Recap: The Golden Knights hosted the Columbus Blue Jackets for a Sunday afternoon matchup. Vegas opened the scoring 5:15 in the first frame. Phil Kessel scored his 12th goal on the season on VGK’s first power play. 

Columbus tied the game 0:37 into the 2nd period but Vegas’ offense exploded ten minutes later. Jack Eichel broke the tie, Pavel Dorofeyev, Zach Whitecloud and Eichel again stretched the Golden Knights lead to 5-1.

The Golden Knights continued to attack in the final frame. Paul Cotter scored his 13th goal off a direct feed from Chandler Stephenson and midway through the period Eichel completed his hat trick.

The Golden Knights’ record improves to 43-21-6 defeating the Blue Jackets 7-2. Vegas will hit the road a for a three game set in Western Canada. First stop will be in Vancouver on Tuesday night. Puck drop against the Canucks is scheduled for 7 PM. (Recap by Jason)

Analysis: Some time in the middle of the 2nd period the Golden Knights realized they were playing the Blue Jackets. At that moment, they just started whipping shots on net from any and all angles. Naturally, as they’ve been doing all season, the Blue Jackets goalies did not stop most of them. Thus, VGK won… easily. Patera was pretty good too. And Eichel had a hat trick. (Analysis by Ken)

Upcoming stories from the Vegas Golden Knights vs. Columbus Blue Jackets at T-Mobile Arena.

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Recap: The Golden Knights tried to break their three-game losing streak by facing the Blue Jackets in Columbus. The home team took an early lead just two minutes into the opening period but Vegas would quickly respond. Jonathan Marchessault tied the game :61 seconds later scoring his 25th goal of the season. William Carrier broke the tie to give the Golden Knights a 2-1 advantage. The Blue Jackets weren’t finished and added two goals in :30 seconds to lead 3-2 after the opening 20 minutes.

Columbus didn’t slow down in the middle frame. They extended their lead to 5-2 getting a hat trick from Cole Sillinger. Vegas kept fighting and cut the deficit to two goals. Evgenii Dadonov tucked in his 12th of the season to make a 5-3 Columbus lead.

Quickly into the final period, Jack Eichel registered his fifth goal as a Golden Knight getting his team within one. Vegas fought all period but wouldn’t get the game-tying goal. The Blue Jackets added an empty netter to seal the victory.

The Golden Knights record drops to 32-25-4 falling 6-4 to the Blue Jackets. The Golden Knights drop their fourth straight and have one more road game before they return home. Puck drop against the Winnipeg Jets is scheduled for 5P PT on Tuesday. (Recap by Jason)

Analysis: The offense finally started to cash in, but it just so happened to come on the same night they couldn’t keep the puck out of their own net. VGK didn’t have enough urgency in the middle portion of the game and watched themselves slip into a hole they couldn’t get out of. One more chance on this road trip to keep from being skunked. (Recap by Ken)

Upcoming stories from the Vegas Golden Knights vs. Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena.

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Recap: The Golden Knights allowed a goal under a minute of the game for the first time this season. The Blue Jackets added another on the penalty kill to carry a 2-0 lead after the opening 20 minutes.

After some heavy pressure Keegan Kolesar scored his first of the season to get Vegas within one. Kolesar’s goal was the only scoring change in the period and the Golden Knights trailed 2-1 after two periods of action.

Vegas began the 3rd period on a power play but the home team couldn’t get one across. However, Reilly Smith tied the game shorthanded with his seventh of the season. Mattias Janmark broke the tie picking up his first goal of the season. The Golden Knights scored three unanswered goals to defeat the Blue Jackets 3-2. 

The Golden Knights record improves to 11-7-0 and go 5-1-0 to finish their six game homestand. Vegas travels to St. Louis for a Monday night matchup with the Blues. Puck drop is scheduled for 5 PM PT. (Recap by Jason)

Analysis: It was a tale of two games. Vegas couldn’t do much of anything right in the 1st period, but they completely turned it around in the 2nd and continued into the 3rd. After being unable to win any board battles, struggling to exit, and giving up loads of chances, VGK turned it on in the 2nd and flipped the script completely. They were excellent for the final 40 minutes and got help from a timely shorthanded goal by Reilly Smith.  (Recap by Ken)

Upcoming stories from the Vegas Golden Knights vs. Columbus Blue Jackets game at T-Mobile Arena.

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Recap: The Golden Knights hosted the Blue Jackets got their last home game of their seven game stand. Vegas took two penalties in the 1st period and one ended up costing them the first goal of the game. It was the sixth straight game that Vegas allowed the visiting team to score first. Columbus lead 1-0 after the opening 20 minutes.

The Blue Jackets doubled up their lead 2:06 into the 2nd period. Vegas would try and play catch up for the rest of the middle frame. The Golden Knights were awarded two power plays but couldn’t convert. They continued to trail Columbus 2-0.

Vegas struggled again to generate any offense, and Columbus took advantage. The Blue Jackets stretched their lead to 3-0 deep into the 3rd period.

Vegas’ record drops to 24-18-6 and remain with 54 points. The Golden Knights hit the road and next play on Tuesday in Buffalo. Start time is scheduled for 4P. (Recap by Jason)

Analysis: The Golden Knights just didn’t have it on this night, once again chasing a game after conceding first for the 5th straight game. Offensively they couldn’t generate much against a stingy Columbus defense and the Blue Jackets capitalized on a couple of opportunities. Vegas looked frustrated throughout as they had a hard time getting extended offensive zone time and rarely created more than once chance per possession. It’s a frustrating way to end a homestand that started out so promising. (Analysis by Ken)

Upcoming stories from the Vegas Golden Knights vs Columbus Blue Jackets at T-Mobile Arena

• Steve Carp’s Sunday column on William Carrier’s elevated role

Ken’s Three VGK Stars
*** Paul Stastny
** Shea Theodore
* Alex Tuch

8 points in a 7 game homestand is not acceptable. Puts a lot more pressure on the upcoming 8 game roadie, can't come back without a point per game at the least.

— SinBin.vegas (@SinBinVegas) January 12, 2020

And for the FOURTH game in a row, the Golden Knights are down 3-0.

— SinBin.vegas (@SinBinVegas) January 12, 2020

When it's not even Reilly Smith's night this season, it's trouble.

— SinBin.vegas (@SinBinVegas) January 12, 2020

Vegas began their four-game road trip in Columbus looking for their first regulation win since October 27th. The Golden Knights played strong defensively in front of goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury in the 1st period. Fleury stopped all nine shots by the Blue Jackets and Reilly Smith scored a late goal to give his team a 1-0 lead after the opening 20 minutes.

Columbus would tie it up 5:37 into the second period but the lead wouldn’t last long. Smith would add his second of the game on a nice shorthanded setup by William Karlsson. Fleury continued his strong play between the pipes and Vegas would again take a one goal edge leading 2-1 after two periods in the books.

Columbus came out attacking in the 3rd but Fleury and the defense would keep the Blue Jackets scoreless for the entire period. Vegas picked up two points with a final of 2-1 in Columbus.

Vegas improves their record to (9-5-2) and break their two-game skid. The team will head to Toronto for a matchup against the Maple Leafs on Thursday night. Puck drop is scheduled for 4PM PT. (Recap by Jason)

Upcoming stories from the Vegas Golden Knights at Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena

• Betting trends all pointed to a win over Columbus (possible)

Ken’s Three VGK Stars
*** Jon Merrill
** William Karlsson
* Reilly Smith

Certainly not a perfect effort, but the Golden Knights did enough to win the game and extend their point streak to 4.

— SinBin.vegas (@SinBinVegas) November 6, 2019

The #PowerKill is back!

Another shorty for Reilly Smith. Nick Holden with a hell of a play to get that started too.

— SinBin.vegas (@SinBinVegas) November 6, 2019

Golden Knights have struggled against the Blue Jackets historically, but this is a much different Columbus team.

VGK -145 favorites on the @WilliamHillUS Mobile Sports app. pic.twitter.com/S1gEvowC2v

— SinBin.vegas (@SinBinVegas) November 6, 2019

A wide open first period had scoring chances aplenty both ways. Columbus struck first with a deflection goal that just slid past the line, but moments later the Golden Knights answered with a wacky hop bounce goal of their own from Nate Schmidt. Then, on a Blue Jacket power play, Reilly Smith and William Karlsson led the charge down the ice and Jon Merrill put home the loose change. A strong 2nd by Columbus put Vegas on their heels defending for a majority of the frame. Marc-Andre Fleury’s misplay off the boards helped Artemi Panarin tie the game at two. A Cody Eakin tally put Vegas back in front, but another spill by Fleury helped Cam Atkinson tie it. On the power play, Atkinson scored another one. The Golden Knights couldn’t get anything on net with the empty net and dropped a heartbreaking one.

Upcoming stories from the Vegas Golden Knights vs Columbus Blue Jackets at T-Mobile Arena.

• Carp on Gallant’s decision to play only 10 forwards in the 3rd
• An off day that may have changed the complexion of the season.
• A deeper dive into the difference between when VGK gets through the neutral zone clean and when they don’t. (Assuming my eyes didn’t deceive me when I watch this game again)

Ken’s Three VGK Stars
*** Jon Merrill
** Reilly Smith
* Cody Eakin

A very tight checking game in the 1st period led to a scoreless first two periods. The pace picked up a bit with Columbus pouring on some pressure in the 2nd, but couldn’t get one past Subban. The Blue Jackets came flying out of the break and scored just 40 seconds into the 3rd. Vegas started creating more offense but never could find the equalizer.

Upcoming stories from the Vegas Golden Knights at Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena.

• Why not pull the goalie earlier?
• The calmness that Stastny brings to the Golden Knights lineup.

Three Stars
*** Malcolm Subban
** Sergei Bobrovsky
* Nick Foligno

VGK has turned it up a bit, but I still feel like the great chances just aren't coming. If I'm Turk, I pull Subban really early here, like maybe even 4 or 5 minutes left to try and force the issue. Be smart with when you do it, but don't wait just to wait.

— SinBin.vegas (@SinBinVegas) December 18, 2018

With nearly half the game gone, VGK has done absolutely nothing offensively. The shot chart is downright scary. (stick tap @NatStatTrick for the graph) pic.twitter.com/n8Cv0TjSXk

— SinBin.vegas (@SinBinVegas) December 18, 2018

This game did not start out well at all of the Golden Knights. Just 16 seconds in Artemi Panarin got the Blue Jackets on the board. Columbus scored again a few minutes later, but another offside challenge by the Golden Knights brought it back. Erik Haula tied it early in the 2nd, but things spiraled quickly after that. A messy 3rd period led to nothing and the Golden Knights dropped their fourth in five games.

Upcoming stories from the Vegas Golden Knights at Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena.

• James Neal to the 3rd line? It may just make sense.

Three Stars
*** Pierre-Luc Dubois
** Artemi Panarin
* Joonas Korpisalo

Certainly not Reaves’ fault tonight, but this is kind of the story of the game.