As if Wild Bill was not going to tear up the Blue Jackets. (Photo Credit: SinBin.vegas Photographer Brandon Andreasen)
Playing against former teams has been a storyline all year and understandably it boiled over yesterday with Marc-Andre Fleury’s return to Pittsburgh.
All Star head coach Gerard Gallant joked early in the season that the “revenge game” was overblown. Then, after a win over the Buffalo Sabres in which “fourth” line forward William Carrier played his best game, Gallant’s mind was changed.
I didn’t think this was a big deal but William Carrier played his best game tonight against his old team. His old team is Buffalo, so it definitely made a difference. I didn’t think it did, but tonight he proved to me that he played his best game so far. He played real well. -Gallant
Since then the answer has been the same from Gallant when asked about any player facing his former team; he expects them to play one of their best games because “that’s how it seems to go.”
So, let’s take a look at how the Golden Knights have actually fared against their old teams.
| GP | G | A | SOG | +/- | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karlsson | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Marchessault | 2 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 4 |
| Smith | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| Neal | 3 | 1 | 0 | 14 | -2 |
| Haula | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | -3 |
| Perron | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | -1 |
| Tuch | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -1 |
| Eakin | 3 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
| Leipsic | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Carrier | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Nosek | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -1 |
*Bellemare and Carpenter have yet to face their former teams.
