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Golden Knights Need To Keep “Emotional Needle” High

(Photo Credit: SinBin.vegas Photographer Brandon Andreasen)

27 seconds into the game last night the Golden Knights got onto the board with a 2-on-1 goal from Keegan Kolesar on a nifty feed from Teddy Blueger. It was the perfect start for Vegas in what was bound to be a difficult road game in Tampa.

For the next 39 minutes and 33 seconds, the Golden Knights were not as potent. They collected just eight shots following the goal for a franchise-low nine shots through two periods. They struggled to generate anything off the rush, they couldn’t set up in the offensive zone for extended stretches, and the forecheck was non-existent.

Then, the game started to change. Not necessarily in how the Golden Knights were playing, but more so in the physicality and temperature of the affair. A hit from behind on Jack Eichel woke the Golden Knights up, an after-the-horn scrum continued to turn up the heat on the game, and when the 3rd period came, Vegas appeared much more engaged and ready to fight back.

At the end of the day I think we found our emotional needle. That little scrum may have dragged us into it even if we lost key players. A couple of those shifts really got us engaged. I’ve always been okay with that for our group. I feel like when we get dragged into it, if we are not dragging ourselves into it, we usually come out ok. And we did again tonight. -Cassidy

This is something Cassidy has spoken about in the past. He believes when the team plays with an added level of emotion that they take their game to a higher level.

Emotion is not easily measured and obviously it’s not ideal for the Golden Knights to be assessed with 75 minutes of penalty time as they did last night. But, in the 11 games in which VGK have taken a major penalty or a misconduct, they’ve posted a record of 7-3-1 and they’ve won five of their top seven most penalized games.

We were just fired up with the boys standing up for each other. -Karlsson

It’s a tricky concept as the hope would be that the emotion is there every night. For Vegas, it just hasn’t, yet that’s not abnormal for any team in a league with 82 regular season games.

The question becomes how they can make sure to keep that level high moving forward and especially into the postseason when the games really count.

They can’t rely on someone taking a cheap shot or a scrum that leads to 10 players being ejected from the game to help “drag them into the game.” It must come ealier, and more often, if it truly is going to have the impact on the games Cassidy and many of the players believe it does.

For one night, the emotional needle rose to the level it needed to for the Golden Knights to beat one of the best teams in the NHL. Moving forward, they need to make sure it stays there as often as possible.

VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS 4 TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING 3 (39-20-6, 84 PTS)

Recap: The Golden Knights were looking for a Sunshine state split with an evening matchup against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Immediately off the opening face-off, Teddy Blueger set up Keegan Kolesar for an easy tap-in 0:27 into the game. Three minutes later the home team jumped on a rebound and evened the score. The game was locked 1-1 after the opening twenty minutes.

Things tightened up in the second period with only 13 combined shots. Tampa was rewarded with multiple power plays, but Vegas’ penalty killers did their job and kept the Lightning off the board. The game remained tied 1-1 heading into the second intermission.

Vegas turned up their game in the final period, taking the lead on the penalty kill and extending it on the power play. First William Karlsson scored shorthanded, and Chandler Stephenson followed it up with a goal on a man-advantage situation. The final ten minutes were marred with ten ejections after several scrums broke out. Tampa pulled their goalie with 2:30 left and forced overtime. Alec Martinez scored the game-winner late in OT, pulling off a wild 4-3 victory. 

The Golden Knights record improves to (39-20-6) defeating the Lightning 4-3 in Tampa. Vegas continues their road trip with a trip to Carolina for a matchup with the Hurricanes on Saturday. Puck drop is scheduled for 4P PT. (Recap by Jason)

Analysis: In one of the wackiest games in VGK history, the Golden Knights end up coming out on top. They struggled to generate much of anything offensively through the first two periods mustering up a franchise low nine shots through 40 minutes. But as the temperature of the game turned up, the Golden Knights struck both shorthanded on and the power play to grab a lead. They then blew that lead and had to rescue it in OT. It’s one of the weirdest games I’ve ever watched. (Analysis by Ken)

Upcoming stories from the Vegas Golden Knights vs. Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena.

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VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS 5 TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING 4 (34-18-4, 72 PTS)

Recap:  The Golden Knights hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning trying to extend their winning streak to five games. The Lighting got on the board first but seven seconds later Brett Howden evened the score. Tampa took a 2-1 lead minutes later on the power play but again Vegas and Jonathan Marchessault answered right back. The Golden Knights offense continued to pressure the Lightning and rattled off three straight goals. After the opening 20 minutes Vegas held a 4-2 advantage over Tampa.

Tampa got closer in the middle frame, but Vegas tightly held on to their lead. After 40 minutes of action, the Golden Knights lead 4-3.

Up by one the Golden Knights kept pushing the Lightning in the final period limiting the visiting team to only a handful of shots. Nic Roy iced the game with an empty-net goal with minutes remaining in the game. Tampa got one back but wouldn’t get any closer.

The Golden Knights’ record improves to 34-18-4 defeating the Lightning 5-4. Vegas will look to continue their five-game winning streak on Tuesday in Chicago. Puck drop against the Blackhawks is set for 5:30 PM. (Recap by Jason)

Analysis: It was a frantic start to the game with VGK falling behind twice in the 1st, but they answered quickly and furiously to not only stay in the game but take a two goal lead into the break. The 2nd was a bit of a scary one as the Golden Knights tried to just hang on and nearly gave up the lead. The 3rd was a masterclass in shutting down a good team’s attack. VGK kept everything to the outside and had excellent sticks when passes were attempted through the middle. Fantastic win against a terrific opponent.(Analysis by Ken)

Upcoming stories from the Vegas Golden Knights vs. Tampa Bay Lightning at T-Mobile Arena.

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Jon Cooper Says “Mediocre Or Worse” Power Play Can Still Win In Playoffs

(Photo Credit: SinBin.vegas Photographer Brandon Andreasen)

If there’s anyone who knows what it takes to win in the postseason, it’s Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper.

His team had had their names engraved on the Cup in back-to-back seasons and despite the 0-2 hole to the Rangers they still have as good a chance as anyone to win it again this year.

During the ESPN broadcast of Eastern Conference Finals Game 2, play-by-play announcer Sean McDonough shared an interesting comment from the Lightning bench boss on the importance of the power play in the postseason.

It’s interesting what Jon Cooper said about the adage that you have to have your power play in the playoffs. He said “Not really. You have to have your penalty killing. Where you have to have your power play is when you are behind. You can be mediocre or worse on the power play but you can’t be bad killing penalties and last long in the playoffs.” –McDonough on ESPN during Game 2

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Golden Knights Used As Example For LTIR Change At League Meetings

(Photo Credit: SinBin.vegas Photographer Brandon Andreasen)

We’ll never know if the Golden Knights were trying to mimic the 2021 Stanley Cup-winning Tampa Bay Lightning. When Vegas’ front office pulled the trigger on the Jack Eichel trade, speculation grew across the league that the club would attempt to field a team over the cap in the postseason. Things have changed dramatically for Vegas since then but it didn’t stop NHL GM’s from leaving anonymous notes in the league’s complaint box.

There’s been a lot of white noise around Vegas in how they’ve treated LTIR this season. Last year’s Tampa, this year’s Vegas. At least in perception. Gary Bettman and Bill Daly could not have been more unequivocal saying Vegas has been transparent. There’s no issues with the way they’re handling their LTIR and their business. –Pierre LeBrun on TSN

The noise was loud enough that the topic of LTIR maneuvering came up yesterday at the GM meetings.

Now, is there validity to say that we get to the playoffs and we’ve got a cap of $81.5 million and fundamentally that means we should only be able to dress $81.5 million in the playoffs? Sure, that makes sense. I think you’ve gotta go back and study it. –Brad Treliving, Calgary GM to Sportsnet

It was reported that the league broached the subject out of concerns that some believed Tampa bought last year’s Cup. Sure, adding Nikita Kucherov to the lineup on Game 83 is unfair but it would be next to impossible to prove Tampa stretched out injuries.

In fact, two-time Stanley Cup-winning GM Julien BriseBois wasn’t bashful about his feelings. His club won back-to-back championships, you think the speculation or finger-pointing matters to him?

If we hadn’t won the Cup last season, perhaps we wouldn’t be the poster child, but I’d rather win the Stanley Cup and be the poster child anyway, knowing that these situations have happened in the past. In 2015, we played against the Chicago Blackhawks in the Final and they had the example of Patrick Kane at the time and won the Cup. The situation we had last year with Kucherov—there’s 32 teams and it happens; there are many teams in LTI –Julien BriseBois, Lightning GM to Sportsnet

It’s possible several teams will be over the salary cap in the playoffs. Which drives front offices to ignore cap manipulation.

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Learning From History: The 2016-17 Tampa Bay Lightning

(Photo Credit: SinBin.vegas Photographer Brandon Andreasen)

This is a cautionary tale. It is meant to serve as a reminder that nothing is guaranteed in the NHL, and to show that even one of the best teams of this decade is susceptible to a season just like the Golden Knights are experiencing right now. Unfortunately, this tale’s happy ending came three seasons after the year we’re going to discuss in this article.

The team under the microscope is the 2016-17 Tampa Bay Lightning.

Just one year prior the Bolts had reached the Conference Finals where they were dispatched in seven games by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins. The year before, Tampa played in the Cup Final where they were outclassed by the Chicago Blackhawks.

Coming into 16-17, expectations were high, very high. Tampa was the third favorite to win the Cup in the betting odds and were expected to eclipse 100 points with ease.

The season began well as the Lightning ripped off five wins in their first six games and racked up a 12-7-1 record over their first 20 games. They were sitting in 2nd place in the division and cruising along just like years prior.

Then, the injury bug hit.

Within a 10 game span. Captain Steven Stamkos was lost for four months with a knee injury, stallwart defenseman Anton Stralman went down with an upper-body injury, and Ryan Callahan was lost with a lower body injury.

Over the next few months, Tampa saw Brian Boyle, Jason Garrison, Nikita Kucherov, Ondrej Palat, Cedric Paquette, Vlad Namestnikov, and Ben Bishop all miss games. By the end of the year, no team lost more money from the salary cap to injuries on the season than the Lightning.

As they soldiered on, their play suffered. Tampa went a miserable 10-18-5 during the meat of the season which had them within one point of dead last in the Eastern Conference standings on February 1st.

Following the season, Tampa Bay radio announcer Dave Mishkin chronicled the year in an extended article on the team’s website. Here are a few snippets.

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“Best Time Of The Year, It’s Balls To The Walls”

(Photo Credit: SinBin.vegas Photographer Brandon Andreasen)

On Tuesday night Vegas coach Pete DeBoer became the 27th winningest coach in NHL history. The 15-year veteran coach clinched his 500th career win against the franchise he coached to the Stanley Cup finals in 2017. DeBoer admitted beating the San Jose Sharks for his milestone win was a little sweeter.

It did. I coached in San Jose for five years, went to a Stanley Cup final, got fired. It wasn’t a revenge thing. There’s a bunch of people on that other team that really contributed to that 500 number. It is a big number. 28 guys in the history game. When you start putting in that perspective it’s pretty special. –DeBoer with Jim Rome

The Golden Knights head coach jumped on the Jim Rome show to chat about his 500th victory and the diversity his club has faced this season. Rome asked DeBoer about the extended injuries Vegas has dealt with and the coach didn’t use that as an excuse for their latest rough patch.

We’ve dropped four or five of our last six in different ways. We hadn’t play poorly but we hadn’t put it altogether for 60 minutes. It was an important win for our team. We had been stumbling, spinning our wheels a little bit. We needed to get some momentum. We’ve got the two busiest months of the year coming up against some really tough teams. –DeBoer with Jim Rome

One reason why it’s difficult to hammer the Golden Knights’ latest stretch is the introduction of center Jack Eichel into the lineup. After a few injured teammates, Eichel has become the biggest offensive focus for opponents. DeBoer mentioned how vital the newest Golden Knight will be in the near and distant future.

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VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS 3 TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING 2 (26-16-3 55 PTS) – SO (4-3)

Recap: The Golden Knights took on the Tampa Bay Lightning for the last game of their four-game road trip. Vegas forward Brett Howden scored his 6th goal of the season to give his team the first lead of the game.

The Golden Knights bottom-six forwards continued their strong play on the trip by doubling the lead in the 2nd period. William Carrier scored his 5th of the season to make it 2-0 Vegas lead.

Vegas fought off three Tampa power plays in the final frame to hold their two-goal advantage. However, the Lightning cut the lead in half with six minutes left and tied the game late. The game would need an overtime period and eventually a shootout to decide a winner. Mark Stone sealed it for Vegas in the seventh round of shootout.

The Golden Knights record improves to 26-16-3 defeating the Lightning 3-2 in shootout. Vegas wraps up their road trip going 2-1-1 earning five points. Next up they’ll face the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night at T-Mobile Arena. Puck drop against the Sabres is set for 7 PM. (Recap by Jason)

Analysis: The Golden Knights played an excellent game on the road for two periods. Frustrating the Lightning and making life very difficult in all three zones. But then, in the 3rd, Tampa turned up the heat and the Golden Knights couldn’t handle it. Despite getting multiple odd-man rushes, Vegas did not get a single shot on goal from inside the offensive zone in the period. Meanwhile, Tampa went to work and came back to tie the game. Vegas pulled off an improbable win in shootout. (Recap by Ken)


Upcoming stories from the Vegas Golden Knights vs. Tampa Bay Lightning game at Amalie Arena.

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TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING 4 VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS 3 (20-12-0 40 PTS)

Recap: The Golden Knights hosted reigning champion Tampa Bay Lightning before the NHL pauses for a handful of days. Tampa only needed six minutes to take the first lead of the game. After a scary collision Vegas captain Mark Stone came back out and tied the game on the power play. 

The offense picked up for both teams in the middle frame. Stone scored again 1:41 into the period to give Vegas their first lead of the game. Nic Roy stretched the Golden Knights lead to 3-1 shaking Norris trophy defenseman Victor Hedman. Tampa woke up and tied the game on two straight shots. After 40 minutes the game was tied up 3-3.

The Lightning took the lead late into a third period power play. Vegas had some chances throughout the final twenty minutes but couldn’t tie the game.

The Golden Knights record drops to 20-12-0 falling 4-3 to the Lightning. Vegas and the rest of the NHL will get some time off and return to the ice after Christmas. Until further notice from the league the Golden Knights are scheduled to play the Colorado Avalanche on Monday night. Puck drop is set for 7 PM. (Recap by Jason)

Analysis: For 25 minutes or so the Golden Knights were slapping the Lightning around. Outshooting them at an incredible clip, generating chances at will and thwarting Tampa’s offense. Then Mark Stone left the game and things started to fall apart. Tampa scored a pair quick and then a ridiculous slapper from Stamkos gave them a lead VGK couldn’t overcome. (Recap by Ken)


Upcoming stories from the Vegas Golden Knights vs. Tampa Bay Lightning game at T-Mobile Arena.

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5 Most Anticipated Home Games On The Golden Knights 2021-22 Schedule

(Photo Credit: SinBin.vegas Photographer Brandon Andreasen)

After a year that involved 56 games against the same seven teams and sparse crowds throughout, it’s great to be back to a normal 82 game schedule that includes all 31 teams making an appearance at sold-out T-Mobile Arena. Here are the five home games that jump off the schedule as the most anticipated matchups of the year.

5. December 27th, 2021 – vs Colorado Avalanche

It’s a shame the first time these two teams meet won’t be at the site of the Avs demise last season, but there’s no secret these two are likely to be the class of the Western Conference once again. The collision course in the playoffs will probably be played up all year and every game between the two will be highly engrossing.

4. December 21st, 2021 – vs Tampa Bay Lightning

If there’s one thing we missed more than anything else with last year’s horrendous schedule, it was measuring stick games. About a month into the season everyone knew exactly how everyone else matched up against each other in the division, so the remaining 40+ games were essentially useless. This year, there will be plenty of those measuring stick games and this is the king of them all. The two-time defending Cup champions come to T-Mobile after the Golden Knights return home from a tough four-game road trip. VGK vs TBL games have always been a blast, this one should be no different.

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