Last week on the Knightly Recap, the Vegas Golden Knights faced off against two of the three California teams twice at home and once on the road. The Golden Knights continue to dominate the San Jose Sharks as they defeated them in both home meetings. Also, they continue their winning streak against the Los Angeles Kings this season with a 4-2 win at Staples Center.
This week on the Knightly Recap, the Golden Knights finish off their two game road trip against the Kings. They then have a home game the day after against the St. Louis Blues followed by another two game road trip against the Colorado Avalanche. With that said, welcome to week eleven of the Knightly Recap.
For the first time this season, the Kings were able to stave off the quick and fast-paced Golden Knights with pressured offense and defense. The Kings were also to maintain momentum throughout the first two periods that forced the Knights to commit unnecessary plays that lead to scoring chances and goals. Also, the Kings outshot the Knights through the first two periods 24-18 with forwards Sean Walker and Dustin Brown scoring the first two goals of the game.
However, the Knights wouldn’t give up so easily. They pushed and showed more aggression on the defensive end which led to 24 shots on goal in the final period including forward Tomas Nosek’s third goal of the season. But, Kings forward Jeff Carter responded back 55 seconds later to extend the lead 3-1.
Kings goaltender Cal Petersen seems to be another goalie that the Golden Knights seem to not have figured out yet. Petersen has been the better goaltender between himself and Jonathan Quick when playing in net against the Golden Knights. Also, Petersen’s a main reason why the Kings were able to get their first win against the Knights this season. Petersen saved 41 of 42 shots during the game with most of them coming in the third period.
Final score: 3-1 LAK
So far this season, the Golden Knights haven’t lost twice in a back-to-back scenario. And that’s stands true after how they played in this game against the Blues. For the most part, the Golden Knights got to their game from the start. Unlike last game, they were able to get the puck towards the net as they outshot the Blues 14-6 by the end of the first period.
JUST WHAT WE NEEDED#VegasBorn | @Raising_Canes pic.twitter.com/BRjQw6ZdUJ
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) March 23, 2021
From the second period on, the Golden Knights didn’t slack effort wise as they outperformed the Blues in most statistical areas except for the faceoff percentage. The Knights went 2-for-3 on the power play and had 19 takeaways on the defensive end.
Golden Knights goaltender Robin Lehner is continuing to get his game back after coming back from a concussion he suffered against the Kings on Feb. 7. Lehner wasn’t as busy as his adversary, Jordan Binnington, as he only saved 15 of 16 Blues shots throughout the game. This also speaks to how great the defensive game was that the Knights displayed.
After having many scoring chances in the weeks prior to this game, Golden Knights forward Keegan Kolesar finally scores his first NHL goal. Kolesar scored off a rebound from defenseman Nic Hague’s shot and shot the puck past Binnington’s left pad. Also, Kolesar was named the game’s first star for that memorable first goal moment.
KEEP THAT PUCK, YOUNG MAN#VegasBorn | @Raising_Canes pic.twitter.com/Hqi252loLS
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) March 23, 2021
As good as their defensive game was, the third period is where the Golden Knights shine the most. The Knights scored four unanswered goals after Blues forward Sammy Blais scored during the second period to cut the lead to one. Kolesar, along with forwards Mark Stone and William Karlsson scored all four goals in the third period with Stone scoring twice.
Final score: 5-1 VGK
Despite the Golden Knights having a much needed two day rest, the Avalanche showed them no mercy as they dominated this game from start to finish. Also, the Golden Knights scored the game’s first goal from forward Max Pacioretty.
However, it would be the second period where the Avalanche started to take over scoring four unanswered goals. Avalanche players Joonas Donskoi, J.T. Compher, Cale Makar and Gabriel Landeskog scored all four second period goals within an 11 minute span. To top it off, former Golden Knight Pierre-Edouard Bellemare scored the final goal of the game.
The Avalanche also outscored the Knights 32-19 making this game the most lopsided for the Knights this season. Especially thinking that the Avalanche could potentially be a playoff opponent.
Final score: 5-1 COL
This game wasn’t one-sided as the last game. The Golden Knights wanted to redeem themselves after putting on their most disappointing performance this season. The Avalanche continued where they left off as Donskoi scored the team’s first goal again just 1:16 into the first period. Both teams went back and forth with defensemen Alec Martinez scoring on a power play and Devon Toews responding back 1:03 seconds after Martinez tied the game at one.
that shot was Alectric ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/JzL6pQbql6
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) March 27, 2021
The second and third periods showed no difference between both team’s competitiveness but Knights forward William Carrier scored the second period’s only goal which, once again, tied the game. But, the Knights carried the most momentum during the final period as they had scoring chances in the last five minutes.
As the header states, Pacioretty continues to shine in the extra period as he scored the game winning goal almost two minutes into overtime. Pacioretty scored off a rebound after forward Alex Tuch shot the puck off the post to win the game. Ironically, the final Golden Knights goals all involved the player that gave the Avalanche their second lead of the game, Toews. Toews tried to defend the last two Golden Knights goals but was beat just a second too late.
Final score: 3-2 VGK (OT)
The Golden Knights head back home to Las Vegas, NV to face off against the Kings for the third and fourth times this month in a span of two and a half weeks. Also, the Golden Knights have another back-to-back game. This time against the Minnesota Wild. They’ll face them again the day after the second half of that back-to-back series. The Golden Knights look to continue to keep the sole possession of the top spot in the division.
March has been a great month for the team as players stepped up with injuries continuing to linger the team. Can they repeat their success in March into April? Find out in next week’s Knightly Recap.
