposite of what CDC doctors are saying. You remember Zantac don’t you? FDA said it was safe and now look at the lawsuits.
And as I stated before, those masks surgeons wear are for blood/fluid splatter, not to prevent airborne particles from getting thru
Richard Santomauro
I also wear the washable ones myself. Let’s not forget that these so-called organizations have flip flopped on the mask issue since March 2020.
Nurses and Doctors wear masks to protect their patients. They scrub to protect their patients who are already at risk just being in a hospital environment. Like I stated earlier, if you are at risk you shouldn’t be going to venues that increase your risk of infection. Nurses an doctors are professionals and the hospital is a much more sterile environment than T-Mobile arena.
I can quote just as many immunologists who have differing opinions on mask usage, but why bother. I am not here to change anyone’s mind. Just stating my own unqualified opinion. With that I will STFU.