(Photo Credit: SinBin.vegas Photographer Brandon Andreasen)
It was supposed to be the gauntlet of all road trips and it’s living up to everyone’s expectations. After three games and three points on their four-game trek, the Golden Knights are trying to shake off last night’s 4-1 loss and finish strong in Tampa. However, the team seemed to be distracted by the conditions of the game instead of the outcome.
I saw a lot of effort and a little bit of lack of execution. You know the puck was bouncing, ice conditions weren’t great but both teams were playing on it. -Pete DeBoer
It’s unnecessary for the Golden Knights to make any excuses at this point on the road trip. Vegas has worked hard to earn their three points in three games and have set themselves up for a chance to take home five of a possible eight, assuming they play a great game tomorrow.
So, why focus on the conditions of the ice when it’s out of their control? Ignoring the final score, the Golden Knights have nothing to feel sorry for and should take comfort with their effort against a clear Stanley Cup contender like Florida. The playing surface was choppy and slushy but it wasn’t the reason why the Golden Knights left Sunrise, FL empty-handed.
It doesn’t help that both teams are playing with a tennis ball out there, it’s bouncing everywhere. The ice is terrible so it’s a little harder to get into it. -Max Pacioretty on ATTSN intermission
It’s difficult to accept ice surface excuses when the game against the Panthers was more than skipping pucks and unlucky bounces in front of the net. And, as DeBoer and Pacioretty mentioned, both teams were forced to adjust to the landscape that made it more difficult to play.
In reality, it wasn’t the conditions that led to Nolan Patrick’s breakaway shot that sailed wide of the net, or the poorly directed power play passes setting up Florida’s shorthanded chances. It’s unlikely that the humid sheet of ice impacted Mark Stone’s ability to bury a clear game-tying goal, nor did it force Shea Theodore to leave behind the puck in front of his own open net. Those are real, tangible reasons why they fell 4-1 to a great team.
Keep it simple. I mentioned the ice before. I think both teams have to do it and the team that does a better job of that will obviously get more chances. It’s really hard on a goaltender when you have traffic in front of you and you don’t trust the bounces right now. We’ve got to take advantage of those. -Pacioretty on ATTSN intermission
It was clearly in their heads the entire game and probably hurt their chances to win the game. Poor conditions on any given night is an element that neither team can control. What a club can control is their conduct, effort, and finish on the ice. Vegas succeeded on two of those three but ended up losing to an outstanding team. So why can’t the Golden Knights players, coaches, and broadcasters leave it at that? The opponent and Vegas’ effort for that matter deserve more respect than a lame excuse that could be used dozens of times in a season.
Vegas is too good of a team for excuses and we’ve heard them several times before. After their last two playoff exits the team told us that hot goaltenders were why they hadn’t gone deeper but failed to mention their poor, excessive shooting. They’ve blamed goalies, refs, the ice, time zone changes, or even travel delays. And it seems like every time they lose this year they can’t wait to point out how many players are missing.
This is year five of hockey in Vegas. VGK fans understand when they’re being fed hogwash. Not every excuse that has been made falls under that category, but at the same time, not every loss can be excused away as something the Golden Knights couldn’t control.
Lastly, just because the Golden Knights qualified their surface complaints by recognizing the Panthers skated on the same ice shouldn’t make it acceptable. The excuses made last night not only discredited a highly-talented opponent but also the efforts given by the Golden Knights on the road against three quality opponents. Let’s cross our fingers that the ice conditions at Tampa’s Amalie Arena are suitable enough for Vegas tomorrow. Otherwise, I’m sure we’ll hear about it, or worse, something else that caused them to lose.
Herby
The problem is that VGK traded TEAM for TALENT and forgot that Team BEATS Talent…..see VGK Season 1.
Rochele
I’ve felt that way since the firing of Gallant.
Hdbiker7851
Herby – now there is a fan who understands what it takes to win the Cup. Individuals don’t win Cups Teams do – certainly not a difficult concept to understand but seems to be by many posters on this site. Hat’s off to you Herby.
Galdom
Herby is right that TEAM beats TALENT. It’s also hard to pass up on acquiring talent when it is available. Time (playoff performance) will tell if the 2022 VGK are better. I have my doubts and concerns. But…. this front office past performance deserves our respect and benefit of the doubt. Hopefully they get and stay healthy. We will have the answers in 3-5 months.
Tim
THG hey buddy this is right up your alley Bad Ice last night. Personally I never thought about it but the puck was bouncing funny last night.
THE hockey GOD
ice was bad
THE hockey GOD
ice excuse made sense, i think we still should’ve signed evander kane
knights fan in minny
why alex because of his color your still a dumb shit
Tim
THG, I agree Kane for this year would have worked for me. Surely he’s better then anyone on our third or fourth line.
The hockey GOD
Tim that was fake GOD. My icon is purple. Do not fall for fake idols. I believe it is one of the 15, err ,,10 commandments
The real THG
knights fan in minny
Players Vegas should take a look at trying to trade for.
Quinton Byfield (Kings would want a tonne)
Anthony Duclair
Jordan Greenway
P. K. Subban (Devils cover some salary)
K’Andre Miller
Darnell Nurse
Malcom Subban (depth – Silver Knights)
Pierre Edouard Bellemare
knights fan in minny
alex still a little bitch boy everbody knows your fake imposter game you stupid nog fuck head
knights fan in minny
hey dip shit alex you forgot dumba what the hell dissin your boy
knights fan in minny
moron alex you forgot seth jones they should take your black card away you fraud
Pistol Pete
This game and the two teams can be talked to death but imo FLA is beatable in a series. To get there VGK will have to go through COL, MIN or STL. We’ll see how TBL goes tomorrow, it may or may not be a close as yesterday. TBL may or may not be better than FLA. Until it’s the postseason nobody really knows.
OT: I’m a huge Rafa fan. Never has there been a more deserving athlete.
Daryl
Curious but why do you say FLA is beatable in a series?
Vic
Jason hits the mark. Left out blaming the salary cap issue and I’m sure a few other excuses. Time to man up and play hard (like they did for 19 and a half minutes in period one last night before the dreaded power play). Never thought I would see VGK games flip when THEY go on the power play. Not logical, but it is happening.
The hockey GOD
Did someone say BAD ICE? rOfLmAO. Next up. Muckers. And RUth Langsmore is one bad A,$_$!!
knights fan in minny
Front office talent that should be considered
Grant Fuhr (goalie coach – change it up)
Anson Carter (assistant GM – apprentice under McCrimmon)
Paul Jerrard (Hire as assistant coach, great hockey mind with Calgary Flames)
knights fan in minny
alex your still a ass hole
Julie
Hey, Knights Fan, – I learned the other day my husband and his friend went drinking with Grant Fuhr toward the end of his time in Edmonton. He owned part of a golf shop and my husband and his friend were buddies at U of A. Between that and all the stories of Ken Dryden and installing cable for Gretzky, I am entertained. Then my nephew, who was goalie at his university is good friends with Logan Thompson. Kinda cool, I get a lot of scoops on Vegas with him. I realize this completely off point, but your mention of Fuhr got me smiling.
Arnold Rothstein
pretty obvious that the Panthers coming off a long road trip needed something to level the playing field
next up TBL. and a very cold front in moving in
the TBL are not low life organization like struggling Panthers are. Hardly ever fill the rink.
Expect a big bounce back , Arnold is going to the vault and expecting to get some very good favor from the odds gods for TBL game
Galdom
I will play $100 on Vegas +1.5 (-160)
tomorrow’s game will get settled in overtime
Arnold Rothstein
the best you can get right now is -175, if you can get -160 good luck to you
spread VGK -175 to -205 (opened at -171)
moneyline VGK plus 115 to plus 125
I expect a slick fast ice surface, a fast game, and a large effort. TBL are class organization unlike the cheesy management in South Florida.
Then when they return home, next week after long road trip, they will likely lose to Buffalo on home ice. Sabres are having huge goalie issues.
William Goit
The truth is this club has an overrated view of its self.
The West has been a bit weak for the last few years.
Not for long.
Enjoy it while you can.
THE hockey GOD
William
take a look at Ducks on their current road trip to east. They beat Boston and had OT loss to the Maple Leafs. They are holding their own.
LA KINGS you say ? The beat the islanders, OT losses to Flyers and Rangers. But have not lost a game on their trip.
SJ SHARKS ? beat Caps, play panthers today, and Carolina on Sunday in back to backs.
So far the Pacific Division top teams are holding their own. Not to say SJ Sharks are top team.
William Goit
I am a Ducks fan. I am speaking of the last few years.
Galdom
Yup. Two more years I think. Stone and Petro will start to decline. I just don’t wanna hit rock bottom.
Daryl
Bad part with Petra, VGK has absolutely no say in what happens with him until he is 39y/o
Galdom
Marc Andre Fluery .909 SV% 2.88 GAA
Robin Lehner .908 SV% 2.82 GAA
Funny how there numbers look the same.
Oh wait let me guess. Fluery plays for a bad team, the 13th place in the Western Conference Blackhawks. Lehner had a .918 SV% for the 12th place in the Western Conference Blackhawks in 2020. I’d argue they were a bit better because Lehner was stopping more pucks.
Oh wait let me guess, Blackhawks face more shots. no, also virtually the same. 31.1 to 29.9.
Oh wait let me guess, Blackhawks don’t defend as well and allow more quality shots against. The analytics also dispute that. Up until recently, Vegas had terrible stats in regards to quality shots against.
Oh wait, my favourite one. They shoot the puck right at Lehner’s chest. Isn’t that nice of the opponents to do that. Colorado had a nice night tonight against Fluery. They put 5 past him. They were mean and didn’t shoot the puck right at his chest. But when Colorado faced a severely depleted Vegas lineup at the beginning of the season Lehner stopped 26 of 27 shots but let me guess, Colorado shot right at Lehner’s chest.
Lehner shut out the Caps because they shot the puck right at him. In two games against Washington, Fleury got pounded for 8 goals on 74 shots, .891 save percentage. I guess they didn’t shoot right at Fleury’s chest. Fleury has been fortunate enough to not have to face Florida yet.
Fleury has been pounded by some bad teams this year. Detroit scored 11 goals in two games aginst him. Arizona has pounded him and they are actually tanking. Fluery also has been fortunate enough to face Tampa either.
Let’s hope that Tampa shoots the puck right at Lehner’s chest all night tomorrow.
All sarcasm aside, this is a team game and things wouldn’t be much different if Fleury were here instead of Lehner. Oh wait let me guess, it would have been worse because teams actually try to score on Fleury but they shoot at Lehner’s chest on purpose.
the REAL TS..REALLY!
This may sound too simple, but LEHNER IS A BIG MAN. he literally FILLS the net. When a puck shot heads his way, most likely it goes into his torso/ chest..his stance is all about plugging the “hole”, and his barrel chest fills it well. Many shots do hit him mid- section, but that seems to be the obvious obstacle , and not necessarily the “soft shots”…
Galdom
It’s not too simple. He is indeed a big man. Their styles could not be any more different from each other. It was a unique luxury when they had both of these guys. Fleury is more athletic and more talented, no doubt about that. When he is on his game he can carry a team and it is very intimidating. For whatever reason at times he loses his net and the positioning and becomes awful for extended periods of time as well. This has been his thing for his entire career. This is why he has lost his job as a starting goaltender a few times. In 2019-20 Fleury was unfortunately going through an extended stretch where he was garbage. Lehner was coming off a year where he finished third in Vezina trophy voting and was playing better at the time for Chicago. Fleury was so bad (maybe because of personal trauma in his life) they knew they had no chance with him that year. After the Covid pause and they went into the bubble they had the play in round where they faced St. Louis, Colorado and Dallas to determine playoff seeding. Fluery’s game against St. Louis was one of the worst I have ever seen. It inspired no confidence and they had no choice but to go with Lehner for that playoff run which was the right decision. They ultimately lost to Dallas but goaltending was not the issue. Last season Fleury was brilliant and they had to definitely go with him. In spite of that horrible gaffe that I will never forget against Montreal they still should have won that series. Overall goaltending wasn’t the reason why they were eliminated either but that was a significant error which created a huge swing in the series, something conveniently overlooked by his biggest fans.
At this present time Fluery is going through one of his rough stretches. He goes on these extended stretches where his save percentage hovers around .870. Lehner never gets that bad. If a contender trades for Fleury at the deadline they either get the good Fluery that could take them on an extended run or they might get the bad version which appears out of nowhere and it will be a quick first round elimination.
In spite of his great personality and adorable little smile which makes all of the Vegas faithful love him so much here are some facts about his Jekyll and Hyde performances. This is a results oriented business so facts and stats are important. The good Fluery was there in the playoffs in 2007-08 to 2008-09. But in a four year span from 2009-10 to 2012-13 he was so bad that he tarnished his image and became known as a playoff killer. He never had a save percentage over .900 during that entire span. In one of those years in particular he had a safe percentage of .834. That’s actually a record for the worst of all time where a goalie played at least five games. he single-handedly eliminated his own team for the playoffs that year. Bad version of Fleury is very very bad.
BUT IN THE END AS I HAVE SAID ONE MILLION TIMES OVER WHEN YOU TAKE THEIR CUMULATIVE NUMBERS THEY END UP SIMILAR.
Good Fleury and bad Fleury put together as a whole ends up with a career .912 save percentage in the playoffs. Lehner has a career .917 save percentage in the playoffs.
If I’m a contender and I trade for Fluery and I get the good version it’s a beautiful thing and sit back and enjoy. But buyer beware in case you get the bad one.
Lehner didn’t have the greatest first half of the season. But was not even close to as bad as “bad version Fluery”. Lehner seems to have turned the corner. Extremely tough assignment tonight but I expect that Lehner will be competent the rest of the season and not be an issue.
As for career regular season save percentage Lehner also has .917, exactly the same as his playoffs. That’s what I mean by consistency. You’ve got a good idea of what you are getting. This first half was an anomaly. He doesn’t have the Jekyll and Hyde pattern. Fluery’s career save percentage in the regular season is .913
For the love of God, opponents are not shooting directly at Lehner’s chest. Geez!
Daryl
On multiple games, announcers have started you can’t just shoot the puck at RL. When players take slap shots they have ess control of where they are shooting the puck. Is your listen to some of the after game breakdowns they talk about shooting more accurately with a wrist shot. We all know RL is weak in his glove side so instead a rearing back with a slap shot you try a more controlled wrist shot. When you have a more mobile or athletic goalie, the slap shot might be better because it’s a fast and harder shot. The goalie has less time to act.
So yes, players are not purposely shooting right at RL but b/c of their shooting selection, that is what’s happening. X xmas the comment of shooting right at him has been made by a handful of announcers
Galdom
This is why I’m done talking about it. when he has a good game they’re shooting right at him and when he has a bad game it’s because he’s shit. It’s just confirming what I said and that’s that he will never get any credit for doing anything good.
So let’s hope he plays Jedi mind tricks on Tampa today and makes them not want to try to win and shoot right at him. It was nice for Alex Ovechkin who is chasing Gretzky scoring record to comply with that plan last week. Thanks for shooting right at Lehner’s chest all night Ovie.
Whatever.
Daryl
Galdom,
Do your even read a single post or do you just look at who is making the post? Your reply to my comment makes absolutely no sense because it wasn’t even about anything I said. Why even reply if you aren’t going to take the time to read it?
And to even bring up Ovi makes me think you really don’t know hockey. Ovi sits near the circle and waits for a cross ice pass to shoot a one-timer. Please show me a Sibley post of mine rior to this where I was talking about one-timers.
NHL experts have said if you want to beat RL you have to be selective on your shot placement. You can’t just fire away. But what do the experts know. Maybe they should just listen to you.
I can’t stand Alex but sometimes he is right about VGK having some of the dumbest fans… Even the ones who used to make smart posts are getting bad
THE hockey GOD
right on real ts, that is why these rebound control clowns don’t get it
the trend right now is for bigger goalies in NHL, it throw the old term ‘rebound control” out the window.
the REAL TS..REALLY!
Thanks!! So nice to hear agreement, instead of “alex attacks”! I appreciate respectful posts!!
Daryl
That’s right rebound control isn’t a thing… What are all these former NHL goalie morons talking about
Pistol Pete
Excellent rundown Galdom, excellent. Thanks per usual for your diligence.
Daryl
Must of the time you have valid points but this is just nonsense. Here’s one…. MAF has 3 Cups but wait, RL has none.
RL plays for a very good playoff team and MAF plays for a non playoff team. You cannot compare the two. You also can’t compare the Hawks team now to a Hawks team in the past
You can do better
Galdom
This will be my last Lehner post of the season. Clearly he is hated and won’t get a fair shake here. He is trying to fill the shoes of the franchise icon. He won’t get credit for making saves and every single goal will be blamed on him. I’ve never said he was better then Fluery. All I’ve ever said is there numbers are always similar and Lehner is more consistent, never as good as Fluery at his best and never as bad. When you get the good Fluery there aren’t many better but when he is bad he is horrible and you don’t know when that is going to happen.
Perfect example is this season.
Fluery first 8 games 0-7-1, .872 SV%, 4.63 GAA
Fluery Oct 6 – Jan 12, .929 SV% 2.17 GAA
Fluery Jan 12 – present .876 SV% 3.76 GAA
sb
Exactly. Lehner will never get a break in Vegas. Put up the same kind of numbers over the past five season as MAF, gets paid $2 mil less, but Vegas fans just s__t on this guy. Lehner never asked to be trade here. Never was his intention to push MAF out. But 9 out of 10 will always find a reason to say, “Traded the wrong goalie.” No. Vegas didn’t trade the wrong goalie. In his four years, did MAF bring the Stanley Cup to Vegas? Nor would he in Year 5. Time to move on.
Daryl
I’ve is the biggest difference is MAF on multiple occasions had made not only just amazing saves but timely saves to help VGK win. RL very seldom will make those late saves. Every goalie led in soft goals, every goalie gets out of position, every goalie has bad streaks…. but I want the goalie who will make the save late in the game when the rest of the team really needs it. MAF did that very often, RL very seldom does.
RL played great against the Caps and I have him credit. He played very good against FLA and I started same. RL is a good goalie, I just don’t trust him late in the game.
And for the record, I was never a huge MAF fan. I became a fan of VGK because of a career 3rd pair defenseman. I’m also not big stats person because too many factors go into stat calculations, especially the way some on here try to use them. Stats don’t tell the whole story. A goalie has 2 really bad games while missing 5 starters in a playoff game, he can still have 3 great games but overall his stats will still look bad
Pistol Pete
Gadom and sb, we are among those who are realistic when it comes to Lehner. Robin showed up for this road trip. He can win a Cup with VGK.
Pistol Pete
Galdom that is—sorry buddy! This board needs an edit feature!
Galdom
And this will 100% be my last goalie post of the year because there’s nothing else really to say. People hate Lehner and won’t like to give him credit when he plays well as likewise when he plays not so well they will be extra hard on him.
Think about this. What if it had been Robin Lehner who made the most significant goalie playoff error in VGK history against Montreal? Would have been the same fan reaction? Fleury was forgiven right away.
Have a good day everybody.
THE hockey GOD
i hear ya Galdom, at least RL will never be labeled as face, I mean, farce of franchise by media mob. Someone “gets” it, but not the haters.
Daryl
Same can be said for those defending RL. It goes both ways. RL has a bad game or gives up a bad goal and irs never RL fault. It’s always the defenses fault. When RL gave up 6 goals to COL there were a couple RL faithful blaming the defense, the coaches, the FO… Everyone but RL.
So while you’re statement might be true, it definitely goes both ways
Galdom
Sure. I try not to do that. I guess being biased is part of a human trait. Maybe it goes both ways sometimes but Vegas fans definitely have it in for Lehner. How often is the MAF gaffe against Montreal even talked about? You guys all know it but if it was Lehner it would never be forgotten. He would be booed in every single pregame skate. There would be memes all over the Internet about it. It is definitely true that he will never be accepted or given a fair shake.
If they were both the same age and both had the same cap hit, i’m keeping the guy with the Stanley cups on his résumé but it was never that simple. Fluery is old and was considering retirement this season. They didn’t lose against Montreal because of goaltending when Fleury was in net and they didn’t lose against Dallas because of goaltending when Lehner was in net. The offence dried up. Thus, moves to get more scoring were made. Petro upgrade over Schmidt, Dadonov added. Both of these moves precipitated other moves to create cap space. Reaves moved out as Kolesar can do his job for cheaper and of course Fleury moved out as Lehner is providing similar numbers for cheaper. in 3 to 5 months we will get more clarity on how this has worked out.
Again, never said Lehner was better, I am defending his unfair treatment from the fans.
Daryl
I also agree that RL won’t get fair treatment from some. And there are certain posters on here who still bring up MAF mistake, and often. And there are still meme out there that some RL enthusiast continue to display anytime someone says something negative about RL. I personally think it was a mistake to bring in RL but once they did it was the right move to get rid of MAF. What I really don’t understand is why when someone says something negative about RL, MAF name is brought up.
Also, I wasn’t a fan of the Petra signing. So far, to me, he hasn’t proven his worth. He had 2 good series on the playoffs last year and then he was all we heard about. IMO, Martinez was the best overall player for VGK in the playoffs. So far this year Petra still hasn’t changed my mind
Mel Hallerman
Shea Theodore – leads the team in turnovers. 31 so far this season.
I love Shea except he seems to turn over the puck a lot.
THE hockey GOD
hi
Mel, welcome to jungle.
I like Shea too, he handles the puck a lot. He also has tendency to come through in the clutch (unlike some of the others, most namely, the farce, I mean , face of franchise). Even Bobby Orr turned over the puck more than once in his short career. He’s an offensive defense man. He can sure skate. I wouldn’t be too harsh on him.
Galdom
Darryl, we will just have to agree to disagree. I can try but I just can’t accept from the fan base that Lehner only stops the puck when they shoot it right at him. If that were the case he wouldn’t have a career .917 save percentage. Advanced scouts would have figured this out by now. Anyways, no point in trying to beat a dead drum. If people don’t want to give Lehner any credit for when he plays well then it is what it is. It’s not like I am his agent or president of his fan club or anything. I think it’s unfair but it doesn’t bother me all that much.
I just want the team to win.
Unless announcers are watching every single game around the league every single night then they are not always right. I keep hearing them say how Vegas is a heavy team and then I watch them get pounded with only McNabb hitting back.
Daryl
I never said RL couldn’t make saves that weren’t shot right at him and none of my comments were negative toward RL. He is a big guy who takes up most of the net. By saying you need to use a wrist shot instead of a slap shot isn’t negative. He’s not the most mobile goalie, again that’s not a negative its just his style.
That’s what I don’t understand, none of anything I said was negative. And none of what I said was taking any credit away from RL. I even said pucks hitting RL in the chest is credit to him for being in good position.
Galdom
Okay.
the REAL TS..REALLY!
Galdom, I see the same defensive trend: seems McNabb is the only defender who is willing to make the hard checks. The real physical hits that stun and stop the opposing player. I posted the same observation. Reaves WAS that guy, but PDB had what I feel are personality issues, leading to the eventual trade. The team needed Reaves’ toughness, his fearless defensive hits, his cocky nature…he gave the team a sharp edge to defend with.. other teams were wary of him. He is missed, in my view. We need to apply some HEAT!!
.
Galdom
Alex seems to be a Marc-André Fleury fan and supporter of black hockey players and Japanese hockey. and he wanted Evander Kane. Kane will give a nice boost to Edmonton
Daryl
Kane should be done forever. And if he were white, I think he very well likely would be but obviously that is only speculation. I was never a fan of Kane,ong before VGK became a short rivalry. He always deployed dirty tactics. I don’t mind players running their mouths or chirping, to some extent, but back up your words yourself.
the REAL TS..REALLY!
Agreed. Kane is a loose cannon, dirty player. He would be TOXIC on any team. Reaves had the best reactions to the guy: he LAUGHED at him!! It was fun, watching Reavo piss Kane off when we played Sharks– did I mention Kane has a thin skin??? LOL (P.s. I miss Reaves…)
Galdom
It appears as the majority of the NHL teams want nothing to do with Kane
the REAL TS..REALLY!
I believe PDB had ” personality issues” with Reaves because of those same “issues” between Reaves/ Kane..and coach had planned to trade Reaves from the beginning. Bad blood between them.
He found the moment, and Reaves was out. We really could have used Reaves’ ” persuasion techniques” this season. McNabb seems to be our only enforcer…a little help, please??
Galdom
I supported bringing in Robin Lehner because I lost complete confidence in Fleury and he looked like he was done given his age, performance that year and so many mistakes he was making in the games look like he wasn’t mentally there. but then Fleury came back in a big way the next season and in hindsight it appears that they would have been better off at the moment had they never acquired Lehner. However, I think we would’ve been looking at a first round elimination against Chicago if Fleury was playing. And I agree with you that once they had both goalies they had to get rid of the older more expensive Fleury.
One thing I have to come clean about Fleury is that I can’t stand him after that tweet in the playoffs. Perhaps there is a bias that I wasn’t aware of because I hate him. The gaffe against Montreal does not affect my opinion on him. Shit happens, the man made a mistake. But the tweet to me was disgusting and unforgivable and the timing of it in the middle of a playoff series was absolute selfishness. He made it all about him and then the way people like him makes me even more angry, lol, because I think he is phoney and selfish. It wasn’t just the tweet it was even after the tweet where he didn’t take responsibility for it or even apologize. He is a phoney and selfish. Even before the season he made it about him leaking out that he was going to retire making it harder for the team to trade him. of course after they trade him anyways he doesn’t actually retire because he was full of shit.
I’m torn on the Pietrangelo signing. If things had gone according to plan where they would’ve signed him and then traded Fluery it would have made more sense but they didn’t wanna give up a first round pick to Carolina for them to take Fluery. So then we had to give up Nate Schmidt which I thought was never part of the original plan. So I was still sort of on board since Petro is an upgrade over Schmidt, however Theodore was making huge momentum on becoming a superstar. I feel like Petro joining the team has negated that. Like Ken once said and I agree they have never both been elite at the same time. Overall I am glad petro is here because I do think he is a beast. He might be playing a little bit too many minutes though.
This team has to stop being infactuated with every new shiny new toy that is available. I guess I sort of understand Eichel since he is generational and still young. We need depth and youth in our organization to step in as cheaper options when our older players become free agents.
It was nice to have Nic Hague come in for Deryk Engelland, Whitecloud come in for McNabb. McNabb has been a fixture in our top four but he won’t be back next year and whitecloud who we knew nothing about two years ago is now a top four defenseman. I think the hope was for Cody Glass to take over for Paul Stastny but that didn’t happen. We’ve gotten lucky with Chandler Stephenson. but who from the Silver Knights is going to take over for Riley Smith next year and Max Pacioretty in a couple of years. We have to start building our farm system.
Daryl
We don’t know if MAF had anything to do with that post or not. If you don’t like MAF then he is responsible for it and if you do like him it was all his agent. We really don’t know the truth. MAF said he didn’t k ow and he had his agent take it down and his agent took full responsibility for it. So we really don’t know. But at the same time, can you honestly blame MAF or his agent when FO says MAF is their goalie and they have faith in him then come out and sign RL? Then you have PDB say he is going to rotate goalies, which I personally don’t agree with, but then you start RL over MAF when both are playing similar. PDB also says he is going to play the goalie who gives them the best chance of winning, with both playing similar, then you sit MAF against a team he’s never lost against. And then you have the FO saying MAF is going to retire as a Golden K ight all awhile while trying to chip him.
As for the retirement talks, MAF said he was thinking about retiring if he was traded b/c he didn’t want to move his family, especially to Chicago. Can you honestly blame him for that. Remember, Engo had offers from other clubs but he didn’t want to move his family so he decides to retire. Why is UT that far of a stretch for MAF to feel the same way. There have been trade talks now about MAF and the Caps, among other teams, and MAF said he really doesn’t want to move again
I have an issue with the FO because of how they have handled that situation among many others. They will flat out lie to your face. MAF said they found out about the trade over Twitter which the FO initially denied. Then the FO got called out on their lie they changed their statement. It’s a business, you do what’s best for your club but what’s with all the lies? I think if the FO was more upfront and stopped lying about things, people wouldn’t feel like they do with them, PDB or even the MAF/RL situation. And yes, we k ow none of this is RL fault even though there are a few clueless people who do blame RL
Galdom
Fluery and his slimeball agent are both very good at the PR game. All of those phony
appearances and commercials crap and Fluery smiling like he cares about anything other than himself. And it’s even more laughable that Fluery’s agent pretends that he loves Lehner and retweets his stuff. Funny how when roles were reversed the very next season Lehner was a good soldier and didn’t make it an issue. Lehner is a very nice guy but nice guys finish last. I guess he did what was necessary for the greater good but he should’ve told Fluery and his agent to go fuck themselves. And I hope he continues to not tweet anymore and start thinking more about himself and stop trying to help others.
THE hockey GOD
I agree with you 10000% Galdom. Keep up the reasonable posts.
Daryl
It’s a reasonable post because you agree with him. If he said the opposite, you would have an issue with it. lol
Daryl
See, this is exactly what I’m talking about. You don’t like MAF so you see him and his agent negatively. If you like MAF, you see his agent as sticking up for his client. I will say this, there hasn’t been a single teammate/player, current or former, whose said anything negative about MAF. Same can’t be said for RL.
And let’s not forget that the agent you speak of is still an agent for another player on the team. We haven’t seen that agent say or do anything similar with his other client. Why is that
Galdom
I’m calling bullshit on MAF not knowing about the tweet. And it stayed out there for several hours before it was taken down. No point in me going any further because I don’t have proof. But I think they are both cocksuckers and I’m glad MAF plays on a horse shit team.
Daryl
As I said, you are making assumptions based on your personal feelings toward MAF. There is no proof one way or the other. You have stated several times now how much you dislike MAF and while most of your posts are valid or have good insight, this ust shows how gilded your posts are when it comes to MAF and nobody can really take your serious on those posts
Outside of MAF, you have good posts
Galdom
You don’t have to take my MAF opinions seriously like when I say they would not get past the first round a couple years ago if he started. We would never know but that’s my opinion, but 90% of what I say is based on facts and statistics that exist and are there for all of us to view.
Anyways……..
Vegas 4
Tampa 3 OT
Nolan Patrick 1G 1A (bold)
Daryl
Yes you posted some statistical facts but we all know how stats do not tell the complete truth ad aren’t very accurate. And opinions are not supposed to be based off personal feelings toward players but that isn’t the case when it comes to you and MAF.
As I said before when you take your personal opinions out of it you have legit comments, even when I don’t necessarily agree… But you seem to let your personal opinions get in your way sometimes
It’s great that we all don’t agree on matters, this place would suck if we did. But I do wish others, and not just you, would leave personal feelings of players out of it
Julie
Galdom, you seem like a reasonable person. I’m not sure why the tweet from Walsh matters at all. Players say things, coaches, fans, etc. I could care less if Fleury knew or didn’t know. He had a bad year when his father died, the parent that got him into hockey. The FO couldn’t figure out how to handle two goalies. Both goalies were put in a bad spot. I don’t think any worse of Fleury for that tweet than Lehner for stuff he says directly. And yes, Fleury is not infallible on the ice, but neither is “jazz-hands” Lehner. People defend Fleury because like it or not, the FO didn’t handle it well with him. Last year, Lehner took off six weeks and Fleury carried Lehner to a Jennings trophy. Fleury decimated Colorado and Minnesota in the playoffs last year and Lehner gave us a crappy performance that first game with Colorado. Fleury flubbed in Montreal last year, but that was 1 goal to Lehner’s 6 in the Game 1 with Colorado. Their stats are similar now. But aside from their styles of play, Fleury is way more fun to watch, he has a sense of humor, and something about him makes players want to be around him. So much so that a top-tier team like Vegas blew chunks when Fleury returned with Chicago. In the end, Fleury is on a nowhere team for quite possibly his career-ending year. Lehner appears to have been called in by the FO and told to watch his mouth and start stopping more pucks which he should and they don’t use him like he’s THE guy. So both are similar in that they both are in not the best situations. That should be enough karma for anything they knew or didn’t know or do.
Galdom
Hi Julie, I felt the tweet was bad because it was the playoffs and it could have been held privately. It was designed to insult the coach, and it makes things awkward for Lehner who was just trying to do his job. The team should be preparing for a playoff game rather then the distraction of an ill timed tweet.
Also, I really don’t hate anybody, too strong a word. I suspect Fleury knew of the tweet and it stayed online for several hours I guess just to make sure everyone saw it. Lehner is a tweet machine but in last years playoffs he was a good teammate and nothing but supportive.
As for Fluery rescuing the team last year in the playoffs that is just as true as Robin Lehner doing the exact same thing two years ago. LITERALLY! It’s actually stunning how similar Fleury’s performance was to Lehenr’s.
2020-21 playoffs
Fluery 9 wins, 2.04 GAA, .918 SV%
2019-20 playoffs
Lehner 9 wins, 1.99 GAA, .917 SV%
I don’t know what to make of your quote, “Lehner appears to have been called in by the FO and told to watch his mouth and start stopping more pucks.”
That happened???
I appreciate that you find Fluery fun to watch. You are obviously a fan. He can be very entertaining and athletic. I respect your opinion and I hope you appreciate my reply.
Julie
Yes, I do appreciate the reply. I know after Lehner talked about the drugs in the NHL, he called for one coach to be fired. That’s when the FO brought him in for a meeting. After that, Lehner talked about “it was a good MTG”, etc. They had to have told him he can’t accuse people publicly of dispensing drugs to control players and say a coach should be fired without something to back that up. Lehner has kept quiet since then. He is not running the table this year whereas last year they played Fleury until he made mistakes. Now, it’s a couple games, then Brossoit for the most part. I think all players have up and down seasons for all kinds of reasons. I never hated Lehner, but his kneeling for the anthem didn’t help many people embrace him. Heck, even The Hockey God – the real one- coined the Walanda nickname. Walrus and Panda combined. Lots of criticism then.
That was before the infamous tweet and then he turned completely. But it’s all good. For me, there are very few people I don’t like in hockey. I have not embraced Lehner for several reasons, but it’s more about how he seems to spout stuff – like the vaccine stuff and no one on the team backed him up; the coach/drug accusation stuff with no back up; claiming people attacked him on Twitter for his mental health issues when Fleury left and searching for days many could never find what he was talking about; generally, he injected politics into hockey earlier on. I didn’t see Fleury do that, but I can see how he very well could have known about the tweet. No one is 100% clean all the time. So who knows.
THE hockey GOD
it matters because fluery threw the whole team under the bus, exposing him for what he is. A whiner. His agent represents Him.
Say no more. It was ill conceived, ill timed, and exposed MAF as farce. Not a team player.
Daryl
MAF exposed this FO and coach for what they really are…. A bunch of two-faced liars and back stabbets
knights fan in minny
Hey gang. Big game tonight for da boys. Gonna be dope. Glad everyone getting along. Peace and love to all. Black History Month beginning on Tuesday. We are all in this together.
Daryl
It’s the perfect time for our President to appoint a black female to the SC no matter how qualified she is!!!
knights fan in minny
hey alex the ass hole imposter more like doom and gloom month i bet crime will go sky high the thuggin life
knights fan in minny
so funny how you try to fool people with your fake moniker posts your such a dumb fuck
knights fan in minny
if it wasnt for white people alex you would be nothing wait you already are a piece of shit
Rashaad
Word up knights fan in minny
Thanks Darrel, but only most qualified for the job no matter what race.
Vegas weak spot, holding a lead. and the reasons are several. Their forwards are mediocre back checkers, they are too soft, and lose too many board battles. Their dmen are constantly roaming and caught out of position. They are scrambling around in their zone instead of controlling the play. And their goaltending is plainly average at best.
knights fan in minny
okay dipshit alex
THE hockey GOD
why Ruth is a bad ass and fan favorite of everyone on Emmy winning oZark
The season come together, with deadly consequences for two main characters. And a lot happens besides the deaths, including at least two FBI deals, a wedding and a major purchase – not to mention Ruth’s (played by Julia Garner) introduction to the music of Lionel Ritchie.
Other characters, meanwhile, find themselves in a very different position at the end of Part 1 from where they started, suggesting Ozark fans can expect a very exciting Part 2 of the season later this year.
Here’s a complete breakdown of the Ozark Season 4 midseason finale, and what it means for the upcoming last ever episodes of the Netflix show.
What happens at the end of Ozark Season 4 Part 1?
ozark season 4 episode 7
Still from “Ozark” Season 4, Episode 7. Each symbol related to a different plot point of the midseason finale. Netflix
As ever, the symbols in the “O” at the start of the episodes give us a hint of what to expect from “Sanctified.” In this finale, they are a fire, a pair of wedding wings, a Christmas tree and a person holding a shotgun. To understand the many twists and turns of the finale, let’s look at each of these in turn.
Christmas tree
Laura Linney and Jason Bateman in “Ozark” Season 4, Episode 7. The pair finally get a chance to get out of the cartel business in the episode.
The finale begins with what the last seven episodes are leading towards: The FBI’s deal with cartel chief Omar Novarro (Felix Solis). Over this half of the season, the conditions of that deal have been hashed out. Omar wants freedom of movement and immunity from prosecution, and in return he will give the FBI enough imitation to bring down the new boss Javi Elizonndro (Alfonso Herrera) and the rest of the cartel.
However, the FBI has other plans. When the FBI, Omar, Wendy (Laura Linney) and Marty (Jason Bateman) meet in an abandoned mall (which is still decorated for Christmas), the bureau tells him they want him to stay as head of the cartel for five years. ACtaully they want him to serve a five year sentence. They say this is so they can get enough information to bring down the whole drug trade, but the show hints it is because they do not want to lose the money they are getting in pay-offs from the cartel.
Omar, Wendy and Marty are not happy with this change of heart, and neither is FBI agent Maya Miller (Jessica Frances Dukes), who thinks the bureau is wasting their chance to take down the cartel just so the FBI can keep making money.
After much argument (and Omar smashing his hand through a display case), Omar and the FBI agree. When he leaves the festive mall, however, Agent Miller takes matters into her own hands, and arrests Omar, tipping off the press in the process so the FBI cannot double-cross her again.
Wedding rings
Charlie Tahan and Lisa Emery in “Ozark.” The pair’s characters get married in the Season 4, Part 1 finale.
Meanwhile, the Darlene (Lisa Emery),who is around what 68? and Wyatt (Charlie Tahan), Ruth’s cousin who is around what 20 ? plot from last episode continues. In Episode 6, Wyatt had been ready to leave, but then decided to stay to keep baby Zeke safe and stop him going into foster care.
Wyatt and Ruth had been ready to leave together, but Wyatt tells her that the plan has changed. He will now marry Darlene. Later in the episode, this wedding takes place. But their martial bliss is very short-lived…
Fire
The arrest of Omar sends Marty and Wendy reeling. They think that Omar will think they planned this, and will get revenge on the pair by killing them and their children. As matter of fact Omar tells Marty’s crazy, power monger, controlling wife ‘I am so disappointed in you Wendy” (That means , bam , her life line is short)
As they try and sort things out, they pack daughter Charlotte (Sofia Hublitz) a shotgun (and in a nice parental touch, some snacks) and tell her to find brother Jonah (Skylar Gaertner) and hide.
Wendy blackmails the FBI, telling them she will make their dealings with the cartel public if they do not arrange for her to meet with Omar in prison. Marty, meanwhile, has to go to his lawyer Jim’s (Damian Young) house to sign some papers that provide Jim some protection from prosecution.
Wendy tells Omar the new plan. If he can persuade Javi to turn FBI informer, he will be released from prison by being extradited to Mexico. At Jim’s house, meanwhile, Marty is surprised by Javi with a gun, which he starts hitting him with as he thinks Marty was part of Omar being arrested.
Wendy inadvertently saves her husbands life by getting Omar to call Javi. Though we do not hear Omar’s side of the call, it seems that Javi has taken the deal with the FBI.
We later see this deal go down at the Byrde’s funeral home, with Javi agreeing to acting informant for 10 years.
Everyone seems to have got what they want – the FBI gets a decade of information (and cash), Charlotte gets a reunion with her brother after he left the family home last episode, Javi gets to run the cartel with relative freedom, Omar gets out of the cartel, and Wendy and Marty finally get out of the cartel game. Marty celebrates by finally deciding to secure the office building for the foundation. However, this is Ozark, and no one ever really gets what they want.
Person with shotgun
Earlier in the season (and in the Ozark Season 4 trailer), Wendy and Marty warned the Snells that if they did not stop producing heroin, the cartel would act against them. This threats seems to blow over…until it returns with deadly consequences in the finale.
After their wedding, Darlene and Wyatt return home, to find that Javi is waiting for them. His FBI deal has given him the freedom to take out his competition, which he swiftly does: He kills Darlene, and then Wyatt for good measure saying “I don’t know you who are, but you are gone”.
The first person to find them is Ruth, who is bringing them the gift of some vegetable seeds from a family friend (or perhaps an aunt) she meets earlier in the episode – the same woman who gives Ruth the Lionel Ritchie mixtape which, presumably features the episode’s title track, “Sanctified.”
Coming to their house, she find Zeke crying, and the pair dead. Had Javi just killed Darlene, Ruth would probably have let it go, but Wyatt’s death makes her hungry for revenge.
In trying to find that vengeance, Ruth comes to Marty and Wendy with shotgun in hand blazing mad – after first thinking that Frank Jr. (Joseph Sikora), now head of the KC mob, might have done the killing after his earlier threats.
Marty and Wendy will not tell her who killed the pair, but Jonah will – he has not fully patched things up with his parents and so seems to tell her as an act of rebellion.
Despite the Byrdes’ warning that Javi is not a man she wants to mess with, Ruth and her shotgun are out on a revenge mission – one that viewers will have to wait until Season 4, Part 2 to see.
What the ending means for Season 4, Part 2
The biggest plot detail set up by the finale is Ruth’s revenge mission – which is pretty much a suicide mission after the FBI deal gave Javi so much power.
And, of course, Javi remains as unstable as ever, so that power is likely to be abused pretty quickly.
What is less clear is what this means for the Byrdes. They look all ready to move to Chicago at the end of the current part – but it remains to be seen whether they ever get there.
After all, Ozark viewers hoping this finale would explain the car crash the Byrdes find themselves in at the start of the season were left disappointed. Fans will surely only get answers about this when the show returns sometime later in 2022.
prediction: KC mob versus Mexican Cartel. Who’s going to win ?
Galdom
Stopped watching after two seasons
THE hockey GOD
why if I may ask ?
I don’t like these drug related shows making anti Hero’s out of evil people preying on less fortunate of society. I just like the Ruth character, she says some funny chit.
I am still looking for a character with redeeming value. Vegas plays odds game on which character will get knocked off in next episode.
Galdom
Maybe I will start watching it again
Pistol Pete
I think Ozark is very well done. Enjoying the final season. Thinking about buying the final season of Queen Of The South from Amazon vs. waiting for it to pop up on Prime.
Pistol Pete
Obviously getting a look at Eichel is a big piece. Friday 4th will be 12 calendar weeks after his surgery, so perhaps that will be around the time the doctors clear him for contact just ahead of the EDM/CGY road trip 8th and 9th followed by home games COL 16th LAK 18th.
Daryl
I see Eichel first game coming after the all star game… To me it would be an extremely poor decision to bring him back before then,even if he is ready. Why rush it?
Tim
Contrary to most beliefs on liking or not liking Robin Lehner he as a goalie is not a popular choice among all the hockey writers and talk hosts. They almost to a man do not believe Lehner can win a cup. There logic is he gives up to many soft goals. In the playoffs there are fewer goals scored because of better competition and a softy here and there will cost you a game. Now I’m saying this from an unbiased opinion, Comparing the two MAF and RL I believe neither could lead us to a cup. Fluery year two San Jose up 3-1 couldn’t close the door. Fleury year four Montreal makes the unbelievable blunder to cost us game four better known as the Bill Buckner move. So In my opinion although we have had success with both goalies and I’m happy that were a competitive team and have been since our inception we can’t stop the puck enough on a consistent basis to win the cup. My friends and fellow posters this is a fact that is hard to ignore.
The hockey GOD
I call bill shit on that. I watch all games from mhl fot com and tsn. RL is well respected and outside of the local media idiots, that is not the case at sll
The hockey GOD
NHL doy com and Canadian hockey, tonight the TBL experts as well as the Panthers gave nothing but accolades to RL
The hockey GOD
NHL and tsn that is
Daryl
When was the last time you heard analysts ever say something negative about a player?
THE hockey GOD
@ Tim “Contrary to most beliefs on liking or not liking Robin Lehner he as a goalie is not a popular choice among all the hockey writers and talk hosts”. WAKE UP !!!!!!!!!!!! HELLO!!!!!
Galdom
Tim. I feel that the team is no further ahead whether Flower or Panda are between the pipes. I feel they provide the same thing right now. Maybe they can win a cup without an elite goalie. Anti Niemi and Cam Ward have won. I think Lehner and Fluery were good enough the past two years and the scoring and power play droughts killed us.
2020-21 playoffs
Fluery 9 wins, 2.04 GAA, .918 SV%
2019-20 playoffs
Lehner 9 wins, 1.99 GAA, .917 SV%
knights fan in minny
patrick first center this could be to much for him
The hockey GOD
He had decent game, 55 DID NOT. Bonehead penalty in period 3. RL saved bacon on this road trip. ZERO SOG in 3rd Period is no way to help your goalie. 71 had great game . RL =no 1 star. Anyone with a brain could see that.