Recap: The Golden Knights faced the Montreal Canadiens in an attempt to bounce back after Wednesday’s overtime loss to Ottawa. Montreal struck first late in the period to take a 1-0 lead into the opening intermission.
Montreal added to their lead quickly into the middle frame. Vegas fought back but couldn’t come up with a goal. After 40 minutes the visitors held a 2-0 advantage.
The Canadiens tripled their lead early in the final frame. Captain Mark Stone finally got Vegas on the board late in the game but Montreal tapped in an empty net goal to secure their victory.
The Golden Knights record drops to 10-6-8 falling to the Canadiens 3-0 on Black Friday. Next up, Vegas will host the San Jose Sharks tomorrow evening. Puck drop against the much improved Sharks is scheduled for 7 PM. (Recap by Jason)
Analysis: The tryptophan-induced Golden Knights came out exactly how you may have hoped they wouldn’t in a day game following Thanksgiving. They were sleepy to start and wound up in yet another hole. They started playing a bit better in the middle of the game but no one could finish. Eventually, Montreal scored another dangerous chance and the book was closed for the night, VGK’s 4th straight loss and 12th in the last 17. (Analysis by Ken)
Upcoming stories from the Vegas Golden Knights vs. Montreal Canadiens at T-Mobile Arena.
- Good on Thanksgiving, heading in the wrong direction though.
Ken’s Three VGK Stars
*** Akira Schmid
** Kaedan Korczak
* Keegan Kolesar
Hdbiker7851
Waiting for the excuses tonight from PP (that’s not power play) in case anyone was wondering. They are a pathetic bunch and should be ashamed of themselves. Betten by a bunch of kids with something to prove not unlike the original misfits.
Emmanuel
1/2 the Habs roster look like theyre 17! Theyre like the Little Rascals of the league.
Henderson One
Boy did Theodore get outskated. Looking bad kid!! Country Club team! Overpaid….Underworked.
vgk21
Home ice embarrassment this season.
and shooting low right into the pads continues.
and the depth is non existent. the 4th line is zero zero .
first star? laughable.
Richie-Rich
If not for Schmid the score could have been 8-1 easily.
vgk21
I’m talking about 55. in the article above.
vgk21
Schmid was facing breakaways all game long. He played well, but the d corps stunk. d system lately has devolved into prevent the singles, but give up the home runs.
Richie-Rich
Game 24 Summary MTL 4, VGK 1
Embrace the Suck
Jake
Shoot, I thought the game was tonight.
Thank God for small blessings.
Team is on a skid, Cassidy has no answers, team fragging him until he is gone.
knights fan in minny
Stop it Butch is going nowhere
Vic
The way the business works, the taxi is coming for coach.
Look at the bright side, no OT today for us to witness.
hdbiker7851
Jake – not sure Cassidy gone is the solution – there are a number of knights there that should pack their bags. I think there is a huge disconnect when you have such a large differential in pay. It’s never said I am sure but often actions speak louder than words. What makes thing worse is when the big guns are particularly effect also. Just an observation based on being part of hockey since I could walk which is many years. Do I have any inside info that is the case NO just an opinion. It’s understanding where you are coming from given the history of the front office. The team is old and slow compared to some of their recent opponents which translates into appearing to have more of a win attitude than the knights. Who knows if for sure that is the case or not?? Your fortunate you thought the game was later, your kidding of course, but, in case you’re not it is 7PM tomorrow.
Richie-Rich
I actually think now that PP might be jinxing the team with all of his positivity. Think?
hdbiker7851
When the big guns ARN”T particularly effect is what should read above. Similar error to the post by Ken and Jason VEGAS 0 Canidian 0
JB
Just embarrising , especially at home. Not giving up but what the hell? In nine years I rarely went into games thinking they will lose. But now, ?
knights fan in minny
I don’t usually complain about the squad but that was pure ugly Montreal had the speed the good sticks Too many blind passes from Vegas Saad Does nothing for this team He needs to be in the stands It’s time to make a trade It’s time to put the locker room on notice Go get the Sherwood Kid from the Canucks if the Canucks are serious about getting rid of people He is cheap and he has 12 goals he can replace sad I guess Schmidt did a nice job It could have been 7 to nothing The Sharks will be licking their chops tomorrow
TS
Kfim, if YOU post negatives we KNOW it”s bad! You always note the positives, even in the losses. If i wasn’t too concerned before, i am NOW!
Houston, we have a problem…..
knights fan in minny
Don’t like ripping on them but man it’s getting tough to watch Hopefully today will be better
TS
Yes, it is. I want to.rip into the slackers, too. Where are the scorers this season?? And those breakaways against us– where is the D, the effort?? The Fire and Desire?? CURSES!!
knights fan in minny
It is a mystery I have no confidence in the backup goalie winning a game they better have a man on celebrini He is piling up the points
knights fan in minny
I wonder if mcrimmy Is stewing Mad tonight
Jose
This is officially a slump now. The good thing is that they are in a decent enough spot in the standings.. Tomorrow will be tough. San Jose not a seller dweller anymore like the good old days.
KnightWatch
When the the post game show is at a loss of any positivity you know it’s bad.
Best they could come up with is talk about Carter Hart being available for Tuesdays game.
Of course goal tending wasn’t our problem, but who knows, maybe Carter has a better chance of creating some offense than our forwards have.
With the way the D played he sure will have lots of pucks thrown at him.
Emmanuel
G is not the problem, scoring depth is & a blueline that gives up too many high ranger shots.
DeezNutz
31 shots on goal even an AHL team would have scored at least 2 goals. When they aren’t passing it to the other team these guys are rifling it directly at the goalie’s chest and stomach. When they try to top shelf it the thing goes about 6 feet high and wide. Did any of these particular players ever practice shooting pucks into nets when they were kids? It’s literally the easiest practice you can do in your parent’s basement or on a frozen pond and you can practice it over and over and over again without needing a skills coach or big fancy training facility. This team is great at helping struggling goalies find their game again. VGK offense are the ring dummies of the NHL, just a total free confidence boost for your backup or 3rd string AHL goalie call up. Start your bum goalie against VGK and they will leave that arena feeling unstoppable. I even think Schmid could use a game against this team right now.
TS
Deez, did you see the laser shot by Montreal from the side of the net that somehow slipped in over Schmid’s shoulder? No one would have stopped THAT shot! We got outplayed yet again!
And Cassidy pulling Schmid with over 3 minutes left?? That has NEVER worked for the team! 6 men on ice is like a Chinese Fire Drill– running in circles, confused!! Every time Casdidy does it, we end up just losing another late point!
Cassidy has looked shell- shocked the past few games, like a guy in a coma. I think he’s at a loss how to right the ship
. Out of ideas and options. Lost in the wave of losses. Postgame he summarized: the guys just aren’t giving their best.
Pistol Pete
Like most people my age I have health issues but none pointing to my ultimate demise at least not at this point. Just want this to be known as I am taking a break from the forum at least as a regular poster. Plan on perusing the site looking for positivity, hope and meaningful information including reading the SinBin articles, listening to the site’s podcasts, post-game commentary and the such. Will be strictly lurking like an SMH. Maybe this team’s run really is on the verge of collapsing. which seems to the overall consensus among the majority of the regular SinBin posters. Hope not but only time will tell. Good luck to the believers!
Richie-RIch
Absolutely NOT. You provide the much needed balance in the forum. Everyone reads every single one of your posts. This place simply would not be the same! I realize that this game performance today wasn’t what any of us is happy about. The same theme is beginning to become a bit too consistent. Excellent chances on offense, lack of finishing, chasing the scoreboard. I do think that some fresh legs from Henderson in the bottom 6 is worth the look. Another big game tomorrow night.
DeezNutz
Come on Pete not like this! We need your analysis and positivity to keep us from spiraling!
Larry
Pete you can’t take a break now, it’s a bad look and timing, deserting a sinking ship perhaps , that’s not like you to wave the white flag, go down without a fight, to let the other side win, the side of doom and gloom, the naysayers, the doubters…. Like me lol.
Remember your contention, you will prove me wrong on Marner, on Saad and a myriad other things, who will be there to tell me I am continually wrong and not seeing the big picture? lol
Hope whatever might be ailing or affecting you is nothing too serious, and that you return to these pages to wage war once again.
TS
Absolutely, Larry!!!
Pistol Pete
Thanks Larry in any event know I am here pushing for the team. There is just sort of a circular aspect to the positivity vs. negativity for which the time has come for me to take a break from. Nothing we complain about will change how the coach or FO will operate so for me it always made sense to put my faith in them and hope for the best. As I mentioned in the follow-up to my “farewell for now” post, who knows maybe Cassidy is dragging them down. Real talent on this team, just look at how good Hertl looks this year, fast and shooting more than normal. There is an issue with fourth line scoring but basically the top three lines all have scoring talent. My mind is open; Cassidy should be able to drive this talented roster to better starts and OT results, even against fast, young hungry opponents like MTL. McCrimmon and Cassidy must be talking about what is going on. Hopefully Bruce can guide them out of this if not he might just be open to passing the torch to a younger guy like Ryan Craig?
TS
PP, RR has it right. You are the balance we all need here. I DO read your posts, and I always learn something new. The extreme pessimists here seem to take issue with your eternal optimism, in addition to voicing their frustrations at the team, which is unfair and uncalled for— we all have our opinions!! We don’t HAVE to agree with each other, for crying out loud! Thg was the master of doing that, and look where he ended up?
Don’t give up , PP!! Keep supporting the team!!
Pistol Pete
Thanks TS as I mentioned above there is a repetitive circular aspect to my optimism vs. their negativity. Why complain when we can’t change what the coach and FO do? And listening to it only makes us all feel like losers. As I have mentioned I have an open mind with respect to a coaching change if the FO feels Cassidy is dragging the roster down. But for the complainers to make it seem like the team is too old, not talented enough and never comes to the game to play, that is just inaccurate and I have a better use for my time than to engage them over and over again. Go Knights Go!
TS
PP: BTW: You are NOT jinxing the team!! They are doing that themselves! The more they lose, the more they lose, the more they lose…..
.
Pistol Pete
Mention the health so readers know a passing of me is not the cause of not posting. After all when someone stops posting it could always be because they passed. Not an imminent situation on my end.
If you believe in the team just try to stay positive. Talk of how badly things are going never changes decisions made by the coach or FO. Look for positivity for example players developing in Henderson or is the team somehow playing below their talent level in not having faster starts or closing it out in OT. I think they are somehow not playing up to their potential at least not this last stretch, this is a deep talented team. Maybe Cassidy is actually driving them down, the players could be burned out on how he operates, his system, could be they need a new approach that works better in playing these young hungry teams like MTL, but that is just talk by us only the FO can decide on that one. Hopefully the coach can guide them out of this slump.
Jose
Pistol Pete, wishing you the best with your health. Don’t stray too far. I enjoy your positivity.
Pistol Pete
Thank you for your kind words Jose. Best wishes to you as well. Stay positive! Go Knights Go!
Watch Carter Hart and Trevor Connelly tonight!
Emmanuel
Less posting leads to higher quality posts. Quality over Quantity.
Pistol Pete
Things did not go well for Hart last night (12/16 =0.750). He’s a dismal 1-2 (3.07/.839). We’ll see hopefully it’s just an AHL warmup return to
action struggle and he returns to form in the NHL but that seems a stretch. Another assist for Connelly (5GP/2G/4A/0) which is encouraging. I would say his transition is pending developing the NHL physicality like Bowman.
Cassidy and the staff know better than I but I want to say given the recent struggles Marner should be back with Eichel because as I have said from the beginning those two stand to enhance each other’s goal scoring. Marner has been a really good playmaker generating scoring wherever he plays but we can get more direct goal scoring from him which is the most likely playing with Eichel. Bowman has been good but makes no sense to keep him up as a top liner not with Marner as the best fit there. My idea, basically wishful thinking, I am not the coach.
Barbashev-Eichel-Marner
Dorofeyev-Hertl-Stone
Smith-Howden-Bowman
Saad-Sissons-Smith
Pistol Pete
I meant Saad-Sissons-Kolesar (obviously).
Note:
These have all been followup posts to the responses to my decision to not post anymore. I will be sticking to that plan. My mention of a possible coaching change will be duly noted I expect.
TS
So Hart doesn’t appear to be the team’s savior and salvation, at least on paper. And some fans are banking on him to change the trajectory. New G, new attitude, maybe??
Schmid was put in the lead G spot— was he ready for that massive responsibility given to him so early in the season?
Are all the new players creating unfamiliarity and lack.of cohesion??
Or are some of the veterarans past their shelf life in the NHL??
Lots of questions, no answers. YET.
I still have faith in Cassidy. He didn’t win the CUP with 2 diff teams by accident. He knows how to WIN, he needs to get his players to PLAY like winners again!
A Fan
TS, I believe he has only won the one Cup with the Knights.
TS
My mistake, A Fan! He got a Cup ring as the Ahl affiliate of the (???)Buffalo Sabers, maybe?
A Fan
TS, It looks like he lost in the final round in 1999-2000 in the ECHL and that’s the best he did in the minors.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Cassidy
Tim
I told you all over a month ago no chemistry means what you see on the ice. To much dead weight and the big guns have turned into pop guns. When you can’t win at home you be in big trouble. February 21 fist Guardians pre season game and I can’t wait.
knights fan in minny
You are the only one that can’t wait
vgk21
gee, you think maybe the Vgk could also get some breakaways if they weren’t hanging back in the rope a dope all the time?
systems matter, and the Cassidy system is not keeping up with the speedier, younger, new fast break NHL.
hell, a little cherry picking now and then is necessary if the rush and the cycle aren’t getting the scoring job done.
Emmanuel
I wouldnt call VGK a slow team…..they got some guys with wheels
You may be correct on the “rope a dope”.
I feel the great defense by the F are masking a leaky D leading to less shots but once past the F “crust” the D allows high danger shots.
vgk21
right, the team is not slow, but the system is.
you can’t score goals if the emphasis is totally on the 100 feet in the D end of the rink.
That leads to “D-feet”
the speed and scoring has to have some freelance creativity. notice the Mtl system is structured, but also allows for breakaways by their gamebreakers like Caufield, etc
Larry
As I’ve mentioned before, when was the last time we had a 3 on 2 transition, or heaven help us a 2 on 1 situation?
You can’t remember either huh??
Larry
As I mentioned last night, I would be working my shift today and would try to glance at the TV to see what was going on in the game, but thankfully it was too busy and I couldn’t see anything, which by the various posts and tweets I didn’t miss a solitary thing. Hallelujah!!
One pressing item though was something KEN mentioned in a tweet, and I must correct him post haste, it is NOT a box of worms, it is a CAN of worms, whew I’m so glad that is cleared up lol!!
Larry
I just checked the line on tomorrow’s game, and VGK is a -345 favorite!! Is that a typo or is it a handicapper on or off his meds?? WOW!!
Vic
Right Larry, and the Sharks are +270. I’ll be grabbing some of that along with Arnold Rothstein. My taking the Sharks should break the VGK’s spell. However, Celebrini, Smith and Toffoli, oh my. VGK may dodge playing against their tremendous young goaltender coming off the back to back.
NAM
The year we didn’t make the playoffs I bet a lot against the VGK and did really well as they seemed to be big favorites a lot when I knew they were slumping. The key is placing the bet, playing what I knew was good chance, but not rooting against the team personally. I would always say I win either way, but would always want the team to win regardless, even if it cost me. I lost a bunch on the game that VGK blew out EDM when EDM was about to set a record streak. It was a good run that year. I’d bet now is too, but moved where it isn’t as convenient to bet any more. I do think Vegas can beat any one right now, but can also lose to any one right now.
Canada
Wow lots of comments everyone seems to be getting worn down by the losses and me as well . I think this team is closer to getting things right than we know . if Cassidy is the problem which i don’t believe he is last night was not a coaching issue . They again had a hot goalie we did not . Thats a big kid in net and he was a sponge no rebounds ,Boys were standing in the low slot and got nothing . Lots of hard shots that should have produced some rebounds nothing . We need better defence and better goal keeping to play Cassidy’s system . Lasard could help hes a banger and plays tough hockey ,getting Carly back will make a big difference. lots of comments on Saad but i think he is working hard out there definitely makes a bigger impact than Sissons . I liked what Eichel had to say after the game one of his better interviews thoughtful and reflective. Basically said if we cant do it the fancy way we have to do it the old fashioned way and you could start to see they have been throwing more pucks at the net . Debating whether to go today or not probably will go .
Vic
Eichel and Marner need to play with extreme emotion. Call up Marchy to remember what emotion is like. He’s stuck in the Pred’s minus world, but the VGK are in dire need of his grit and scoring in OT and shootouts. Too many of our guys are coasting, and the teams with emotion and fire are running right through us. Need a spark right now.
NAM
The one comment I will say from the game last night is that the VGK didn’t look dangerous at all. Half way thru the 2nd I thought, they aren’t going to score this whole game. It was clear to me. They were playing hard, they were in the game, shots were officially on goal, but really just didn’t look like they had any hope of scoring. Nothing was dangerous, nothing was outside of the obvious. Now, Stone did force the greasy goal late, but that felt outside of the flow of the rest of the game. I don’t know how to break my thoughts down into the “why” it was like that, but can honestly say it ain’t working.
Jose
Brandon Saad and Reilly Smith are scratched tonight.
knights fan in minny
Love it changes are coming
Emmanuel
Finally!
KnightWatch
Looks like Reinhardt is in on the 4th line
and the ‘newer’ change is Holtz back in on the Doro – Hertl line.
We also will be in the Gray jerseys (1 and 0) tonight.
Larry
ZOWIE!! Finally a change is occurring!!
NAM
Adding Holtz to Hertl’s line that wasn’t even getting it done with Marner, and Reinhardt back to line 4 is not the positive change you are looking for. Perhaps this is for a move, but tonight’s game may be ugly.
KnightWatch
Rocking the Grays/Greys tonight
We’re 1 and 0 this year wearing them and according to SinBin stats have the best record in them.overall.
That win came against the Hurricanes a fairly well played game.and one we scored first.
So that w/some healthy scratches per Jose could be the puck luck we need tonight for a Win.
KnightWatch
Looks like Reinhardt is in on the 4th line
and the ‘newer’ change is Holtz back in on the Doro – Hertl line.
We also will be in the Gray jerseys (1 and 0) tonight.
Pistol Pete
Larry on the last thread I prepared a post for you and the board. Exceeding the 250 word limit it was deleted but Ken restored it per my request. It’s a rundown of the top 18 point a game players to which Marner and Eichel belong.
Jack Hammer
Barbashev-Eichel-Bowman
Marner-Howden-Stone
Dorofeyev-Hertl-Holtz
Reinhardt-Sissons-Kolesar
McNabb-Theodore
Hanifin-Whitecloud
Hutton-Korczak
Lindbolm
Leonard Wise
I like the benching of Sadd and Smith. Not because their replacements at this point are much better. But both are 25 and 24 and have room to grow. The other two are only going to get older. If this fails look for trades or others being brought up. Kylie will be next.