Exactly one month ago, February 9th, the Golden Knights were sitting as pretty as they have all season between the pipes. Logan Thompson was posting a strong game against the Minnesota Wild and played great in the games leading into the break, Adin Hill played well in the previous game, and Laurent Brossoit was healthy and performing in the AHL.
28 days later, Jonathan Quick is set to start tonight’s game for the Golden Knights in Tampa Bay, Jiri Patera will back him up, and AHL goalie coach Fred Brathwaite served as the backup for the Silver Knights last night.
And maybe the craziest part about it all is… this isn’t new for Vegas in its sixth season in the NHL.
Let’s hop in the time machine for a moment to remember the 10-game stretch back in early 2017 when the Golden Knights also lost not one, or two, but three goalies to injury inside of a month.
It all started when Marc-Andre Fleury took a nasty knee to the head in the Golden Knights’ fourth regular season game ever. The game would go down in history as the first defeat in franchise history, but the short-term effects were more on the mind at the time.
That thrust Malcolm Subban into action, a goalie who just days earlier was described as “not quite sure he’s ready for this level” by the team’s GM, George McPhee. Subban had recently been claimed on waivers from Boston which led to the trade of Expansion Draft selection Calvin Pickard. The Golden Knights acquired just a 6th round pick for what they expected to be an extraneous goalie. It turned out, he was far from that.
Subban played great in his first three games stopping 88 of 94 shots (.936 save percentage) and leading VGK to two victories and on the road to a third. But in the 3rd period of a game Subban had allowed just one goal on 38 shots, he went down injured. So, it’s now Oscar Dansk’s turn.
Dansk stepped into the game with Vegas leading St. Louis 2-1 with just under 10 minutes to go. The first shot Dansk faced, by Alex Pietrangelo, found the back of the net and the game was tied. But, Dansk went on to stop 10 shots including five in overtime and led the Golden Knights to their sixth win in seven games. The very next game, Dansk wrote his name in the record books recording the franchise’s first shutout, but his time in net would not last long.
In just his third game as the starter, Dansk went down with an injury and the Golden Knights were forced to use a fourth goalie just 10 games into their first season. That goalie was Max Lagace, who also made his NHL debut. Lagace actually won the starting job with the Chicago Wolves out of camp and was the first goalie called up when Fleury got hurt. But, he was sent back down to the AHL and switched out for Dansk a few days before Subban’s injury.
Lagace’s ascent to the starting role meant 19-year-old 7th-round pick Dylan Ferguson had to be called in from the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers to serve as VGK’s backup. He did so for nine games and even got a taste of NHL action, relieving Legace for a period in Edmonton.
Four different starting goalies in 10 games. Sound familiar?
This time, the fourth guy in line has the Golden Knights turning to a two-time Cup winner with more than 800 NHL games to his name.
bimjurke
Is Hill out?
Ken Boehlke
Yes
Durrrr
Where you been?
Blitz
If Quick wants to end his career on a high note, it starts right now. Of course if he has the same trainer as the others it might end right now too.
Trainer: “Mr Quick, I see you are starting tonight. Please step into my tendon popping, muscle tearing, goalie contorting machine to get ready.”
Jailbird
This is crazy! We have an AHL as backup tonight. Quick has to come through or we are toast! Come on boys, better play your best tonight!
Coyote
I remember McDavid skating by Ferguson and tapping his pads that night in a friendly gesture. I thought it was a cool thing for McDavid to do.
Jose
a veces, las lesiones en la adversidad pueden terminar siendo positivas a largo plazo. No estoy seguro de que la gerencia haya tenido alguna vez mucha confianza en Logan Thompson, pero pudo jugar el año pasado y demostrar su valía debido a las lesiones. Veamos qué tiene para ofrecer Jiri Patera a este equipo. no pueden jugar con Jonathan Quick en todos los juegos o él también terminará lastimado.
Sorvino
Does anybody have any indication whatsoever as to the status of Mark Stone and if he will be available for the playoffs?
JV
IIRC, Lagace played NHL .500, something like 7-7-3? I also remember thinking McPhee wasn’t going to go out a get another goalie. Would have interfered with his original plan to sell off at the trade deadline. The team had other thoughts.
Former season ticket holder
Mark Stone might be one of the most competitive players on the ice, but 3 back surgeries may have his loved ones screaming no more ice during to chronic pain another hit or injury that may happen if he comes back….IF these surgeries were of the nasty kind… hope he thinks twice
Sorvino
Just going to say this before the game and I hope Jonathan Quick proves me wrong and goes on a run but I’m pretty sure that he is terrible. He has been horrible for about the last five straight years with the exception of some average goaltending in the 2021-22 season. Five years is a very large sample size. I don’t think he is on a five-year slump. I think he is terrible and there weren’t any options at the trade deadline. We need our other goalies back.
JV
Realize this isn’t a game thread, but what the actual f***? 8 SOG in 2 periods is pathetic.