March Was Madness For The Golden Knights

(Photo Credit: SinBin.vegas Photographer Brandon Andreasen)

The last 31 days for the Golden Knights have been amazing, terrifying, and in many ways unbelievable. The month began with Vegas taking on two of the Eastern conference’s best teams before staring down one of the most brutal on-paper road trips any NHL team can endure. In between, there were multiple trades, injuries galore, and impressively, a whole heap of wins.

Let’s take a look back on the madness that was March for the Golden Knights.

March 1st – VGK acquire Teddy Blueger & Beat CAR

On the first day of the month, the Golden Knights pulled off a bit of a surprising trade, their second of three at this deadline. Blueger was not exactly the type of player most people saw Vegas targetting and the price wasn’t exactly cheap, a 3rd round pick. Coupled with Ivan Barbashev who was acquired earlier, VGK was adding depth that would come in handy as the month wore on.

That night, the Golden Knights pulled off the biggest upset at T-Mobile Arena since Year 1, beating the Hurricanes 3-2. VGK were tremendous defensively and got a statement game from Jack Eichel.

March 2nd – Jonathan Quick acquired 

Let the goalie controversy begin! Amidst a rash of injuries, Vegas felt they needed to add another goaltender to the mix. Instead of going the quiet low-key route, Kelly McCrimmon chased the shiniest object on the market, the two-time Stanley Cup winner who had just been traded from the team chasing the Golden Knights.

March 3rd – Trade deadline & Adin Hill beats New Jersey

For really the first time ever, the Golden Knights sat out the actual deadline day. They had already made three trades and didn’t get in on the action before the clock struck midnight.

A day after the team brought in competition in the net, Adin Hill had one of the best performances of the season, one-upping the previous best a few nights before by Laurent Brossoit. VGK won in shootout after being outshot 8-0 in OT by the Devils.

March 5th – Jonathan Quick’s debut

With Thompson, Hill, and Brossoit all sidelined, Vegas turned to the new guy making him the fourth goalie used in the span of two weeks. It was all going along swimmingly for Quick and the Golden Knights until a 3rd period lapse sent some jitters through the crowd. Quick allowed three goals in seven minutes to turn a 3-0 game to 4-3. VGK held on and Quick got his first victory in gold.

March 7th – 14th – Impressive 4-1-0 road trip 

It started off slow with a loss in Florida, but then VGK beat Tampa, Carolina, St. Louis, and Philadelphia, and they did it with their 4th and 5th goaltenders in net. In the four wins, Vegas scored inside of the first nine minutes of the game in each and did not trail for a single second in any of them. Jiri Patera earned a win in his NHL debut, and VGK essentially cemented a place in the postseason.

March 16th – Flames smash Golden Knights

The first game back from the long trip was a disaster for Vegas, falling 7-2 to a division opponent.

March 19th – 25th – VGK win 4 straight with 4 different goalies

Jiri Patera, Jonathan Quick, Logan Thompson, and Laurent Brossoit set an NHL record making the Golden Knights the first team in NHL history to win four games in a row with four different goalies. Thompson was injured in the back end of his game, the first one he’d played in over a month, leaving much cause for concern moving forward.

March 30th – Playoff berth clinched

For the fifth time in six years, the Golden Knights locked up a spot in the NHL playoffs. Nashville’s loss to Pittsburgh clinched VGK’s berth before they played a poor game in an OT loss to San Jose.

It had its ups, it had its downs, but the Golden Knights walked out of the month of March with an 11-3-1 record, a playoff spot, the lead in the Western Conference, and three new players. On to April, which hopefully finds a way to top it.