Recap: For the first time since 2019, the Golden Knights hosted a playoff game at T-Mobile Arena. Minnesota and Vegas faced off for their ninth game this season but this time it meant much more.
Vegas came out firing the puck on Wild goaltender Cam Talbot. The Golden Knights had two power plays and several strong chances but couldn’t get one past the goal line.
Locked in a scoreless tie Minnesota’s offense shot more on Marc-Andre Fleury but the Vegas goalie got in front of all 13 2nd period shots.
The 3rd period was back and forth with both teams getting chances on net. Both goaltenders were the difference makers and forced a Game 1 overtime period.
Minnesota ended the game 3:20 into overtime to steal Game 1 in Vegas.
The Golden Knights trail Minnesota 1-0 in their first-round seven game series. Game 2 is scheduled for Tuesday night at T-Mobile Arena. Puck drop is 7 PM PT (Recap by Jason)
Analysis: The Golden Knights came out and did exactly what they wanted to do for most of the game. They controlled the run of play, they created plenty of shots, and they got incredible goaltending. But, a trio of old demons popped up and the Golden Knights could not outrun them. First, they couldn’t score despite controlling the puck consistently. Next, they have untimely turnovers. Finally, the Wild. The Golden Knights are in a hole now. (Analysis by Ken)
Upcoming stories from the Vegas Golden Knights vs Minnesota Wild Game 1 at T-Mobile Arena
- VGK heading down a familiar road… how to fix it.
Ken’s Three VGK Stars
*** Mattias Janmark
** William Karlsson
* Marc-Andre Fleury
Let's talk about a feeling we wish wasn't familiar after Game 1. https://t.co/hJ7Xo7d9GI
— SinBin.vegas (@SinBinVegas) May 16, 2021
$8.8 million game-losing turnover.
My goodness that hurts.
— SinBin.vegas (@SinBinVegas) May 16, 2021
For the most part VGK have played the exact style of game they want to play in this series.
They've definitely allowed a few too many chances the other way (thanks Flower), but they've mostly been one-offs and not sustained pressure.
The finihsing needs to be there though.
— SinBin.vegas (@SinBinVegas) May 16, 2021
Mark Stone is a special player… pic.twitter.com/4RbL9fsoX7
— SinBin.vegas (@SinBinVegas) May 16, 2021
Last postseason we were told that the opposing goalies were hot.
No, THIS is what a hot goalie looks like. Fleury has been out of this world!
— SinBin.vegas (@SinBinVegas) May 16, 2021
Howard
I may have missed it, but how many scrums did VGK have in front of Wild net? How about against Dallas and Vancouver last year? I’m not seeing any. Oh, that’s right, there weren’t any. Wild are a scrum team in which if u want to beat, u better have centers who crash the net.
Chandler is good, but a finesse player. Karlsson is the same. Roy? LOLOL. Nosek is decently strong, but kind of out of place on this team.
Deboer is a good coach who made good adjustments, just doesn’t have the personnel offensively. That’s entirely on VGK arrogant front office, not him. They’re the ones who wasted all that money on 2 guys they NEEDED like I need another A-hole.
Put Lehner in there in rotation? He won’t be able to consistently stop the shots MAF can. Still have a chance in this series, but none if Lehner sees that net. Need Max back. Power Play is ineffective without shooters/snipers from the point.
It’s easy to score 5 goals a game when you only play in a division with 3 bottom feeders on par with AHL teams. It’s a tad harder when you play good teams to score now, isn’t it?
DOC (Go Knights Go)
Flurey great ***** Talbot PERFECT !
That’s about it.
Howard
Just LOLOL on that take Doc… It’s amazing how VGK keeps running into these HOF hot goalies isn’t it? Just bad luck that none of our centers can get to the front of the net 2 years running, but we will get them next time!
Daryl
Every goalie VGK faces in the playoffs is a HoF goalie per some of these fans lol
rgangue
Sure is great they spent all 8.8 per on that defensemen that isn’t even the best one on the team. Would have been better spent at center. Plus with the NMC you cannot get rid of him.
THE hockey GOD
they spent 7.4 million on captain who can’t even get a shot on net in 20 minutes !
Can’t have it both ways !
Daryl
You harp on one game…. Stone has played worth his money all season long can’t say the same for Petra
Daryl
You harp on one game… Stone has played worth his money all season long, can’t say the same for Petra
George L.
Disappointing end to a fast game. The Wild beat us because like get getting dirty in front of our net and we’re choirboys if we even get in front of theirs. 8.8 Million dollar whiff. Unbelievable almost. Sure am glad we got hurt by the Cap for this.
Howard
George has the correct take. Same issue as last year but Stansey was ok. Instead, our vaunted arrogant front office decided that they would waste $14M per on 2 guys who were at best, LUXURIES, and not NEEDS. Well, we do have all that cap room to fix the problem…. OH, WAIT!
Howard
To add, Deboer did make the right adjustments from last year – shoot corners, dump in and force the forecheck. As I mentioned, we just don’t have power centers to crash the net. Chandler is too small, Karlsson too finesse. 4th line tries but doesn’t have the skill. But. biggest weakness we have now is no sniper on PP. This COULD, could make up the difference. Last year, Max was playing but hurt, now he’s hurt which is why I was dead set against the trade they made for him. He was known and known for constantly being injured (u can ask Habs fans about that).
No team in NHL will win a Cup without an effective PP. Only chance we have in this series is what we saw from MAF today – he stood on his head and stopped everything. Got beat on a deflection off Martinez – not on him in any way.
Btw. near end of 2nd period Smith was right on top of the net and decided to overthink it and pass it.
Mike StG
Howard, some interesting observations you make. But your claims about Max in MON are not factual. The year just prior to his trade to Vegas he did miss 18 games (played 64), but the 4 years prior he played 80,82,81 & 73 , so he missed 12 games in 4 yrs. He plays heavy and hard, not afraid to lay hits. That’s his game, but maybe he needs to do less of that as he ages.
Maybe they should put Janmark at C between Chandler & Stone? Chandler is great with Max & Mark on wing, but without Max it’s not much of a threat. Janmark isn’t afraid to go to the net, and they could utilize Chandler’s speed on the wing.
Nosek was ineffective with Stone & Chandler – doesn’t have the finish. They definitely need to penetrate the middle of the ice in the OZ. Don’t think Glass will help, more of the same. But perhaps he could be helpful on the PP and take MIN’s focus off of Stone.
THE hockey GOD
“8.8 Million dollar whiff. don’t know what game you were watching, no. 7 had his stick poked.
Not no. 7 fault.
anyone who says so is blind and not watching the game.
If it wasn’t for 29 this game easily would have been Hartman (Wild) 6 – 0. The VGK offense did not show up with any authority.
Unless they resolve these match up issues it’s going to be a very short series.
Howard
Hockey God – u claim you played hockey right? In NHL? Ok, resolve match up issues? How, you going to add size to Chandler, or get Karlsson to crash the net off the forecheck?
From last year to this game today, how many scrum goals has VGK scored?
How u going to fix a poor PP when u got no snipers to blast it from the point? It’s gotten so bad with it, that Deboer has tried to force a rush on it to attempt to generate high quality chances.
VGK has the players in terms of 2 way checkers, no question, but doesn’t have the centers NEEDED to generate ‘dirty goals.’ VGK centers simply do not crash the net and their wingers tend to overthink it.
Finesse play won’t win a Cup in today’s game
THE hockey GOD
@Howard
“Finesse play won’t win a Cup in today’s game”
You are correct 10000% , finesse went out when the HABS won in 70s with Robinson, Lafleur, pocket rocket, Yvan Serge Cournoyer , the Big M, the Little M (his not so little brother). Stanley Cup tournament requires crushing style of play. VGK have the biggest size players, but they don’t play big. They didn’t even take the body checks in the game except for 75 and 3.. They didn’t take anything positive to build on into the next game.
( I played hockey, but not in NHL, someone else added that parody to my earlier post)
you wrote:
“Hockey God….etal ….what do you do (paraphrasing).”
Call up the HANSON BROTHERS. Jack “Killer” Hanson, Steve and Jeff Hanson.
I don’t see how VGK can win this match up except to get better quality scoring chances on the net and force the Wild into playing a style of game that they can’t play. And that would be run and gun style. (that won’t happen they are well coached team)
Try some how to open the game up more, fore check more in the O zone by dumping the puck, getting their goalie to handle the puck more, and have a fierce fore check on the Wild D Men. Stop trying to (pass) go through the neutral zone with passes. Instead of trying these wimpy shots that WILD block, REALLY LET THE PUCK FLY at their legs and mid section , make them pay the price for blocking the shot.
I did not see playoff intensity style of play from VGK in first two periods that they need to win this series. They need to turn it up a notch if they can.
I also see it more of a match up thing, they do not match up well at all with the WILD.
What would you suggest ? I don’t see them reverting to your style of play with the players they have for all four lines. Only one line, the fourth line can do what you say is needed, and what is needed to win the cup.
George L.
Uh, you’re no hockey god. You are more a hockey clod. You at least need to watch some games.
THE hockey GOD
you don’t know difference between a whiff and poke check- learn how to watch a game. Even the TV announcers said it was a good offensive zone check on no. 7.
The real question is where were the forwards of VGK? Why weren’t the forwards back in their d Zone protecting the front of the net ? There were multiple wild players open in the O zone. And it was the case more than once in this game. It was just a matter of time before the WILD scored. They played outstanding and deserved to win this game, unfortunately for VGK.
I expect VGK to better next game.
Daryl
It was a good poke check ONLY because he held onto too long trying to make that perfect pass. There was nobody avail and he should have just gotten it out of the zone. You can’t blame anyone else on that play but Petra
hdbiker7851
George – everyone knows that except him – his time passed years ago and I am sure you realize that anyone who refers to himself as god in capital letters is delusional at best and maybe something even worse.
Daryl
Spot on!!!
Daryl
#7 cost us the game but he isn’t the reason we lost the game. His salary is a major reason why we lost, which isn’t on Petra. The ONLY reason we were in this game is because of MAF. VGK definitely outshot MIN but I would love to see what the high danger shots look like
THE hockey GOD
wild had higher quality chances, Hartman alone would have put them ahead 5 or 6 to zero.
Vegas had a lot of shots, but not high quality scoring chances, Wild had a lot more high quality scoring chances. Wild was blocking the scoring lanes all night and they did a good job of that.
What lost the game was poor penalty by no . 81 in OT against a team that has a really good pp. AS well as busted play at end of game.
THE hockey GOD
19 cost us the game, go back and watch replay, he went for no. 17 and left erickson ek wide open in the high slot
no. 7 cost us the game because he was poke checked
our 7 million dollar capt. cost us the game because he had no shots on goal
our goalie cost us the game because he was out of position and left his five hole open
no 23 lost us game for whiffing on blocked shot
the ref cost us the game for missing high stick on no. 89
PDB cost us the game for starting no. 75
gheeze louise
Daryl
What a fucking clown!!!
Mike StG
Hg, so I guess you’re saying it was a team loss then. 🙂
Mike StG
Hg – I think Petro had a moment of indecision that allowed the MIN player to get close enough to affect his pass. It was just at the very end of JM’s penalty, so I wonder if he was hoping to hit Marchie coming out of the box. Or, thought he might ice it if he launched the puck. Either way it was unfortunate.
Bottom line, it’s what Howard and others point out – no net front, rebounds… Don’t know how they fix that with the players they have. Maybe they would have been better off beefing up the middle instead of going for the stud Dman. Although I do think Max is sorely missed in this offense and that makes a big difference. I do remember thinking it would’ve been great if they could’ve gotten Hornqvist from the Pens. He’s a net front beast and a solid C2. That was an offseason move they could’ve made. Maybe that plus adding a 2nd pair Dman would’ve been a better option.
THE hockey GOD
the puck rolled on him when he went behind his own net and the WILD poke checked him. I wouldn’t blame this loss on no. 7. no. 81 took the penalty in first place, and 19 and 71 of VGK went straight to 17, and ericksen ek was left wide open. There was no play up the boards for no. 7. He didn’t have the play. All around it was a busted play. Wild deserved to win that game anyway. IF it wasn’t for no.29 they would have won 5 or 6 to nothing.
VGK needs to come out faster on fore check in next game.
Daryl
Maybe this will help you
https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/min-vs-vgk/2021/05/16/2020030161#game=2020030161,game_state=final
Go to 4:02 of the video. Petra takes the puck behind the next from one side of the trap, goes behind the net to the other side and out of the trap and there is NO player around him. There was no player in front of him to stop him from passing the puck up the boards. VGK had a total of 3 players in the defensive zone while MIN only had 2. I wish I could post a pic which shows exactly what the rest of us see
Howard
And to VGK FO.. If we lose this series, PLEASE DO NOT FIRE DEBOER! He has done a fantastic job this year getting his team to buy into his system. He has made correct adjustments. If anyone, fire yourselves for your horrible wasting of money on 2 players WE HAD NO NEED FOR, and not getting creative to go out and fetch 2 strong centers (not necessarily super-skilled, but strong)
Hdbiker7851
All VGK fans and posters considered my evaluation of both Petro and the walrus a huge waste of money apparently are seeing things differently now. The splash brothers should know better but l guess they are blinded by the light. If they are not questioning their action they better look in the mirror as they screwed up big time. People have been fired for much less. Were it not for the guy they wanted to get rid of the wild could have been in the double digits. It will be interesting who starts tuesday evening. Unfortunately this series could be over in 4. VGK pp would make all the difference if they had one. If they insist on having Reaves on the bench they need to change his marching orders and do some physical damage. Hockey 101 screening the goalie apparently is a missing talent where vegas is concerned.
Howard
Hdbiker7851 – said same thing as you did from the get-go that VGK should not sign Lehner, nor Piets.
Vegas Centers are finesse guys – they aren’t going to change now. VGK top 2 centers should be bottom 2, and that’s one problem + u are right > PP sucks because we have no snipers on it. However, I was opposed to Max trade as well primarily because he’s been made of glass his entire career.
Front office made good decisions in year one and got a lot of luck – a coach and players with chips on their shoulders who were decently talented, who played way over their heads. Since then with the exception of The Stone trade and signing, they’ve sucked ass.
As I said, please don’t fire Deboer if we lose here. He’s done one of the best coaching jobs this year I’ve ever seen. FO runs the ship for the most part here.
Daryl
Question for you Howard… you say don’t fire PDB that he’s done a good job, but part of his job is to put an offense into play that fits the style of his players. As you said, VGK doesn’t have strong players yet the continue to play like they do. He’s made good adjustment personnel wise, but I don’t think he’s done a good job scheme wise. And they need to fire the PP coach
THE hockey GOD
“Go to 4:02 of the video. Petra takes the puck behind the next from one side of the trap, goes behind the net to the other side and out of the trap and there is NO player around him”
The puck rolled on him, clearly, he stick handled to gain control of it when he had it behind the net. And the TV announcers said the same thing. There was no one to pass to up the boards, HIs only play was to shoot it , not pass it, up along the boards. And the Wild player was waiting. He had no play. Not his fault.
The player that held the puck too long was 71 when he had a glorious scoring opportunity. , and then there’s 61 who had virtually no shots on goal the whole game. No. 7 didn’t cost them the game. That is myopic view of all game.
Daryl
@Hocky,
You can keep defending Petra all you want, you are basically the ONLY person who feels the turnover wasnt his fault. I don’t know what broadcast you were watching but the one I was watching and the one in the replay he mentioned the pole check and not the puck rolling. Write way, rolling from outside the trap on one side to outside the trap on the other with nobody on him says a lot about his Puck control skills.
It was Petra fault, Get over it already!!!
Pauly
Absolute garbage! Fleury does that and ZERO goals? 8.8 million to give that game away?
Howard
Not sure I’d put that entirely on Piets. Was checked well on that play. I suppose you can say he was ‘nonchalant’ on it and not fast enough. However, that’s on VGK FO overpaying a DMAN they didn’t need. They could have gotten themselves the centering needed for that money – think about it 🙂
Pauly
Fair…Im still ON FIRE over this game
Howard
Entirely on Vegas Front Office – be pissed at them for being arrogant pricks.
Daryl
I still put that on Petra… he tried to make the perfect pass that wasn’t available instead of getting rid of the puck. It was a horrible play and is on his shoulders.
THE hockey GOD
wrong, the puck rolled on him, he had to stick handle, and then he was poke checked. The TV announcers even said that same thing. The replay confirms it. Not fault of no. 7 Go back and watch the replay you can see it clearer.
THE hockey GOD
plus VFG 71 and 19 went to double team 17, leaving erickson ek (what kind of name is that) wide open in front of net, who is player responsible for erickson ek ? Clearly break down in coverage. Then 23 goes down and misses the the shot. Whole bunch of things happened on the goal and you can’t blame one player for it.
Daryl
I watched the replay several times and I completely disagree with you…. he had plenty of time to get rid of the puck but he held onto it too long. He was behind the net wide open, skated it out, then got a player on him who poke checked as he was trying to pass it. NEVER should of had it at that point. That was ALL on #7. And the announcer said something about the poke check not the puck rolling on him…. but as I said, he had time to get rid of it before the poke check but he wanted to make the perfect pass to his forwards who were moving up the ice
Daryl
As for the other players, nobody was guarding Erikson Ek because they were moving up the ice…. if Petra get’s it out of the zone VGK had the numbers going the other way. The goal was a fluke as #23 deflects it in, but it never should have gotten to that point
Contact Tracer
I’ve seen people with no hockey experience pulled out of the crowd between periods shoot a puck towards the goal actually get a better stick on puck than Petro. I am sure the puck rolled on him (maybe it didn’t) but at $8.8 million and all those hours on the ice, and in the playoffs, that skill has to be perfected or a price will be paid, and was it ever.
It’s heartbreaking to see Fleury lose a game that would have went down as one of the finest games he ever played in Vegas because of a complete rookie league WHIFF.
Nice to see kneeler Reaves back …. his performance was spectacular as usual …. LOL!
Minnesota will light the other kneeler up like a Christmas tree if they dare to insert him onto the ice. Could you imagine McDavid vs Lehner … LOL.
Howard said it well. Without Patches, Vegas may be in for an early exit. When Talbot has a clear view of every shot, makes it more of a cake walk for him. Can make a rookie goalie look like an allstar. Maybe just leave Reaves on the ice parked in front of the goalie all game long at this point. His sole mission. Put armor plating on his back and just park him in front of Talbot …. LOL.
Howard
Contact Tracer << Good, now we getting people on here who aren't fanboys and girls, who actually understand the game. But, hard to entirely put that on Piets as he was checked rather well there. You can say he was a bit slow and nonchalant I suppose.
Look, Piets asked for that money, and VGK FO paid it — entirely on them. FO here is arrogant – always take care of what YOU NEED FIRST, not what YOU WANT.
Every single team that doled out big $$$ for a DMAN has fallen apart and became piss-poor hockey teams within a year or 2 after said signings. In SJS case, they also doled out too much for both Karlsson and Kane – now they're going to be a bad team for years to come.
You can't buy a cup and to date, no NHL FO ever has. "There's never anything new under the sun."
Duckboy
How many cups has deboer won? NONE!
Can’t remember too many 50 shot shut outs before he arrived.
His style stinks and he doesn’t adjust.
Front office fires a coach brings in someone who looks like they won’t even do as well as the last coach?
Makes moves like petro for 8.8m for the next too many years?
Front office “built” the team for the cup. If they don’t make it to the cup they should be fired with deboer.
I can’t waste my time watching the Vegas Sharks win all year only to see them not score and choke in the playoffs every year. Is it really choking if you don’t score?
I am almost certain we don’t score this post season at this rate.
Howard
Duckboy – you are absolutely wrong here. Deboer has made adjustments, but please do tell us what adjustments you think he isn’t making and should. Remember, he can’t make Chandler and Karlsson power centers unless he has some secret sauce-instantly acting steroid that no one knows about!
Deboer has no snipers for PP with Max out. Tell then, who do you put on point, Theodore? If so, whose on blueline top defend long rebound short-handed chance?
Deboer did make adjustments. Team now does shoot corners to force forecheck.. Wingers make centering passes and NO ONE IS EVER THERE!
Wild aren’t SJS, Kings, Ducks – they are strong, they force to the outside and keep a clear net, they’re a quality talented team man.
But, everyone is listening – what adjustments should Pete try now?
Duckboy
You make your own point here
“Wingers make centering passes and no one is there”
He installed the stupid dump and cycle with players not suited to it or unwilling to follow his directions
What adjustments has he made? New playoffs same result. Can’t score
Doesn’t look like adjustments to me.
Great coach with his Conference championship rings.
If he was an upgrade where are the results?
Yes we are the vegas sharks….can get to the playoffs and fold
Glad we got their coach too
We are out 1st round. Need to turn over front office and coach if we fail like this.
Contact Tracer
I always wondered why anyone would dismantle a team that went to a Stanley Cup final in its’ first year??? Teams need chemistry to succeed and this new incarnation seems like a collection of islands to me. Something amiss. And like you said, an incredibly soft center. That’s where the money should have been spent, toughen up the center of the offensive zone. Peyton Krebs first game showed the guts he has. Really impressed me. Refreshing in today’s sissified league. Bunch of pretty boy ice capader’s out there nowadays.
Whatever with Petro. He’s a softie IMO. This is the playoffs, he should get aggressive, nasty and mean, control that puck with all your might. It looked soft to me no matter if checked or not. Pick it up @ 8.8 $$$$$$.
hdbiker7851
Contract tracer – you asked a question which no one will ever answer and I am sure there are many more who feel the same way – ” I always wondered why anyone would dismantle a team that went to a Stanley Cup final in its’ first year??? Teams need chemistry to succeed and this new incarnation seems like a collection of islands to me. Something amiss.” The simple answer is the delusional idea you can buy the Cup which many have tried only to fail. The chemistry you mentioned that year one was an attitude to prove to themselves (most important) and the clubs they came from it was a mistake having them leave. Vegas mgt pissed away another roughly 14 mill per year on the latest addition which will prove to be another downfall and huge waste of cap money. Blinded by the light no other explanation.
Hdbiker7851
Howard- you can’t buy the Cup certainly sounds familiar not very original but amiliar. I have been preaching that since before the beginning of the season. Its encouraging to see. othrrs are finally seeing the light. You obviously understand the game as many teams have attempted to prove that wrong and failed just as vegas will or has depending how you look ar it. I don’t blame the guys involved who received the ridiculous contacts – why not if you have a mgt team that’s that stupid. I just feel bad for the team as a whole as they deserve better. You can’t buy a winning attitude and that along with things already mentioned will be their downfall. They had 56 games to correct their problems and failed miserably.
Tim
What Howard said above has a lot of truth to it. Pete DeBoer has installed a good defense but our offense philosophy and Power Play are the same as last year in the playoffs and we all know those results. Our D-men consisting of McNabb, Martinez, Hague, Theadore, Whitecloud, and Holden would have worked and instead of Petro it could have been a scorer but hind site is 20/20. Not saying Petro isn’t OK but wasn’t our biggest need. We lost to Dallas 1 zip first game last year a repeat 1 zip this year. Two opening playoff games 120 minutes no goals that should tell you something.
Howard
Tim – don’t see what more Deboer can do more than what he should not do – He should not have Lehner anywhere near that net for one! Stay with MAF – might be able to steal a game or 2.
Get Max healthy enough to snipe the point on the PP. Deboer can’t make him healthy to play.
Deboer can’t make his centers crash the net if they aren’t strong enough, and constantly get out muscled there! Deboer can’t increase the skill level of Nosek or Roy.
People are now seeing that VGK great record doesn’t mean much when you beat up and score a bunch against poor quality teams in your own division.
NHL is tough man, Stanley Cup is hardest trophy in all of sports to win. There are so many high quality teams in the playoffs that any one of them could win it with a few breaks,
I keep maintaining that Vegas fans – a good deal of them are arrogant and disrespecting of other teams because THEY ONLY KNOW SUCCESS, and a ton of them know NOTHING about The NHL because they are new to hockey.
I wonder how many VGK fans actually watch the other teams in the league? I love hockey, I love to watch all the teams!
VGK has a great D, they are borderline great checkers, but you need more than that to win that Cup!
Daryl
You are right, PDB can’t get his centers strong enough to have them crash the net…. so WHY is he having them do it? Change up your offensive philosophy.
On the PP, FIRE his friend who is the PP coach. There are other schemes that can be used than have your D shoot from the blue line. It’s not working.
As for the D, yes they have a good defense, the pinch down low making it hard to score. They are ok with checks but HORRIBLE with their sticks.
Duckboy
Right Daryl
Why get them to crash the net if they can’t or won’t!
The lack of adjustment is why Howard thinks deboer is a hof coach and untouchable even if he leads us to consecutive playoff series scoring like 3 goals total.
Petro and Theodore are turn over machines against quality opposition.
Howard
Lol, I never said Deboer is an HOF coach! I did say he has done a fine job this year. Note that blueliners take a lot less shots down there and try to pinch in more.
Reality – I don’t think VGK has the DEPTH talent to win The Cup. They have some talented players, but with Pacs out, the PP is awful and really good teams just force them to the boards in the O-Zone.
Howard
“You are right, PDB can’t get his centers strong enough to have them crash the net…. so WHY is he having them do it? Change up your offensive philosophy.”
He did, Wild defends it by forcing Vegas to the boards, VGK can try the rush game, that is super hard against really good teams.
“On the PP, FIRE his friend who is the PP coach. There are other schemes that can be used than have your D shoot from the blue line. It’s not working.”
Ok, who would you put on point? We don’t have the point man with Max out and/or not healthy enough. Why don’t we have another shooter? On Pete or on Front Office? They’ve tried Theodore there and rotate Karlsson to blueline for D,. Can’t use Petro there, his shot is more finesse than hard and fast. May be able to try Hague there or McNabb.
“As for the D, yes they have a good defense, the pinch down low making it hard to score. They are ok with checks but HORRIBLE with their sticks.”
Where do you see them horrible with their sticks on D? You mean turnovers? Granted, it seems like Petro and Theodore suffer from that from time to time. Might help on offense if Tuch had a better stick too 🙂
Karlsson and Chandler need to exert themselves more. Chandler might not be able to though, but Karlsson is big enough to.
Most of this is on The Front Office IMO. Up to them to get Pete the right personnel. If not, change coaches back to a guy like Gallant who engages the speed rush strategy (Caps destroyed that scheme btw in 2018 final)..
FO put this team in a very bad position where they have no wiggle room. I was advocating trading assets and perhaps Marsh or Smith to SJS for Couture and/or Hertl.
Vegas D was adequate enough. Already had a Norris type D guy in Theodore. Why in Odin’s left eye did they hamstring themselves for a 32 year old ANOTHER NORRIS TYPE?
Why in Zeus’s butthole did they pay Lehner, who at best is a decent 1B goalie (also with documented ‘issues’) when cheaper backups who were also decent were on the market? They are full of shit when they say they wanted to keep MAF – they tried to trade him, no takers.
These 2 moves have virtually assured VGK Cup Window is closing faster than thought.
What happens when you give a kid a bunch of money to spend? He/She in most cases will spend it irresponsibly.
VGK FO going thru what every other NHL FO has tried, and failed every time to do – BUY A CUP with wants, instead of building a team with NEEDS.
VGK fans who think we have up and coming depth in the AHL and others are fooling themselves. Some decent assets there, but with maybe the exception of 3 players, no real top notched NHL guys = not enough.
Therefore coming soon, VGK fans will finally learn what EVERY NHL team’s fan base has learned – TO DEAL WITH mediocrity. SJS tried similar, Kings, etc, etc, and all of them went to SUCKVILLE and SJS is going to stay in suckville for years to come. Kings might get out of it with their young talent, MIGHT.
Daryl
Without Patches they don’t have a sharpshooter. I understand what you are saying about the point main, but other teams have had decent PP without that type of player. Petra might not be a sharpshooter but maybe he can QB the PP, but I agree you can’t use him to shoot the puck. He would or could be good for rebounds if given up.
I don’t put personnel blame on PDB. I put the schemes on him and I think he (or his coaches, ie PP) could do a better job with their schemes. It seems to me that PDB is willing to shuffle lines, but he’s always had an issue with game adjustments regarding schemes. Those are complaints that have been around since his time with NJD.
When talking about the dman’s stick play, I’m talking about tying up stick, poke checks, using sticks to interfere with players and not getting penalties. I don’t think they do a very good job with that at all, especially the tying up of sticks.
Daryl
VGK played great, especially the 4th line, in the 1st period. They actually played pretty good as a team the entire game. After the 1st, the 4th line didn’t really do anything good or bad. MIN settled down and played good from the 2nd on. Their defenseman played great with their sticks. Overall, VGK played better than MIN, BUT way too many high danger shots. If it weren’t for MAF, VGK would have lost by 6 goals. PDB made the right decision starting MAF. VGK may have outshot MIN by a lot, but I don’t think they were close in high danger shots.
As for the outcome, Petra’s stupid decision cost them the game BUT that isn’t the reason they lost the game. He had plenty of time to clear the puck but decided to hold onto it hoping to make that perfect pass. Horrible decision and it cost VGK
THE hockey GOD
wrong, the puck rolled on him, he had to stick handle to recover it, and then he was poke checked. The TV announcers even said the same thing. The replay confirms it. Not fault of no. 7 Go back and watch the replay you can see it clearer.
plus VFG 71 and 19 went to double team 17, leaving erickson ek (what kind of name is that?) wide open in front of net, who is player responsible for erickson ek ? Clearly break down in coverage. Then 23 goes down and misses the the shot. Whole bunch of things happened on the goal and you can’t blame one player for it.
Daryl
I watched the replay several times and I completely disagree with you…. he had plenty of time to get rid of the puck but he held onto it too long. He was behind the net wide open, skated it out, then got a player on him who poke checked as he was trying to pass it. NEVER should of had it at that point. That was ALL on #7. And the announcer said something about the poke check not the puck rolling on him…. but as I said, he had time to get rid of it before the poke check but he wanted to make the perfect pass to his forwards who were moving up the ice
As for the other players, nobody was guarding Erikson Ek because they were moving up the ice…. if Petra get’s it out of the zone VGK had the numbers going the other way. The goal was a fluke as #23 deflects it in, but it never should have gotten to that point
Howard
Daryl – I didn’t see the puck roll on Petro. I saw him get poke-checked and a bit slow to clear it.
But, I also saw Smith near end of 2nd period right on the net, no stick lifters and for some reason, he passed it when he had the best high danger chance of the night.
Wild goal there was a bit lucky for them, but that’s hockey. Martinez was trying to do his job, but a slight deflection = that was the game.
Let’s just hope FO doesn’t force Pete again to go with Lehner and stick with rotation. With our offense and PP being this shaky, we need a goalie to stand on his head, Lehner won’t be able to, so a soft goal let in will be the difference — oh ya, like it was last year against Dallas, but Lehner you know, he’s “elite.” LOLOL, please, he’s good, MAF is and was elite this year.
THE hockey GOD
puck definitely rolled, and no. 7 had no where to go with it because there was a Wild player on the boards- so he really didn’t have a play either way. The TV announcers which I were listening too said the puck rolled, the replay they showed showed it rolling, definitely rolling. The replay shows him stick handling to gain control of the puck.
It was end of power player, maybe if no. 81 didn’t cause a penalty in first place they wouldn’t have scored. Why not blame it on no.81.
The whole play was a broken play, I wouldn’t blame no. 7 because he was dealing with rolling puck, a poke check, and no where to go with it up the boards.
“”It all started on that draw,” Eriksson Ek said. “‘Greener’ and [Foligno] did a great job getting back there. You have a sense where the puck’s going to go.””
Anyone blaming loss on no. 7 and his salary isn’t watching the game correctly.
Oh yeah. the I forgot this one. The goalie was definitely out of position on that goal.
Daryl
You are starting to sound a lot like this other OLD person on here. Did Petra have a player on him when he first had the puck? Was the puck rolling went he came from behind the net? He was holding onto the puck. I heard the announcer make a comment about the poke check but did not hear anything about it rolling. I honestly, I don’t really care if it was rolling or not. All he had to do was get it out of the zone. He EASILY could have passed it up off the boards and got it out of the zone. He was looking up near the penalty box hoping to make a great break-out pass and it bit him in the ass. You can repeat yourself as many times as you want but that isn’t going to change what actually happened.
As for the goal itself, if 23 doesn’t deflect it, MAF makes the save easy. He was in PERFECT position to make that save. I know you are trying to be a smart ass due to the soft goal Lehner gave up, but you aren’t very good at it. Mostly, it just makes you look really stupid!!!
THE hockey GOD
“he was trying to pass it” there was no vgk player open in the lane he was going too, he was trying to shoot it down the ice, and the puck rolled on him. 19 and 71 were in front of his own net, he didn’t have numbers going the other way. Go watch the replay showing the long end of the ice and you will see the puck rolled on him .
Daryl
READING COMPREHENSION!!!!! He was looking to pass it up near the penalty box. He was trying to make the breakout pass which is why he held onto the puck. Since you like to bring up the announcers, they said the EXACT same thing. He should have passed the puck up along the boards just to get it out of the zone so they could reset. You can continue to defend Petra all you want on this but a majority of us on here know it was his fault the puck didn’t clear the zone
Jinklu
Give it a rest. Are you related to Petra or just dim?
Howard
Daryl – sounds like you are also talking about last year again. They out played Dallas as well in 2 games. FO here did not address the team’s needs. instead, they addressed a want, wasted money, and now we are cap hamstrung for a long time to come.
Tim
Thankful we didn’t trade Fleury what an outstanding year. Management and DeBoer were all in on Lehner now game 2 will they stay with Fleury and probably piss Lehner off Tuesday’s game will be interesting. With no cap space how do they address the center position this summer? To me the untouchables are Stone, Theadore, Tuch, Krebs, Karlsson, Stephenson, Fleury, after that were open for business.
Duckboy
I think this post hits it on the head.
No one in here thinks we are going to come back. Not one post like “they just weren’t going in we will get this back”
We all seem to agree on this.
So let’s just really get down to brass tacks on the way forward.
As we are stuck with overpaid players and a team not tooled up to succeed and prospects like glass that are busts, I’d like to propose trading the entire franchise to Seattle and starting over!
Thoughts?
THE hockey GOD
“I’d like to propose trading the entire franchise to Seattle” that us a fool me once proposition, I don’t think NHL owners will fall for that again !
but what do I know, some teams have issues protecting all their good players, and this year VGK can take advantage of that !! So that is where they should focus .
Howard
Get creative. Heck, I have a connection potentially there. I can try to get the info to them.
Couture, Hertl – going nowhere fast on a terrible SJS team. Can try to work something out there. Look for teams in serious rebuild mode. Go over all the video you can to find a match for what YOU NEED. Build right team around Stone, who is an absolutely fantastic player – he’s not a shooter, but he’s a scorer and a Selke guy.
Marsh – speed rush guy, Smith = similar, so those guys we can consider trading to relieve cap space. Lehner is untradeable, so forget that. MAF the same.
We actually did try to trade Max on word I got, but no takers and rightfully so – he’s oft injured = can’t get the right value there. Nick Suzuki trade there going to haunt us for a long time. Stone was NEEDED, Max was not because of his injury history and lack of 2 way play, although he’s really improved that on The VGK to his credit.
Year one here proves that you don’t need “big names” to win, just a right combo of the right players. NHL front offices continually and in combination, never have learned this. They always fall for the ” hey, let’s get the big name guys.” Ask Sabres how that’s worked out for them or SJS.
THE hockey GOD
i’d trade 81, 99% of time when he carries puck into O zone the puck ends up on the other team’s stick. No puck control.
He had one or two good rushes in this last game, coming over the line with head of steam. Moving his legs, but only one quality scoring chance.
They need to bring more urgency to their game next time, I expect more. Doesn’t help when coach puts pressure on his own team by public statement “we need to score first to win”.
Howard
Tim – I agree with your “untouchable” list. Might consider something for Karlsson, but he’s a fantastic D orientated forward.
Tim
I remember last year the GM for the Wild said if your doing the same thing and it doesn’t work you need to change. In one year he’s brought that team from the mushy middle to one of the top teams. We’ve been adding players hoping to get a Stanley Cup now were in cap hell and I’ll bet most posters would like to see Petro and Lehner gone and have that 14 million to spend on some offense. This will be a tough summer trying to right the ship. Who knows if we make a quick exit Foley might just fire them all.
Howard
I know some things about VGK FO I won’t say here. Let’s just say that they think they’re smarter than everyone else and I’ll leave it at that :). I’ll say this – they’re still patting themselves on their collective backs for 2018. Foley is less intrusive than people think. He’s a good owner and don’t be surprised if he cans them all if we lose this year.
As much as I personally liked Gallant, FO made right move there in part although some of it was their fault. Gallant just wasn’t working with FO, and there was stuff that didn’t get out there in the public that was going on.
Deboer is a better coach than many might think. One might say he’s too accommodating to the front office which can cause misunderstandings and apparent back stabbings that really weren’t. He’s gotten more out of this group than most might not give him credit for.
Duckboy
You are either related to deboer somehow, his agent, or invited to his hof induction.
Mike StG
Tim – what all of us do NOT know is whether GMKM were instructed by Foley to sign Petro at all costs. He IS the owner and they would need to follow directives from the Owner. It was a substantial change and disruption to the team though. We lost Stastny, who is a good center and wasn’t afraid to go to the front of the net. We lost an excellent Dman in Nate Schmidt. And the Petro trade also made it impossible to make other trades that might have helped the offense. It seems as though they were fairly confident that Glass would step into a center role this season, but he looks more like a bust as time passes. It happens – look at Nolan Patrick (#2 pick in the same draft as Glass).
Bottom line is that if they’re bounced early or fail to make the final 4, the team is likely to experience a lot more changes this offseason too.
Howard
You seriously believe Nate Schmidt is a good Dman? lolol. But hey, everyone is entitled to their opinion! I’ll say this, he was at times decent.
Daryl
I think he would have been a better keeper than McNabb. McNabb is a big guy but he’s also slower and normally has costly turnovers. And for the money Nate would have been a smarter keep
Mike StG
Howard – now you dismiss Schmidt for whatever reasons? What, your eye test? Not worth much. How about this analytic? When Schmidt was with Vegas he had the 6th toughest deployment of any defenseman in the league (meaning against opponents’ top forward lines). He did a damn good job night in and night out. Shea was sheltered more than most average defensemen while Nate and McNabb carried the load. By the way, McNabb had the 4th toughest deployment. Those are factual metrics. So, yes Nate was a very good defenseman and had an offensive upside as well. Shea has been overrated in past years, as he has faced the opposition’s worst lines which naturally inflated his offensive numbers. Shea’s defense has improved this year while playing tougher opponents.
Daryl
These facts you talk about were brought up several times last year…. Theo was sheltered often against other teams top lines. It really helped his numbers. I personally liked Schmidt over McNabb…. McNabb was a turnover machine last year and made some really stupid penalties.
rgangue
Only problem with trading away the Pietra mistake is he signed a No Movement Clause. An absolutely stupid thing for management to agree to in my mind. So that means if he can barely keep up as a third pair D his last years he will be costing over the 8.8 to the cap because they backloaded it. That signing will just keep getting uglier. Think of SJS with Karlsson.
Howard
rgangue = WINNER, WINNER, CHICKEN DINNER! You forgot to add Lehner in there = Kane signing for SJS kind of. Both Petro and Panda will be unmovable. I see we got a pretty good guy coming up from AHL so..
Hey. I see it this way. It’s been a cool first 4 years. I got to go to The Stanley Cup games a year after I would never possibly imagine that. I just wish this FO left some things alone, like resigning PERRON?!!
Clearly, we can see management here got so close to The Cup, that they got Cup Fever. Again, these NHL front offices always seem to make the same collective mistakes – they place more value on BIG KNOWN NAMES over chemistry and depth and will trade the latter away to get the former – never works.
Mike StG
rgangue, a few differences between EK65 and Petro.
1) EK salary is 11.5, which is 2.7M more than Petro.
2) EK had a history of chronic injuries, Petro does not.
3) EK is mostly an offensive Dman, Petro is good all around.
Petro didn’t come cheap, but the salary was not out of line for a right shot Dman with his attributes. Also, if in Years 6 and/or 7 of his contract his play diminishes substantially they can always buy him out. Cap will be going up by a lot in the next few years once revenue from the new TV deals is realized.
And to Howard – After this season Lehner has 4 yrs left @ 5M and Fleury has 1 yr @ 7M. So, no need to make a big production of goalie salaries. There’s a fair chance one of Thompson, Patera or Saville may develop into VGK’s goalie of the future and they’ll be on lower (entry level or RFA deals).
TPjr
I suppose we can analyze till the cows come home….poor turnover, salary issues, weak centers, bad FO, etc., etc.. at the end of the day the Wild played harder, were first on pucks, won the puck battles and forced their style on VGK who seemed to significantly let up after the 1st…..they wanted it more, as they have all year…..short series at this rate
Julie
Well, this blows. Hopefully, this can be corrected for the most part. Seems like Talbot saw every shot coming. A wall of some sort would be great.
Some McDavid-style straight up the middle moves would take the Wild by surprise. Stone went through a few Wild men once that I saw, but Talbot saw that too and was ready. I wish VGK would just look like they are pissed and going to kick a$$- get up front, in the net, get greasy. They pass a lot. Reminds me of the 49ers when Montana was QB. Very smooth that way, for them it worked. Maybe that is the lack of center-depth others have commented about here already. It seems like VGK could make those adjustments. Keep up the defense, add screening, and take the Wild by surprise with a whole new aggressive-style when they least expect it. I don’t know how much the front office dictates what decisions PDB makes, I thought he had control, but Fleury is the difference at least until we generate an offense. And then he needs to stay because he’s earned it (no guessing about it). Definitely true about the money ill-spent, but we are in it now. I hope we come out sticks blazing in Game 2.
THE hockey GOD
” I hope we come out sticks blazing in Game 2.” ditto
Howard
TPjr and Julie – all fair takes. This series isn’t over by a long ways. However, if VGK decides to rotate goalies it will be, and fast.
A couple of breaks here and there, we can win. Wild are a bad matchup for us. Oh well, VGK FO meddling could have cost us President’s Cup, we will never know 🙂
THE hockey GOD
7.35 million captain stats today
22 minutes played
zero goals
zero assists
zero SOG (that gave him one, but it never hit the net)
three hits
one give
one take away
I blame loss on him.
That is some of logic from posters coming on here.
Howard
And I don’t blame the loss on anyone. It’s just the same song and dance- VGK FO didn’t address what was needed in off season, and we are seeing the same results – can’t generate quality scoring chances, then I have to listen to the nonsense how the opposing goalie is “great” when he’s just doing his job – stopping low danger chances.
Justin
Well wow what a bummer of a game. It really felt like the VGK outplayed MN. Lots of pressure and zone time first 2 periods. Third MN really made a push and it was right.
I’m a bit surprised so many are so down on Petro. I haven’t been a fan this year but in this game I thought he played very well. He created offense, made some real good passes and played some real good d.
If your team can’t afford one single turnover or you lose than you’ve got big, big problems. Lots of players made turnovers, and we’re focusing on one that resulted in a goal on a freak shot. Fleury stops that puck so easily if it doesn’t bounce off Marty’s slate and totally change direction. Just a really bad bounce at an incredibly unfortunate time.
I liked vgks game, and keep putting that kind of pressure on them, you are gonna get some to start dropping in the back of the net
Some of you guys are talking like all hope is lost, time to blow up the team, fire management. Quite premature for that I’m saying. Let’s hold it together, not jump off any bridges, and see what happens in next few games. Pdb has made good adjustments in the past, and knights are damn hard fighters when their backs are Against it.
Ps, those that have believed Lehner is as good as 29, my god Lehner woulda given up 5 at least tonight. Just hope management is not too stubborn to finally admit that.
THE hockey GOD
nice post Justin
PS I have a call in for the HANSON BROTHERS, no return phone call yet.
Mike StG
Justin, agree with most of your comments. The loss of Max’s offensive production is pretty huge. We can only hope it’s short lived. But who knows? Mgmt won’t say.
Also, I think most of us who were OK with the Lehner signing did NOT think it was because he was as good as or better than Fleury. The fact is they needed a better backup than Subban. Also, Fleury had 2 years left on his contract. They signed Lehner for 5 years (not 7 or 8), in other words as a bridge to help carry them through Fleury’s last years as needed. I see it as a practical move. Look at what the Caps are dealing with right now. And the Pens are backing up Jarry with Max Lagace. Yikes!!
Howard
Yes, always a practical move to sign a guy with documented mental issues – the reason that no one else signed him btw. There were PLENTY of quality backup goalies on the market. With respect, you are very wrong – they touted Lehner as elite and he’s not. He’s basically a top notched backup goalie or a 1B.
Mike StG
Howard – I can see you believe in second chances or redemption. If GMKM felt that he had put the issues behind him or has learned to deal with them that’s their judgment. Who are you to condemn him?
And what goalies were available at the time? Bernier? McIlhenny? Schneider? Give me a break. I love all these phantom acquisitions and trades that people throw around. Oh we could get Hertl! Right, as if SJ would ever trade him, esp to Vegas. We coulda offered JT 13M and he would’ve shown up here instantly. We could’ve offer sheeted Aho! Hey, I have an idea: maybe EDM will trade us McDavid! Let’s go for it!! Lololol
Justin
I agree that they needed a good backup goalie, and went out and signed what ultimately became one at 5 mil per…
Unfortunately there were other really good options, one really, really, really obvious example was available tonight. MN went out and got Cam Talbot at 1.45 mil per.
Ughhh, can we do a mulligan on that one???
Howard
Justin – right, and plenty of others. What VGK isn’t telling you and I know this for a fact, is that they thought they could move MAF, and Robin had another offer on the table from another team so they GAMBLED they would move MAF – they lost so they are selling you this ” oh, short season, we will have to great options to share net” bullshit.
Scoop = Pens wanted MAF back but ultimately could not work out a deal to their liking for him.
VGK FO absolutely shit the bed, and that’s where blame for this cluster screw should reside, not on any one player. If you were Piets, you would ask for as much as you could. Blues passed, VGK took at and also gave him a no move clause.
That’s bad business, and the biz end on the FO, not Piets. I’m happy for him, he got paid!
Mike StG
Justin, a few corrections to the facts:
Cam Talbot was NOT available when the agreement with Lehner was made, in June 2020.
Talbot signed a deal with MIN in Oct 2020, for 3 yrs $11M which is 3.67M per year not the 1.45M you state.
In the next year as Fleury approaches the end of his contract, who do you suppose will need to take over in net? They signed Lehner to take that role. He wasn’t just a backup for a year or two (or just last year’s playoffs). He’s the bridge to the future goalie, whoever that might be. Dave Prior may have believed Subban was that guy, but on Prior’s exit their direction changed.
Talbot is 33 y/o. Lehner is 29. They gave Lehner a 5 yr deal, presumably to allow them time to develop a goalie prospect to take the net in 3-4 years. Would make no sense to give a 33 y/o a 5 yr contract. This way their goalie situation is stable thru the foreseeable future. Makes total sense to me. Lehner was a Vezina finalist and won the Jennings in 2019, with a lifetime save % of .918. He’s DEFINITELY NOT a backup goalie except to some hypercritical fans. Preseason goalie rankings put Lehner anywhere from #4 to #10 on their lists of top goalies. He was also good in the playoffs. In 16 games he had .917sv%, 1.99 GAA, 4 shutouts. I really don’t get all the piling on about him.
Justin
Mike you are correct, sorry for posting something inaccurate. I googled his contract during the game in frustration as he was stopping everything, and it pulled up the lower figure. Even google can be wrong sometimes, or a lot sometimes. I should have double checked.
And yes I know management was down on MAF and thinking they needed a long term solution. BUT, I do blame them for their lack of analytical thinking. The reason they though MAF was on a decline was due to his poor stats for a short time towards the mid to end of season. Most of us here and in the media attribute this to his head not being right after his father passed. If that was the case, that was a short term issue. He showed no physical signs of slowing down whatsoever.
Moreover I attribute his slump to the much more obvious issue – the team played horrible defense at this time. They weren’t responding to gallant anymore, they didn’t believe in the need for extremely tight d anymore, and played very non challant. No goalie is going to be great behind a porous defense.
Well management obviously agreed with this assessment as they fired gallant, brought in pdb. All of a sudden the team started playing great d again. And at that time they brought in Lehner who was the beneficiary of this. Bit surprise surprise when the team played d again Fleury also turned his game completely around and was great again. But for some reason the fo still blamed Fleury.
The whole Fleury/Lehner debaucle was caused my the fo’s lack of analysis as to why we needed a new goalie.. we didn’t. We needed a new backup only.
Howard
Btw, I’ll say it. Deboer last year wanted to go with MAF, told MAF he was the guy, but was overrode by the front office who insisted Lehner is elite, believed MAF was finished in part, so they wanted THEIR GUY in there. It wasn’t Deboer’s ultimate decision.
I should not say this on here but fk it, I don’t care. Deboer didn’t deliberately lie to MAF. In NHL, if you don’t do what front office “suggests” you get fired.
The real issue is the 2 guys up top – GM and President. Both of them might be gone if VGK is out here in round one btw.
Foley is not as meddling as the media would have you believe.
Jinklu
Personally, Howard, I want all three fired.
Jeff
VGK has lots of shooters but NO scorers and there is a difference. If Lehner starts game two this series of over.
Howard
U have it ass backwards. VGK has a lot of scorers and NO SHOOTERS. Shooters snipe – go, name me one shooter on this team besides Pacs. They are all great at PASSING, and sometimes over passing. Stone is a SCORER. assist man. Karlsson the same, Marchie the same, Smith, the same = too much finesse. This was also evident last year in playoffs as well.
The only way for them to win since they are corner clear on D, is to CRASH THE NET in the o zone – use their size to win the scrums – the thing they didn’t do last year, and aren’t doing it now mainly because THEY DO NOT HAVE THE CENTERS TO PLAY THAT WAY!
Mike StG
They had that line in Year 1 – Haula, Perron and Neal. They kept Haula, but his catastrophic injury the next season made them think (I guess) that he was pretty much finished and would never be the same. Plus Gallant preferred to play Eakin at center, pushing Haula to wing. They should’ve kept Haula and jettisoned Eakin, but maybe Cody’s $4M cap hit was the problem.
Mike StG
And Neal and Perron were both shooters. That was a helluva line offensively. Not so much on the D side.
Jinklu
Contact Tracer asked if we could imagine McDavid vs Lehner. We don’t have to wait for that. Fiala and Kaprizov would eat The Lump for lunch.
Mike StG
And Neal and Perron were both shooters. That was a helluva line offensively. Not so much on the D side.
THE hockey GOD
“READING COMPREHENSION!!!!! He was looking to pass it up near the penalty box. He was trying to make the breakout pass which is why he held onto the puck. Since you like to bring up the announcers, they said the EXACT same thing. He should have passed the puck up along the boards just to get it out of the zone so they could reset. You can continue to defend Petra all you want on this but a majority of us on here know it was his fault the puck didn’t clear the zone”
Not a majority, a minority.
And the feed I was watching the TV announcers didn’t say that at all. They showed replay and no one was “up the boards” and they said the puck rolled on him that is why you see him stick handling behind the net and not shooting it up the boards. And he was poke checked at exactly the same time that the penalty was over so 81 was not out of the box yet so there was no one up the ice to pass to.
Maybe the goalie was out of position on this one ?? :O
Daryl
You are so clever with the goalie out of position….
I think you have a thing for Petra. You are the only one defending him. You even make up stories to defend him. Maybe your souls talk to Doc and see if he can give you some of his meds. You are simply delusional.
You are taking all of us that this great $8.8m Dman and gain control of the puck from the outside of the trap to the outside of the other part of the trap with nobody on him?????
DOC (Go Knights Go)
Wow! Reading all that was exhausting!
Anyway, reflecting back on the game this morning.
It really was a great game.
At times close checking, lots of hits.
Other times end to end play.
They put the puck into the net, before we did, simple as that.
Could easily been the other way.
No one thought we would sweep the series, so on we go tomorrow!
hdbiker7851
Howard = maybe I have missed it but I have noticed no one has asked you where or how you have all this inside information that you elude to. There use to be another on this site that made comments like that – haven’t seen them lately. It reminds me of reading the news where all the information comes from an anonymous source they can’t say who for what ever reason – I have also noticed these anonymous tips and insight more often than not turn out to be false in one way or another. Just wondering as you seem to have a fairly good grasp of the game and those remarks like you make on occasion dilutes your position and opinion.
DOC (Go Knights Go)
I’m not sure a team of just “snipers” would get very far.
As far as shooters, beside Patch:
Tuch, Marchy, Stoney & Wild Bill are pretty good! IMO