Golden Knights Gameday
Robin Lehner, Vegas Golden Knights Dominate Ducks In 4-0 Win
The Vegas Golden Knights kept rolling Friday night with a dominating 4-0 win over the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center. Robin Lehner made 16 saves for his first shutout of the season.
William Karlsson, Chandler Stephenson, Nic Roy and Brayden McNabb all scored for the Golden Knights.
The win is the fifth straight for the Golden Knights. With the win and the Colorado Avalanche on pause for COVID-19, the VGK are now within two points of first place in the Honda West Division. They will have a rematch with the Ducks on Sunday.
Golden Grades:
Goaltending – B
You’re asking how I can give anything less than an A for a shutout, right? Lehner didn’t have a lot to do until the third period, and when he was tested he did answer the bell. Lehner was good, and that’s really all he needed to be.
Defense – A
The VGK defense did a great job of holding the Ducks to low-grade scoring chances and few shots. Even when Anaheim tried to use speed on the rush, the communication with the D was excellent and they were able to head off just about every chance against. An impressive outing for the defense top to bottom.
Forwards – A
If you didn’t watch the game, it’s hard to explain how much the Golden Knights hemmed the Ducks in their own zone. Vegas was able to move the puck in the offensive zone with ease, setting up Grade A scoring chances time and time again. This is exactly what you want to see out of the forwards on a nightly basis.
Special Teams – C-
Once again, the power play failed to score. They did generate some chances but not putting the puck in the net when you’re scoring five-on-five does worry me even if it doesn’t seem to bother many VGK observers. This is something they have to figure out sooner than later. There were times they couldn’t even enter the zone with the extra man. Not good.
The Takeaways:
- Chandler Stephenson was awarded a penalty shot in the third period after Ducks goalie John Gibson threw his stick at Stephenson on a break. Gibson stopped Stephenson when he tried to go five-hole. The penalty shot was the seventh in franchise history, they have scored on three of them.
- Robin Lehner only faced 10 shots through the first two periods, but did make a few key saves along the way. He seems to be seeing the puck better through traffic now than he did before his injury, which is a tremendous positive. Lehner finished with 16 saves for the shutout, his first this season and the team’s sixth.
- Outside of special teams, the Golden Knights really dominated the Ducks in every aspect on Friday night. Zone time easily favored the VGK, as they finished the game with 51 shots on goal versus just 16 for the Ducks. The puck movement was excellent, the Golden Knights won the board battles, and they just took the game to the Ducks from the outset.