Recap: In John Tortorella’s debut as the Golden Knights head coach, VGK were looking to end a three game losing streak by defeating the worst team in the NHL.
Despite earning the first power play of the game, the Canucks scored the first goal of the game as Evander Kane finished a 2-on-1 in his 1,000th NHL game.
The Golden Knights tied it up not once but twice with goals from defensemen Rasmus Andersson and Shea Theodore. Then, a nifty cross-ice pass from Brayden McNabb to Reilly Smith gave the Golden Knights their first lead of the night.
VGK held off the Canucks in the 3rd and Cole Smith potted the empty net goal, his first in Vegas.
The Golden Knights record moves to 33-26-16, beating the Canucks 4-2. Next, Vegas will host the Calgary Flames on Thursday. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 PM. (Recap by Ken)
Analysis: VGK were looking to show out in a big way for their new bench boss with a matchup with the worst team in the league. They didn’t exactly inspire a lot of confidence that things turned around instantly but eventually took advantage of Vancouver’s shortcomings and grabbed a lead. It’s the first win in the Tortorella era, and it’s the fourth Vegas coach to win their first game. (Analysis by Ken)
Upcoming stories from the Vegas Golden Knights vs. Vancouver Canucks at T-Mobile Arena.
- Podcast
Ken’s Three VGK Stars
*** Shea Theodore
** Rasmus Andersson
* Reilly Smith
hdbiker7851
Congratulation – imagine a win barely, against the worst team in the league. Nice to see Smitty score – high light of the evening. Not much change if any for the club in general – of course Hill was Hill useless – it is fascinating to see him move whatever part of his frame after the puck goes in the net – like he is waving good by.
Pistol Pete
You obviously don’t understand that the “worst team” in the league has all world class players on it. This means in any one given night they can be hard to play against for any team. Forget about needing to be an NHL level skater, stick handler, passer and
shooter if you are not strong on the luck you don’t make the league. Anyways go ahead and bash this win against the “worst team in the league” like Ken, but neither of you guys seem to appreciate what the best players in the world is.
Now on to Torts. Right off the bat he switches Marner and Eichel something Butch never did and maybe never even thought of doing.
Barbashev-Marner-Stone
Howden-Eichel-Dorofeyev
This creates a situation where the Eichel line with his speed is relieving the Marner line. Dorofeyev looked good with Eichel. Howden fits in with his speed and forechecking like he did on the Stone line the Cup year.
Torts had the group playing with intensity the whole 60 minutes. I was at the game. Canucks were strong on the puck and forechecked like nobody’s business.
Pistol Pete
Typos:
strong on the PUCK (not luck)
hdbiker7851
PPete = you are so full of crap your eyes must be brown = Vancouver is in the basement – they have talented players ok just like all NHL teams – that obviously doesn’t equate to being winners otherwise they wouldn’t be in the basement. What fact was not correct – by definition they are the worst team and Vegas barley beat them. Get off your soap box and see things for what they are. Optimism is your strong suit, recognizing reality is your weakness – somewhere in between would be a much more informative place to be.
Pistol Pete
Anybody who watched the game and understands NHL hockey could see the Canucks played a good game despite being the “worst team in the league”, a good enough one to compete against the best teams in the league. Your post did acknowledge that simple fact. They have a back to back starting tomorrow against the Wild and the Avs. You’ll be hearing from me if they make a game of either one like they did last night against us.
knights fan in minny
Of course they had to play good they had to play good for the new boss or they would be benched All the Vancouver Canucks aren’t world class Quit sugarcoating everything Your Rah Rah is getting old The Nooks are last in the league Their penalty kill is last in the league You’re getting to be like that politics guy that used to be on here
Pistol Pete
Ask me if I give a flying eff. Seems you generally don’t have anything very profound to say here so who really cares?
knights fan in minny
You must be on the payroll
knights fan in minny
Why because I Don’t write Long boring dribble
knights fan in minny
Nobody cares about all your stats and crap we have eyes we see what’s going on
TS
Minny, the real positive is he ISN’T that other guy! Remember, that other guy constantly caused political trouble, plus any other trouble he could stir up— i’ll take the Hockey discussions, long on content or not, ANY DAY!!
Peace in the Valley!!!
rb7
let’s see how they do vs Edm and Avs.
beating the little sisters of the poor is not exactly a measuring stick.
Emmanuel
Im waiting to see who inhabits the doghouse first.
Theyre winning for now……
The Canucks played well considering how bad they are.
Pete Turner
What worked against Vancouver won’t necessarily hold up against faster, more aggressive teams like San Jose, Edmonton, or Colorado. Activating the defense in the offensive zone can be effective—but only when it’s used with purpose and awareness of the matchup. Good coaching isn’t about forcing a single system every night; it’s about reading the opponent, identifying where the advantages are, and clearly communicating that to the players so they can recognize situations and respond in real time.
Hockey isn’t a one-size-fits-all game. Every shift presents a new set of variables, and success depends on how quickly and intelligently a team can adapt. That’s the standard at the professional level—processing the game as it unfolds and making the right decisions under pressure.
Preparation is where that standard is built. If this team wants to take a step forward, it starts with commitment. That means eliminating complacency—no more optional skates, no more coasting through “maintenance days.” Show up, put in the work, and push the pace in practice. Confidence doesn’t come from talk; it comes from repetition and effort. You practice until execution becomes instinct, until nerves in the first period aren’t even a factor.
And most importantly, it takes full buy-in. Whether a player is making $500K or $5M, the expectation has to be the same: total commitment, every day. That’s how good teams become great ones.
-PJT
Pistol Pete
The Canucks were plenty fast and aggressive tonight.
Imo your post is overthinking the game. Torts wants the team to move the puck north play direct fast and aggressive. That works against anybody when you are able to do it.
Pete Turner
They were—that’s exactly why we spent the first 1.5 periods playing from behind, which has been a recurring pattern for us all season. I’m not overanalyzing; I’m trying to offer constructive solutions to fix these consistently slow, tentative starts.
It’s not that a north-south style is inherently wrong—but when it’s applied against the wrong opponent, it can hurt us badly. We’re still a turnover-prone team, and that’s a major issue. Pair that with inconsistent goaltending, and it’s no surprise the players tighten up. When confidence dips, the game shifts into that hesitant, east-west style instead of the decisive play we need.
To me, this points to a deeper issue: the effectiveness of our practices. Vegas is unique in having such passionate fans who show up in full force—even for practices—and while that support is incredible, it can unintentionally turn those sessions into more of a spectacle than a focused environment for improvement. Add to that the reality that star players don’t always participate fully, and coaches may hesitate to be as critical as needed in a public setting, and it’s fair to question whether we’re maximizing those opportunities.
If closing certain practices to the public would create a more focused, accountable environment, it’s at least worth considering.
Just sayin’
-PJT
TS
PJT, be careful what you wish for! Many fans, who never get to games due to the costs, are allowed in this team’s orbit, to appreciate these guys when not at the games!
We are one of very few teams who allow public practice, and that good will is why they are so popular here!! It would alienate a lot of fans to restrict now…
I get to practice fairly often, and appreciate the oppprtunity!
Jake
Ken seems disappointed that Vegas won.
NAM
I think Ken feels like I feel. Like the org once again kicked everyone in the nuts and their reasoning and timing doesn’t make any sense. It’s his job to write etc, but he’s a passionate fan too. We all want Vegas to win and make the playoffs, but at the same time watching them *barely* beat the worst team in the league so the FO can gloat about the new coach stings a bit.
JB
Needed win. We’ll see what’s next?
Pistol Pete
Another good game from the much maligned Rasmus Andersson.
Pistol Pete
A good performance from the much maligned Adin Hill: 2 GA— 22/24 (.917)
Looks a lot like Torts’ man Carter Hart will play Thursday.
Another nice pre-game appearance on Scripps by the much maligned Kelly McCrimmon.
JB
Nice pregame appearance? What does that even mean?
NAM
That looked like two pretty evenly matched teams and that is not a good thing. Out of the new found effort or spirit or mindset or whatever they are calling it, I didn’t really see it except Reilly Smith who looked like he was playing at a 100% level all night. They need wins to guarantee a playoff spot. So a wins a win, move on.
Pistol Pete
I attended the game. All the players went in 100% 60 minutes against a team playing well enough to give any team in the league fits. As I pointed out above all players good enough to make the NHL are world class players and strong on the puck. You just don’t make the NHL if you are not strong on the puck. Ask any player and they will agree.
Richie-Rich
Game 75 Analysis VGK 4, VAN 2
Here’s the analysis. Same old, same old. Chasing the scoreboard for most of this game. Tortorella didn’t score, and didn’t stop any pucks. What has changed is that instead of the loss or a loser point the team looked to be more energized and came away with the victory. Good start for the new HC.
The passing and turnovers remained sloppy during large portions of this game. A very bad turnover early on, by Hanifan I believe created a 1 on none break that Hill made a save on. It was one of those aw shit moments where you were 99% convinced it was going to be a goal, until it wasn’t.
Doro- just missed clanking the crossbar in this one.
I am hard on this team because, as PP so accurately states, they have the talent and skill to be so much better than what we’ve seen in the results and performance.
Let’s hope this translates into better results going forward.
TS
This late firing , with so few games left, no doubt puts more uncertainty into players’ heads. As much as i liked Cassidy, I’m ready to give this a game or two before i judge. They can’t do much worse , so the worst that can happen now is more losses. It just stinks that this happened so late in the season—players probably didn’t expect this now, either. BAD timing.
Pistol Pete
Canucks were strong on the puck all night long. All NHL players are strong on the puck and strength on the puck can and most games does create turnovers despite the best efforts of the opponents. This game was not more of the same old same old.!The VGK had a good second period after falling behind twice by a goal. Falling behind by a goal is a common occurrence even for the best teams. They carried a lead into the third period and had numerous high danger chances to extend the lead. Solid effort against a team that played well enough to give any team in the league a run for their money.
Richie-Rich
I would agree with you PP if the VGK weren’t consistently falling behind in games this season. Falling Behind and coming back to tie or lose has been the theme for this edition. So, yes – same old same old applies this season. When I see this pattern broken that’s when we’ll see this team turning around.
Rrale
I agree with Pete, the team did look better last night. Vancouver did play a good game. They may be the worst team in the league this year. They do have good players who do not like losing, just like all teams. NHL are the top players in the world. So yes, one team can beat any other team on any given night. Hill did make some nice saves but did leave his pads on the ice for the Kane goal. Hill needs to learn STAY in the net. Would be nice to see our guys not miss as many shots. It is getting old to hear oh he just missed it wide or high, the puck rolled on him when they at 10 feet from the net. Marner’s between the legs shot was a nice surprise to see. Maybe that will open something later for him or a teammate.
Red Baron
I think Dave Goucher should not be allowed to say “Not By Much”
Pistol Pete
Amen. Thank yor Rrale. Glad you can tell when the opposing team plays a good game, a good game that wound translate against the best teams in the league. They have a back to back on the road starting tomorrow against the Avs and the Wild so we’ll see how they do. I knew the majority of posters plus the guy who wrote the recap would discount the win as against the worst team in the league.
knights fan in minny
Go talk to the mirror
Pistol Pete
I think you are like second to me in number of posts posted.
So let’s go back to being a little nicer to each other. Just for the record I have never really had a major issue with you KFIM. Do you actually think the Canucks can give the Wild a good game on Thursday?
knights fan in minny
No one can answer that I don’t control the players if I had to guess the wild Will probably handle them pretty easily but who knows
Larry
Both the Avs and Wild have effectively sewn up their seedings for the playoffs, but both I’m sure do t want to fall into bad habits by relaxing because that can lead to injuries, so to me my estimation would be that the Canucks get totally smoked by each , because they are a really bad team.
TS
I second that!!! Chill, people!!
Canada
Hockey is a business , you have to commend the management for making a big move like this one . if it doesn’t work change something and then change it again. It takes courage and experience to know when to pull the plug , that’s good management . I think we all would like to see a goal tending change and feel like Cassidy was the fall guy for Hills disappointing year. In just a few hour s we see some seemingly obvious changes . Speeding up play and focus on moving the puck forward instead of laterally. seemingly small things but a few small things may be all it takes. This is a formidable team when its playing to its abilities . With Torts past relationship with Hart we might get the perfect storm . It might work it might not but thanks God we have a owner and management group that will not accept mediocrity or failure as many teams do .
Pistol Pete
Agreed Canada though not quite what you mean about Cassidy being the fall guy for Hill. Hill was injured and in any case until recently he was rotating the two goalies. Hill has been looking better the last 12 games: 29/12 =2.417 GAA—215/244 =0.881. His SV% suffers a bit due to the low number of shots the VGK allows (was/still is the fewest in the league) but against VAN he had a .917. He’s been playing better. We’ll see what happens with Hart.
Cassidy was fired imo due to the control he lost in not fixing the slow starts coming down to crunch time as far as making the playoffs. Torts came in and at first glance has some answers Cassidy could not come up with: move the puck up the ice with speed. I like how he switched Marner and Eichel and after awhile was playing the Marner line first. That way Eichel comes out with speed as his line pushes Marner’s. I would like to see him stick with this because for one thing Dorofeyev is a more complete player than when he played with Eichel previously. Better playmaker stronger on the puck.
Canada
Pete You might be right on Hill but he just hasnt in my veiw been there when we needed him. It’s hard to gage how his inconsistent play has effected the belief system of the players . He’s made a few saves but when the rubber hit the road he just wasnt there . He needs to win a few games for us not just survive them . If he does that Maybe the the boys will start believing. Hart could be the answer if he can stay healthy.