
Recap: The Golden Knights were facing elimination and needed a road win in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Semifinals to extend their season.
Montreal captain Shea Weber opened the scoring with a power play slapshot but Vegas would quickly respond. Reilly Smith scored his first goal of the series :48 seconds later to even the game 1-1. The Golden Knights generated 10 1st period shots scoring on one. After the opening 20 minutes Game 6 was tied 1-1.
Both teams traded power plays in early minutes of the middle frame and both penalty kill units did their jobs again. Midway through the period, Montreal regained their lead on a stretch pass to young sharpshooter Cole Caufield. Vegas was awarded another man-advantage but failed to capitalize again. After 40 minutes the Canadiens held a 2-1 edge.
Alec Martinez came up big again for Vegas scoring the game-tying goal quickly into the third period. Both teams locked down and tightened up down the stretch. Regulation ended 2-2 and the game would head to overtime for third time this series.
Montreal ended the series 1:39 into overtime sending the Golden Knights home for the season.
After losing 3-2 in overtime to the Canadiens, the Golden Knights are eliminated in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Semifinals. For the second straight season, Vegas falls one series short of the Stanley Cup Finals. (Recap by Jason)
Analysis: Not enough changed quickly enough. And because of it, the game looked fairly similar to the last few, and the Golden Knights just couldn’t find that one extra goal to get them over the hump… a problem they are growing all too familiar with. (Analysis by Ken)
- Thanks from SinBin.vegas for following along with us during a crazy season. We’ll be here every single day until they drop the puck on Year 5.
Ken’s Three VGK Stars
*** Alex Pietrangelo
** Reilly Smith
* Alec Martinez
"Everything's on the table. We've got to look at what we can do from a coaching perspective. We've got to look at personnel. We've got to look at everything." -DeBoer
— SinBin.vegas (@SinBinVegas) June 25, 2021
I'm the captain of this team, the leader of this team, I take a lot of responsibility for what just occurred. This team has been through a lot of adversity in four seasons, been to the Cup Final, been to two Conference Finals, had a lot of different heartbreaks…
— SinBin.vegas (@SinBinVegas) June 25, 2021
I'm excited to learn from mistakes and try and build this team to a Stanley Cup winner and not just a contender." -Mark Stone
— SinBin.vegas (@SinBinVegas) June 25, 2021
This simply cannot happen. https://t.co/45foPM3uif
— SinBin.vegas (@SinBinVegas) June 25, 2021
Danault, Gallagher, and Lehkonen… VGK's grim reapers.
— SinBin.vegas (@SinBinVegas) June 25, 2021
Reilly Smith has been a superstar tonight.
— SinBin.vegas (@SinBinVegas) June 25, 2021

George L.
The Captain, Mark Stone had ZERO points, Karlsson had around 14 and was the leading scorer. Why no love for Wild Bill. He’s my Captain, not Mr. No Show Stone.
Pauly
They can’t win the softest division (because of lehner), they have two goalies no one else wants, their offense sucks, their power play is a joke, Stone blows, petro is a waste of money, Thoedore is terrible, PDB is a complete loser who has now ruined 3 NHL teams, the FO is embarrassing, the defense is below average, and the fan base is the most ignorant and stupid in all of sports…
Get ready for 8 years of misery a la LA Kings due to so many horrible contracts…
Ryan
This guy is right
Shore
You forgot about the refs, you dumb shit. You are from Minnesota, obviously. Getch yur shit together
Pauly
Dumbest fans in all of sports confirmed
Daryl
It was only a matter of time before the “dumbest fan base” comment. This dipshit is a joke and doesn’t know anything about hockey. He should be watching the NBA
Pauly
Not justice for Floyd – not enough time…thats why cops are getting itstreet justice style!!! The people’s revolution is upon us! Nazi cops are being replaced one funeral at a time!
Daryl
I had a great day yesterday…. I took 4 of your POS friends to jail…. 2 black guys, a white guy and and a white whatever it wanted to be. I’m still waiting to get replaced!!!!
knights fan in minny
hey pauly that was funny when the blm lady took your money and ran and bought spendy houses in white neighborhoods she is the female al sharpton when are you and your blacks ever going to wise up your leaders only want to become rich of you and your blaclk folk wise up stupid
Pauly
You’re being replaced
Daryl
They won’t wise up… Not smart enough to. Hook, line, and sinker
knights fan in minny
pauly do you some kind of kick being a dick head
Frank
Dude. What a shit take on the season. Horrible analysis. We got beat by a red hot Canadiens team and our top line forwards did not produce. That is all. Two overtime losses that could have been wins being the difference in the series. All in all it was pretty even, but the habs out worked us. I look forward to next season.
Pauly
More from the dumbest fan base in sports…dont you realize that montreal is about as “good” as the Ducks and weren’t even a legitimate playoff team?
Frank
Apparently they were better than Toronto, Winnipeg, VGK, AVS and wild. Get out with your uninformed biased opinion.
Pauly
Embarrassing…another small dog sweater knitter with plastic flamigo toys from china on his nightstand
Mister Mister
You are a absolute no brain if you think Montreal is as a good as the ducks. You need to learn hockey before talking.
knights fan in minny
your boy george was a thug pauly get off your ass and grab another 40 pauly your blm lady needs some more money get to your shift at mcdonalds
knights fan in minny
pauly the pin head blm lover your kind are to stupid to see the blm lady ripped you off just like smiling al sharpton laughing all the way to the bank on your dime boy
Duckboy
So you really think we just got outworked and were unlucky? Seriously
I bet u post this for the next 10 seasons we lose
DC
Pauly, you must get a real rush out of playing the troll on sinbin. Ripping players, coaches, management, and people who comment on this site. Time to find a new hobby, dude.
knights fan in minny
f off pauly give some more of your money to the blm lady you miserable puke
Duckboy
Posted a few times before so no repeating all
of it.
Going to be a rough year next year and probably beyond. 13 m in goalie salaries and only trade bait is Theodore. No one on the prospect list that can help. Suzuki would be great. Wonderful moves.
Gm and coach need to go.
FO moves are bad. Coach had nothing when it counted.
Watched whitecloud and Theodore get worse and worse as playoffs went on.
Players have no spirit. They don’t. Stones stupid rage celebrations wouldn’t motivate a 3 year old.
Players aren’t finishers. Miss the net constantly or shoot it into goalies stomach.
Until they make some intelligent moves I can’t see this team being worth the time to follow and invest serious time in. They just don’t have it and I suggest we are further away from winning cup than any of you polyannas will post after this.
There now the purge is complete…. like their season.
Duckboy
Final thought
Shed any salary u can Next year
Play the kids next year to see if they are worth a shit
Regroup for 22-23 and beyond.
If we make more moves like Suzuki for patches next year we will doom the future
The gm and coach don’t have what it takes to win it all
Richard Santomauro
So, predictably, after a series in which the Money-Players came up flat and went 0-15 (I think it was 0-15) on the man advantage, it is now time for post-season conclusions.
The first conclusion is that you cannot buy a Stanley Cup, which is exactly what McPhee and McCrimmon set out to do when they fired Gallant and brought in PDB. All of the other moves have also resulted in the ultimate failure of the Golden Knights Season 4. Mr. Foley is new as an owner and I know that he is a honorable person. It’s now time for him to right this ship, to acknowledge that you cannot treat players simply like chess pieces, but rather that they are also human beings. That’s something that the M&M Brothers don’t believe in. At least one player on this team found out he was traded when he couldn’t get into the building because his FOB key was deactivated. Then, the player had to be told by a teammate rather than by the FO.
This team was just fine with Gallant. Those of us who are still fans of the original misfits are still in love with the magic of that team, the absolute heart they put into each and every game (much like what we saw from Montreal during this series).
I don’t think there will be many changes, but if there are you can bet that the M&M Bros will get rid of more of the 1st year Misfits that we have come to love. It’s too bad they decided to dismantle that edition instead of building upon it.
That’s all I have to say for now.
Money can’t buy you love! Good Song and So Appropriate on this day.
the hockey God
MTL tires to buy the cup also, with their pick up of corey perry, tyler tofolli, staal, merril, edmundson, etc. They just spent their money wisely. So your premise is pretty much wrong.
while the las vegas chicken chokes cough it up yet again,
Daryl
Merrill is a 3rd pairing Dman that was last go by VGK… How is picking him up trying to buy a Cup??? Teams try to get players they need to fill gaps, VGK gets expensive players that are good but not needed. That’s the difference
the hockey God
MTL had same salary cap as vegas, every team has same cap. So this whining about money is just baseless. IF NHL was real sport like horse racing and MLB, where the owners put there money on the line and can make up for their mistakes , with no socialism. Then that is one thing. I didn’t see Merryl make a screw up out there like Holden did.
Daryl
You are right, everyone has the same cap…. The difference is how that money is being spent. VGK didn’t need Lehner or Petra. Both were nice additions but they were wants not needs. That’s the difference b/n VGK and other clubs, they went after needs instead of wants
Richard Santomauro
Merril was a scratch when he was with the VGK almost 90% of the time.
DC
Richard, I agree. Vegas is trying too hard to buy a cup. Moving players around like chess pieces doesn’t help player buy-in. Players do not feel committed to an organization if they know they can be sold off like pawns as management continually goes after the bigger better deal. Successful teams don’t just have skill, they have players who are valued by their organization, guys who are willing to leave it all on the ice because it’s their team, city, and fans. There is very much an emotional aspect to it – this is how St. Louis went from the bottom to Stanley Cup champs in 2019.
Vic
Have fun discussing the likely changes, and I believe just about everything should be on the table. The brief OT was a microcosm of many losses…VGK play pretty good, can’t convert, and the other team scores on their first chance. Defense looked slow, but the Habs checked and passed beautifully while our guys couldn’t complete two passes and simply threw the puck at the net. Cut to Bruce Hornsby…Gonna be some changes made. Stay well.
Justin
Thank you, thank you Golden Knights!!!
This season was incredibly entertaining. I loved always having a game to look forward to right around the corner. You guys played awesome this year. You fought hard, were very resilient, won a lot of tough ones and always kept us entertained.
The series wins against MN and CO were so exciting. We are so lucky to have you as our team, we really could not ask for anything more. I’m already looking forward to next season.
Rest well, relax, enjoy time with your families. You deserve a great time off. See you next season!
sb
You got it right, Justin. It was another good year of hockey. Not the Cup though. The most successful fourth year team in the history of N. American sports. Many here are spoiled and not too bright. Is this Buffalo? No. Be thankful. VGK’s are one hi-end, playmaking center away (and Stephenson moving to Tuch) from winning it all. Owner and GM’s get it. Just like Pietrangelo last year, they’ll get that missing piece for 2021-22. They want to win. They won’t tear it up. They’ll add that one more player that’s needed.
Daryl
Where are your stats for this game???
Pauly
HAHAHA – Justin a huge part of the dumbest fan base in sports history!
Justin
Pauly,
You’re calling my post and my gratitude for a great season dumb? There is a time for grace, a time for class. The team treated us to a great season, it is perhaps a time to show gratitude.
Are we dumb to understand how incredibly difficult it is to make it to the final four for the third time in four years? This is something to be greatful for. We have one of the elite teams in hockey, a team and organization most of the others would be envious of. Is it dumb to recognize this and be appreciative of it?
Have you played sports at a high level yourself? Do you truly understand how difficult it is to be elite among others playing at a high level? I was a college wrestler, do you have any idea or the difficulty to get to the top 4 places in the national championships?
It is so easy to criticize and focus on the bad. This will be done at length through this off-season. Sometimes though, it is ok, and furthermore appropriate to say thank you and show appreciation to the positives and gifts one has given. This does not make one dumb.
If your child fails at winning the championship you must tell them they’re worthless failures. You must be a great, positive role model in your home and in life.
Don’t criticism others for being thanful for having a great team in Vegas. 5 years ago we had nothing. I will not apologize for being greatful and saying thank you.
Pauly
Laughable…the season was a total failure…go knit your small dog a VGK sweater
So dumb…
Daryl
And yet your team is no where to be found!!! You are just salty VGK knocked your team out of the playoffs. Now who has the dumbest fan base around???
Theresa soles
IT MUST REALLT SUCK TO BE YOU, PAULY. DO YOU A WIFE? GOD HELP HER IF SHE HAS TO LISTEN TO YOUR NEGATIVE CRAP ALL THE TIME. IF YOU. ARE THAT DISGUSTED, TGEN PLEASE GO AWAY AND LEAVE TGE REST OF US ALONE! WE KNOW THIS WAS A DISAPPOINTING. END TO THE SEASON. BUT WE WILL STILL SUPPORT OUR TEAM. FIND ANOTHER TEAM AND FANBASE TO BEAT UP ON…
Pauly
More proof – the absolute dumbest, most ignorant fan base in sports history
Theresa soles
Apologies for my 1am spelling typos but my irritation at Pauly’s infantile comments to others JUST PISSED ME OFF!! Adding INSULT to INJURY is pretty BOTTOM- TIER. Most of us will support the VGK no matter WHAT. And THAT is what a FAN is. STAY COOL, VEGAS!
Daryl
Do you even have a favorite team? It’s obvious you don’t know anything about hockey and you should be watching the NBA….
I doubt you will answer the question though
the hockey God
ignore him he’s a hater and an idiot
Daryl
Something we actually agree on
DC
Justin, Judging from his comments, Pauly has more issues than the VGK franchise.
knights fan in minny
pauly get bent you high crier get to the soup line boy
knights fan in minny
pin headpauly did you eat paint chips as a kid
Rick
It’s going to amazing watching VGK figure out a way to add Eichel. This is coming from an Avs fan but I mean it sincerely. Everyone in the league knows the one hole in Vegas is a true 1C. Of course the two Mc’s know it as well. You know they’ll take a run at it and they’ll probably figure out a way to pull it off. You’d think they’ll have to trade the Vezina winner to help make cap room which is pretty amazing in and of itself. They may end up mortgaging the rest of the team’s future to do it though. Seeing Suzuki play the way he did has to sting pretty badly.
I’d be really interested to hear what you guys think a trade looks like and where all the cap room will come from.
sb
Agreed. They will go after Eichel. He’s the missing piece. That hi-end, playmaking center who can straighten out the PP and carry two high scoring wingers. My guess – maybe trade, if possible, Fleury, Reaves, Holden or buy-out. This should get them $6 to $9 mil. Won’t resign Nosek or Janmark. Maybe that gets to the $10 mil needed. Will give Buffalo two prospects and a couple first rounders. They want to win NOW. It’s gonna be interesting the next couple of months. McPhee and Foley will get this done. They see the BIG HOLE will will fill it.
ulf
By the way thanks for such a fun analysis you do every day Ken! Love your energy and love what you’ve built at SinBin.
LVsc
all that is not necessary. just like with some other trades made in the recent deadline, the use of a THIRD PARTY to pick up some of the cap hit to facilitate a trade is the way it will be done.
San Jose and Det are teams who have acted as 3rd party trade facilitators in a couple of the recent deadline trades. the SJ Sharks acted as 3rd party with the Knights in the trade to bring Janmark from Chicago to Vegas.
you have to give them something to act as a 3rd party, of course.
for instance, when Tampa acquired dman David Savard at the trade deadline, they did it even though it would have put them way over the cap limit if they did not get creative. so, what they did is Columbus retained 50% of his cap hit, then traded Savard to Detroit, who picked up another 25% of his cap hit, then Det traded Savard to Tampa, who ended up with their man, Savard, and only responsible for 25% of his cap hit.
Tampa gave Det a 4th round pick for their participation, and Tampa gave Columbus a 1st and 3rd round picks for Savard.
Voila !!!
Rick
Those were expiring contracts and they were smaller contracts. Eichel has 5 years left at 10 million. You aren’t flipping someone a 3rd to take half of 10 million for 5 years.
Hdbiker7851
Why would vegas want to take on another health problem? One would hope they learned giving Lehner a contract when all other.teams let him go.
Tim
There’s a couple of posters tonight who are generally fucked up. Crazy comments from mommies basement. Do you get off making outlandish comments you should try a blowup doll next time.
Daryl
Where is SB to defend his man-crush favorite player? The player who has 1 win against teams with a winning record????
Tim
Patch was going to get his revenge on Montreal how’d that work out.
Stone held scoreless that was a killer.
O – 15 on the PP can’t get any worse.
Theadore it’s time for him to move on
Fleury a luxury we can’t afford anymore.
More cuts coming stay tuned.
Jason S.
Eichel? A guy who will make a lot of money, has a lot of injuries and who has always been with a losing team. That’s a pass from me.
Howard
VGK finally began to work out the issues in the 3rd period. One being the reversal pass when challenged at ozone entry – good. The bad that never changed – too many point shots from way too far out. low % shots = wasted possessions. This was the number one issue here that lead to most of Habs scoring chances – odd man rushes.
It’s PDB’s system, and he will not change it. While his structure is very good in terms of players buying into it, it’s not a structure that was won, or will win a cup IMO.
When you continue to pinch up dmen like this, you are asking your forwards to play far in, which a lot of times will leave your F1, 2 and 3 up ice. With Dmen constantly pinching in and doing most of the ‘heavy lifting’ in the ozone, you are going to give up odd man rushes.
VGK made a lot of mistakes in this regard. Now, this system can work provided dmen are MORE SELECTIVE in their pinches and point shots. However, VGK just kept firing low % on goal, rushed fast shots that again, lead to odd man rushes, open stretches passes, and more.
Possession does matter, but it depends what you do with it. VGK sorely lacks CENTERING, a vertical game ice to ice. Refer to Tampa when at full strength (with Kutcherov). They play ice to ice, so they generate better quality chances.
In The NHL, out of the 4 major sports, the talent level is the closest. The difference between winning and losing in playoffs is VERY NARROW. Ken says we were the better team than The AVS, I absolutely disagree with his view – we were at best the equal team, but AVS BEAT THEMSELVES in the same manner we did in this series – MISTAKES.
Islanders and Bolts make the least amount of mistakes. I clearly said before this series that Habs had a chance and that this could go 7 and likely would have if not for that MAF bungle in game 3.
I can now tell you that Habs will get destroyed by either Tampa or NYI, I mean slaughtered badly because neither of those teams rely on their dmen over pinching and point shots to score. Habs won’t get transition on either of those teams,
Game 5 was the biggest killer. VGK at home were clearly OVER AMPED, and HABS took advantage of it. Again, in the 3rd period here, VGK was starting to “figure it out” but ran out of luck and time notwithstanding, Patches bungled a very easy scoring chance – have to bury that one.
VGK is a very good team, but not won’t win a cup until when and if this team;
1. trades Theodore – he’s an offensive dman and redundant with Petro in the fold – other teams will value him highly – get a quality center for him so Chandler and Karlsson can move down a line each.
2. Must trade one of the goalies, My source says Pens wanted MAF back, but did not offer VGK what they wanted and there were some cap issues for The Pens. After Jarry’s bed shitting this postseason, I think Pens will make it work.
3. If Deboer is going to stay, he needs to do a better of job of making adjustments IN THE SEASON before we get to the postseason, make adjustments faster, and convey those better to his team.
Forget about trading Patches, no one will give us any return for him, and he’s a cap nightmare – we are stuck with him, a one dimensional player.
Concerning Stone, he needs to deal with adversity better and stop forcing stuff, same with Marshy.
Huge major changes don’t need to happen here, but a few big important ones can and will happen here.
This team was slightly better than last year’s team because of Petro, Without his play, AVS would have won that series. He did most everything correctly. I say slightly better because we missed another center in Stansty.
If we make the changes I think we should, we can be a true Cup contender.
sb
Only one talented playmaking center away. Move Stephenson to Tuch line. Line 1 then a FORCE. PP straightened out with playmaker quarterback feeding wingers.
the hockey God
the team is not built for slush ice hockey in middle of desert
“well both teams play on same surface” that doesn’t fly, this is analogous to a horse trainer with stable of horses who can only run on a fast dirt surface. So when you have slop and mud they can’t run on it.
Need a different type of team to run during the playoffs. And you just can’t train fast dirt horses to run on sloppy tracks. That is not the trainers fault that is the owners fault for not stocking the stable with right kind of horses, err , i mean players.
Jason Mason
Outscored by 1 goal for the series…I won’t count the empty net by Suzuki, and 3 games go to OT. Our goalies were definitely not the problem, especially given they won the Jennings Trophy for fewest goals given up in the season. That played out equally well in the playoffs, so I’d suggest most of you prepare to see both Lehner and Fleury back in net next year. Besides, whose going to take those contracts? Net minders are not the problem in Vegas.
Montreal has been the little team that could for the entire playoffs. They’ve outworked everyone they’ve played since being down 3-1 to Toronto. Corey Perry playing with a gash across his nose that looked like a chainsaw injury, and Gallagher with his cheek gashed while two of the best young players in the league in Caulfield and Suzuki ( hey, here’s that center you guys have been crying about that Vegas traded away), looked like veterans, so be prepared for them to be very good for a long time. Just about every free agent in the league will consider playing with those guys given what their future looks like…and it’s Montreal.
All you guys blowing up the Vegas team and starting from scratch haven’t been paying attention. That’s what they’ve done for the last 3 seasons. How about keeping these guys and developing some team chemistry for awhile, and stop trading away the talent. And maybe work on some stick handling and puck control during the off season. Our offense needs work, but the best line for Vegas was the “misfit” line…team chemistry anyone….anyone…..anyone. Defense is pretty solid and they need to find a way to keep the league leader in shot blocks…Alec Martinez. Yeah, they do need a center, but blowing up the team to get one isn’t going to produce any better results if you have to blow up the cap to get one, or trade away some of the better talent we already have.
We had a pretty good year, and only 3 teams are having a better one, so go ahead and give up your season tickets and refuse to watch next year because you all won your fantasy league and know better than the people getting paid to figure it out. The Mc Brothers have proven to be fallible. Blowing up a pretty good team won’t make them smarter, or the team better.
I’m pulling for Cary Price to hoist the cup….doubt him at your own peril.
Richard Santomauro
Take away Fleury’s Bill Buckner moment and I would agree with you that the Goalie position wasn’t the problem in this series.
Basically, you had two young kids completely dominate the ice (Caufield & Suzuki). They made the VGK Forwards look very bad. That Patches acquisition is now looking like a major failure as well.
I would agree, you do not blow up this team.
1-Do what is necessary to retain Martinez.
2-Keep both goalies for now and continue to develop Logan Thompson for when MAF retires.
3-I do not agree that we need to go out to buy a top line Centerman, but I do agree that PDB failed to prepare this team for the semi-finals. Who was looking at tape for VGK? Why was the game plan basically the same old same old? Which leads me back to the point that acquiring PDB was a mistake in the first place.
4-Team Chemistry! Bringing in PDB and Lehner was destructive to the chemistry. Trading away Nate Schmidt was destructive. Nate was a solid on defense even though not a goal scorer. Let’s not forget that Nate was valued more highly than McNabb in Seasons 1-3.
5-Jimmy Schuldt to replace McNabb
6-Nick Hague to replace Holden
7-There’s a point to be made about how PDB has actually been destructive to teams he has coached in the past. For me, this is a decision that should never have been made. Foley could step in at this point but that would blow up the entire FO, which I don’t think is necessarily a bad thing.
8-Not much has been said about how much energy the team lost in the Wild and Avalanche series. Those games were exhausting. Combined with the fact that Montreal swept Winnipeg and had 3X the amount of rest has to be factored into VGK’s semifinal failure.
Summary. Unless you are going to flush the entire FO and Head Coach the team should stand pretty much the same for Season 5 with a few tweaks. Kolesar and Roy were solid additions this year and I believe Hague, Glass and Krebs should be looked at as well. Possible trade bait for picks are Holden, McNabb, and Janmark. You bring up Hague to replace Holden. Bring up Jimmy Schuldt to replace McNabb.
Daryl
I disagree on 2 points…. The first is the MAF bluff. While it let MTL tie the game, VGK still had a chance to win it. He so made some unbelievable saves which kept VGK in the game and even gave them chances to win it.
The other is point 3… VGK is in very much of a top line Center. He would have made a huge difference in this series
Richard Santomauro
Daryl, I get your point. MAF was superb except for that fluke. However, that fluke did in fact cost us the game. We would have taken a 3-2 series lead in a little more than a minute. So, I am unwilling to lessen the impact that major mistake on the semi finals.
As a fan I am not interested in going outside of the organization to purchase a high paid center. The players on this roster are capable. The Head Coach failed to implement a strategy to counter Montreal and even more damning is the 0-15 power play in this series and the putrid % throughout the season. It’s a recurring theme with Pete DeBoer. It’s San Jose Sharks style hockey and it sucks.
I would fire PDB and bring up Manny Viveiros who has been developing the future Knights. We have quite a bit of very good talent there to bring up. Trade Holden, McNabb, Reaves and possibly Janmark and bring up Hague, Schuldt (D) and several others. See my post elsewhere in this thread.
Julie
I agree with you on the Fleury thing. Technically, you can say anytime a goalie lets in a tying goal it costs that team a game since they have to go into overtime. This is not different, it’s just the way it happened that triggered people… because it’s a seasoned goalie who did it.
knights fan in minny
i love nate great guy watched here in minny as a gopher season ticket holder in the bubble last year nate and mcnabb were turn over machines vegas fans will need to let go of there favs
Julie
Truth be told, I am not as upset they lost as I thought I would be. You could see Stone was holding back. Something was off or missing. Maybe bordering on injury and tried to avoid getting hit or something. Pacioretty slightly better. Theodore, missing his usual zing. Marchessault started out stronger then rapidly faded. Tuch the same. Karlsson was more steady and reliable and Janmark showed up. Martinez, just all-around great. Petro showed up for the playoffs and I agree with whoever said earlier as a Captain when Stone didn’t in the post game interview.
No issues with the goalies in this series in terms of they can’t be blamed. If Fleury goes anywhere for what I believe is his last year, it will be his choice because Foley already very clearly stated Fleury would retire as a Knight. He flat -out saved this team more times than he should have, carried Lehner to a Jennings trophy, got nominated for the Vezina. All of that trumps causing a tying goal in Game 3. Lehner won’t go anywhere because he is also expensive and comes with issues (speaking out against the NHL) and is inconsistent as a goalie. So, VGK best work with him and see what they can do to reap a better ROI long-term.
PDB: The only thing making him better than Gallant in the eyes of the FO is his seemingly willingness to take their sh!t. But he either didn’t adjust his strategy or failed to communicate with the team to execute. The PP was never fixed. He is a lawyer, so he might be able to argue his way out of this if he acts like the FO wants him to.
But Vegas has a lot to be proud of. They got to the playoffs yet again, withstood 2 grinding playoff series in a row, and I enjoyed the rollercoaster ride with them and the people on this message board. I get value from almost all of the comments because we love this sport. With all the covid crap, it’s been a great escape.
Lastly, I have no idea what the odds are, but I am pulling for Fleury on the Vezina. It would be a great accomplishment closing his career.
hdbiker7851
Good Morning Julie – sad, disappointed but not surprised as I predicted from the start of this series Montreal was a very dangerous team. Not because of superior personnel as I don’t believe that was the case but because they were on a mission with the necessary attitude to accomplish it. Vegas lost a number of games by a single goal but if they had any kind of PP what so ever that may not necessarily have happened. (Killer # 1a) I would not be surprised if they raise the Cup – a winning attitude is a very powerful weapon and they certainly have that – those couple of young forwards made Vegas look pretty bad because of the winning attitude of the team and they possess. (Killer #1). When Vegas did come to light in some of the games it was normally to little to late. Playoff hockey is a different animal than regular season – Montreal barely made the playoff and here they are in the finals. It doesn’t make any difference they weren’t the best as they think otherwise and very humble about it. Sad Vegas lost but they didn’t deserve to win unfortunately. I hope Montreal beats who they face in the finals as whatever team it is if they think winning will be a cake walk they better check that attitude at the door and come to do battle. Montreal believes they are suppose to win one way or another and I am sure they will come out guns a blazing. Here’s to next year in Vegas’s case – many of the posters on this site see an all new team personnel wise – I doubt that and question that’s what is necessary – some tweaks yes but not an overhaul. Getting a guy like Jack Ecikel with all his health problems would be like getting Lehner only costing more. Not a solution just a greater liability. Enjoy the summer next season is right around the corner.
Daryl
I actually thought VGK would win this series in 6.i was worried about our PP and how it may hurt us and in the end it really did kill us. People can talk about MAF mistake but we came back and won the next game so that mistake is meaningless. We lost because of our PP
Richard Santomauro
There’s no doubt that had we had timely PP goals, even just 2 or 3, VGK would have won this series. It really was that big a factor!
Julie
Hey, HD – Yep, it’s been crazy this year for sure. I wish Vegas would develop the young talent, and put the credit card away with the big purchases. Reminds me of Chevy Chase in the Vegas Vacation movie where he blows his money and has to dig up cash in the desert with Cousin Eddie. They need to appreciate a little more what they have and help the investment grow. This goalie drama is ridiculously tired out. Lehner looks more tradeable now, so if he can be strategic about when he speaks out, I bet he’s willing to go to Buffalo or Ottawa….oh wait. :). The team did look tired but I don’t know if what – non-adjusted coaching or just physically tired. I have to say, if DeBoer is around, seeing Vegas plays against Gallant’s Rangers, well, I don’t know if I could watch that. I definitely like Gallant and it will be interesting to see what he does with that team.
Good thing about hockey, the season ends and you get a few short months to get excited all over again. 🙂 Hope to see you from time to time here!
Richard Santomauro
I am also looking forward to Season 5. I am a season ticket holder, Section 11, Row T, Seats 15 & 16.
VGK FO panicked in my opinion after Season 2. They lost faith in Gallant, the Misfits and Fleury. They’ve been trying to buy a championship for the past 2 years. I truly think that McPhee and McCrimmon looked at Season 1 as a fluke with a bunch of castaway 3rd line players over performing.
I am glad to see a misfit get a chance at a Cup. Jon Merrill was never a top line performer for VGK. He spotted the 4th line from time to time. What a great opportunity for him being traded to Montreal! Good for him. Oh, and Nick Suzuki as well. VGK and the fan base were all looking forward to him becoming a Golden Knight. Another huge loss.
I will also be looking forward to that first Rangers/Knights game! I wonder how many VGK players will be targeted by the Rangers now that Gallant in their coach?
Daryl
Can’t wait to watch VGK VS NYR next season!!!!
arnold rothstein
Arnold the brain Rothstein here.
When something smells, it stinks and you can’t put lip stick on a pig.
The fix was in, and here were the players the BLACK SOX players that threw the series. Fleury (more than one flub), Theodore, Stone, Patches, Holden, Marchessault, and Tuch. By their play, and lack thereof it was pretty evident. The mob paid them off, and the mob made millions. The players got more money than that would have if they won the cup. Knowing fully well that they didn’t have a snowballs chance to win the puck they took the easy money. The odds on these games were all for VGK, meaning the bettors on the HABS made a lot of money. A LOT
Expect the VGK to clear the roster next year of Fleury, Holden, Marchessault, patrick brown (for a song), Theordore, glass, janmark (maybe Martinez if they can’t afford him), Stone or pacioretty (when they are at trade deadline and not making playoffs next year)
Daryl
You can’t seriously think VGK is going to get rid off all those players???? You might see 1 or 2 but that will be it
Howard
Some of these people are idiots Daryl. No fix, I gave what I believe to be the correct analysis. No need to break up this team. Just trade Theodore not because he sucks, but because he is redundant with Petro here. He’s a want, not a need. VGK needs a topline center, so u have to give to get. VGK doesn’t need to goalies, so you move one of them. Preferably, a new coach as well, one who understands how to adjust on the fly, instead of one who pretty much admits he doesn’t know what to change/do when team isn’t going well.
the hockey God
need a team to learn how to adjust on fly, and you can’t do that in semi finals or finals
you can’t build a team for speed on fast ice
to play the same style of hockey on slush in middle of june or july,
it’ like trying to get a racehorse who is good on fast dirt track to run on turf or slop track. It can’t be done. That is why VEGAS wins in WINTER and LoSES in SUMMER. It will continue until they build a team with players that can handle both extremes. It has nothing at all to do with the coach.
Pauly
More nonsesne from the dumbest, most ignorant fan base in all pro sports
Daryl
You change up your playing style… Which is on the coach
DOC (Go Knights Go)
DISAPPOINTING !
I knew this would be my, last chance, to see the Knights raise the cup.
I gave everything I had to root them on to victory. And I was ridiculed for that. But, that’s what our country has turned into” Chaos, conspiracy theories, racism, HATE!
So no surprise I was attacked for my honest, open, positive views.
The Knights did not have “a championship attitude”. In the playoffs you must play like a sports car, peddle to the metal, not like an 18 wheeler, that grinds slowly only picking up speed when it’s to late.
The Habs deserved it. They out played us .
Richard Santomauro
Come on Doc. Let’s keep politics outside of the rink.
Indeed, Montreal did beat us. I think the #1 reason is that Vegas gas tank was on E after two very tough rounds and Montreal had a chance to rest up after sweeping Winnipeg.
Ken
@Richard,
Vegas out of gas really!! quit making excuses for your team Vegas was out coached plain and simple, just like the Avs were out coached. C’mon man
Daryl
Some of it is being out coached some of it were costly self made mistakes, which were also made by the coach. COL shot themselves in the foot multiple times and it cost them.
DOC (Go Knights Go)
Best read again. Has nothing to do with “the rink”.
You don’t know what was said to me.
DOC (Go Knights Go)
This was for Richard
the hockey God
I hear you Doc, too bad you didn’t get to see it
BTW Trump won, and dembots play identity politics, and this is not forum to play that well used race bait card.
have a nice summer, be well, see you next year
DOC (Go Knights Go)
Trump didn’t win, obviously.
And, you won’t see ME on this site next season.
Daryl
That’s right… you have your own group to hang out with next season!!!
Pauly
Dumbest, most ignorant morons to follow a team ever…
Daryl
Pauline has her panties in a wad
ulf
A few issues
1) All due respect but anyone surprised by Pietro’s playoff performance just has to look at his history of playoffs, Olympics, and other international play. He’s always been great when the chips are down. A great player.
2) On the other hand, there is serious overvaluation of the talent of some key players on this roster. For example, Patches has never been a spectacular playoff performer. He’s averaged just over half a point a game (0.5) over his career. There have been two seasons (including this one) where he’s better than that. And the guy is 33 years old in the fall, which is getting old for a power forward – some other players are getting older too.
3) Folks surprised at Montreal’s results have to remember they got some key pieces at the deadline – Staal, a good depth center at this point in his career, was added. Essentially Cole Caufield was added at the deadline. Kotkaniemi was a scratch early in the series and he came in and contributed.
Also, while VGK was beating up on the bottom-feeders of their division, Montreal was kind of middle of the pack against a pure offense division (Toronto, Winnipeg, Edmonton, etc.) which have some of the best snipers in the game. So you can say Montreal has had a lot of practice to try and shut down players and that takes time when you add new players.
4) Pete DeBoer has also historically been a ‘no-change’ type of coach who has struggled over time with his teams. Power Play needs a drastic improvement (obviously) and neither he nor his staff have been aggressive in fixing it up.
5) probably more but I’m glad we’re moving beyond “when we play the right way Vegas is the best team in the league” to “we have some serious issues we need to fix”.
Daryl
Staal was the player I hoped VGK went after at the trade deadline… I knew we wouldn’t get a #1 Center but he would have been worth the pickup
the hockey God
MTL would have likely not even made the playoffs during regular , NON VID, season robbing VEGAS the chance to get some of those dead line players, if they had the salary cap to do so.
Ulf
That’s a lot of ifs, chief among them being that Vegas would have to play Tampa, Carolina, isles, and a bunch of other teams that are far better than the ones found in the West division for this year, where half the teams are rebuilding . Mind you the Pacific division is pretty weak too so Vegas isn’t in a bad spot, but bidding on those players? If the GM hadn’t overpaid Patches, Stone and a few others maybe adding is a possibility. But currently no – especially as Vegas doesn’t really have great prospects to trade either.
Ken
What Montreal did to Vegas is what Vegas did to the Avs, shut down the top line! After waiting 20 years to win a cup it will mean so much more for the Vegas fans when they do in 15 years. See ya next year
Theresa soles
I absolutely LOVE your comment, Ken! Such a great attitude..and you SIMPLE analysis of series loss is how I saw it, too. We just got outplayed. Offense shut down. Montreal deserves this chance, based on how much heart they played with. I am going to cheer for the Montreal underdogs!The KNIGHTS will have their YEAR hoisting the CUP– Vegas has little patience– we want it NOW. But it will be worth the wait!!!
vgk21
what does it say about the Vegas top 6 forwards that a 20 year old college kid who just joined the Nhl a couple months ago COMPLETELY and totally outscored, outplayed, outshined, and outperformed ALL 6 of the Vegas top 6 forwards??
it says that the real weakness, 2 years in a row, is the lack of scoring production by these guys. Then you add in the complete season long PP failure, and you have probable changes coming in this area.
the hockey God
no, it says the team was gassed, couldn’t stop a 20 year old kid ?! Come on, check back when the team has a fresh set of wheels. Even the MTL team said more than once that the VGK team looked tired out there.
That is only thing I fault PBD for , not recognizing tired players and playing injured players. Coaches keep stats on skate speed, etc etc , they can see these players performance levels decreasing and they did nothing about it.
Richard Santomauro
As far as the FO and coaching goes, I am not happy with the choices.
How about this for a shock?
MANNY VIVEIROS, Head Coach Vegas Golden Knights! Along with the Assistants as well. I’ve seen enough of the Vegas Sharks style already.
Here’s my team for Season 5 under Manny.
1-Stone, Stephenson, Pacioretty
2-Smith, Karlsson, Marchy
3-Tuch,Roy,Janmark
4-Kolesar, Glass/Krebs, Nosek
Defense
1-Petro, Martinez
2-Theodore, Schuldt
3-Hague, Whitecloud
On the Bubble Tryout. These young guys should be developed and may even crack the lineup in Season 5:
F – Jack Dugan
F – Dylan Sikura
C- Jake Leschyshyn
F- Marcus Kallionkieli
RW-Jermaine Loewen (possible Reaves replacement)
D-Daniil Miramanov (6-4, 221)
D-Zack Hayes (6-4, 222)
Trade List FOR PICKS: Holden, McNabb, Reaves
Ken
@Richard,
Vegas out of gas really!! quit making excuses for your team Vegas was out coached plain and simple, just like the Avs were out coached. C’mon man
Richard Santomauro
Ken,
Yes, they were out coached. Also out-front-officed with Suzuki vs Patches. All that is true, but so too is the fact that Montreal had more time between round 2 and the semis having swept Winnipeg. So, yeah the Knights looked a lot slower than usual in this series. Another theme that has plagued this team is the inability to play for a full 60 minutes.
All of that Ken.
Ken
Richard,
The Avs looked slower also when they played Vegas it’s the defensive coaching schemes that slowed down Vegas.
the hockey God
clearly gassed, even MTL players said that VGK looked tired. They said it more than once. Their speed was not there. They were repeatedly beat to loose pucks, they repeatedly lost puck battles along the boards. They repeatedly made stupid mental decisions with the puck. SEE THEODORE IN LAST GAME. These are signed of a mentally and physically fatigued team. HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH COACH OR STYLE. Players that are mentally and physically fatigued can not perform. The bad ice on top of all that was icing on the cake. The only thing the coach can do is give players rest and call up fresh players.
At end of last game, the HABS were the ones clearing getting tired. But the tired VGK could not finish them off.
Richard Santomauro
Ken,
Most of the Avs looked slow, but not McKinnon. He still had his jets, we just shut him and his line down. Team strategy is definitely key and is the main reason why I have lost faith in the PDB experiment. Sure, PDB was able to stop that COL 1st line, but PDB’s style of offense is too predictable and not very well suited for playoff hockey where time and space are more restricted by opposing teams. The biggest fault I have is 0-15 on the man advantage. That power play is horrendous and it’s coaching/strategy not a player issue with execution. It’s too predictable and way to safe.
I did see VGK turn on the jets when they needed to after getting down. The difference between year 1 and PDB coached years 3 and 4 is that in year 1 the passion and desperate aggressive offense was evident for 60 minutes. Under DeBoer we see that level of play for normally 1 or 1.5 periods and that’s it.
vgk21
The Vegas Golden Knights were defeated last night by the Montreal Canadiens, giving them more frustrating memories of coming close but not reaching the top of the mountain. It’s been an incredible run for an expansion franchise, winning multiple playoff rounds in three of their four seasons in existence. But they still haven’t managed to win it all, meaning there will be changes once again this summer. On the 31 Thoughts podcast, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet notes that this team has never been afraid to go after the big fish.
“Not specifically about [Jack] Eichel, but they’ll be in on anyone that can help them. That’s the way they are, it’s their DNA. The surest predictor of future behavior is past behavior, and those guys go after the big fish. No matter who they’ve got. No matter who they’ve got, they go after the big fish. ”
Vegas made enough cap space to fit in Alex Pietrangelo last summer when the defenseman became available, but they’ll have to do it again if they want to add this year. Friedman and co-host Jeff Marek discussed the future of Marc-Andre Fleury, suggesting that moving his $7MM contract is the best opportunity for cap savings, while also noting that Alec Martinez is likely to be replaced in the lineup by Nicolas Hague full-time. The Golden Knights will be an interesting team to watch over the coming weeks as they deal with another heartbreaking loss.
=====================================
it would be tough to lose Martinez, but he is a UFA with a good bargaining position coming off a very good year for him.
Richard Santomauro
2021 Defense
1-Petro, Martinez
2-Theodore, Schuldt
3-Hague, Whitecloud
I too hope Martinez can be retained. If not then you have
1-Petro, Theodore
2-Schuldt, Mcabb or Hoden
3-Hague, Whitecloud
and these two young D-men looking to move up from the HSK.
D-Daniil Miramanov (6-4, 221)
D-Zack Hayes (6-4, 222)
knights fan in minny
a number 1 center is hard to come by if you can get one it will cost a kings ransom do we even know if eichel wants to come here
Daryl
I really wanted Staal
knights fan in minny
daryl do you think jack would want to come to vegas or stay on the east coast
Daryl
I think he would… With a few right adjustments this team could actually compete for the Cup.
knights fan in minny
no justice for george the thug pauly what about the justice for the pregnant lady who had a gun put in her belly by your hero georgge the thug his story they all come to minnesota for a fresh start nice fresh start once a thug always a thug pauly your proud kind you dirt bag punk
Pauly
You are being replaced, you nazi racist scumbag…We are gaining control! We are breeding you out! We are ambushing racist brown shirt cops!
knights fan in minny
replaced by who stupid free loaders like you did you get your welfare check this week i get it thats your kinds best feature is breeding then you get more welfare free free give me more the black way grab another 40 out of the fridge pauly and clea that illegal gun of yours
Daryl
Who’s going to replace us? You? Your sorry ass couldn’t ha dle it, that’s why you hide behind your computer and talk trash. You keep saying those who aren’t even in LE are being replaced lol. You are a joke
Pauly
Im from North LV you racist scumbags – a hood you racists won’t dare enter…you are cowards and are being REPLACED
knights fan in minny
a hood thats what your idol george was a hood
knights fan in minny
come to north lv to get shot right pauly
Daryl
Oh no, IT is from the hood? Everyone be scared. Your little POS “hood” is nothing compared to the hood in Miami
Pauly
Hahahah – you are being replaced right before your very eyes! Your daughters are contributing to my race not yours!
knights fan in minny
pauly you dumb ass are you going to complain about the raiders to because there qb is a honkey
knights fan in minny
grab a couple of 40s pauly and go thugging typical night for your people
Pauly
Grab your hood and go lynch some descendants of the slaves you oppressed, you racist POS – YOU ARE BEING REPLACED, WHITE DEVILS
Daryl
Scared little boy lol
knights fan in minny
get to that thugging tonight pauly thats your peoples thing
Hdbiker7851
Come on DOC we may not have agreed on some things but we sure do on Vegas not having a champship attitude. Next season. Is sooner than we think. Keep the faith you are definitely a loyal fan – some time not a realist but loyal. See you in the fall. How’s that for positive thinking. Take care
knights fan in minny
pauly grab your mask and your gun and rob a booze store
Theresa soles
Pauly: Why are you using this Hockey Site to spread your RACIST HATRED?? There are literally THOUSANDS of political sites online for that forum. WHY ARE YOU HERE?? YOU ARE AN ANGRY RACIST MAN. WE GET THAT. SO: TAKE YOUR ANGER AND POLITICS TO THE APPROPRIATE FORUM. A HOCKEY SITE?? YOU CALLED PEOPLE IGNORANT— SPEAK FOR YOURSELF!!! HOW IGNORANT IS IT TO INFLAME HOCKEY FANS WITH YOUR HATRED??? HMMMM????
Theresa soles
Pauly: Why are you using this Hockey Site to spread your RACIST HATRED?? There are literally THOUSANDS of political sites online for that forum. WHY ARE YOU HERE?? YOU ARE AN ANGRY RACIST MAN. WE GET THAT. SO: TAKE YOUR ANGER AND POLITICS TO THE APPROPRIATE FORUM. A HOCKEY SITE?? YOU CALLED PEOPLE IGNORANT— SPEAK FOR YOURSELF!!! HOW IGNORANT IS IT TO INFLAME HOCKEY FANS WITH YOUR HATRED??? HMMMM????
Pauly
Dumbest fanbase in all of sports on full display here
knights fan in minny
pauly that was cool 2 george the thug statues were vandalized i wish i could see them in person hats off to the ones who did it good job
goalie trade
next season lines=
67 Eichel 61
81 71 19
Krebs 20 89
28 10 92
23-7
27-Korczak
14-2
90
Thompson
Richard Santomauro
If they go after a guy like Eichel they need to make sure he is 100% healthy. This guy played in less than half the games this year. Just what we need, a broken player.
No thanks. I am not a fan of bringing in anyone. The idea that Eichel is going to be the final piece of this crazy “patch together a team to win a cup” strategy is nothing more than just that — crazy.
If we do get rid of a goalie then let’s get picks.
Richard Santomauro
90 has more value in the market than a 36yr old MAF. Get a 1st and 2nd round pick for Lehner. MAF is much better suited to mentor a young goalie.
Daryl
I agree… While I like MAF more than Lehner, it’s more about what they can give VGK. I think MAF still has a couple years left and he would be a better mentor for Thompson. Lehner would probably give is better picks.
knights fan in minny
come to north lv to get shot right pauly who would go to a shit hole
Richard Santomauro
The VGK FO has gone out and spent the future away bringing in aged talent.
Enough is enough.
We have a couple of 6-4 220lb plus Defense Men on the Silver Knights, plus Nick Hague. That leaves VGK with the ability to move Holden and/or McNabb in the off season – for more picks!
Deal #90. He’s still young, healthy and has proven himself to be a quality starter if not elite. MAF is much better suited to mentor the young Logan Thompson. Logan is also good enough to provide MAF with the needed rest during the season.
The Lehner experiment would have been great had the strategy won a cup this season. Time to move on from Lehner.
the hockey God
no 3 isn’t going anywhere
14 is not that good, needs more muscle
and the farm system is two to three years away and the only thing they have proven to develop are D men. Not a single forward or center has reared their faces from the minors.