Golden Knights Lousy Against Red Wings, Lose Third Straight

The Vegas Golden Knights (28-15-2, 58 points) put together another lackluster performance and lost their third-straight game 3-2 to the Detroit Red Wings (18-17-8, 44 points). Both Mark Stone and William Carrier remained out of the lineup, which was apparent in how the team played. Adin Hill started.

Everyone was silent on the Golden Knights roster and inside T-Mobile Area as the VGK played one of their lousiest games of the season. Jack Eichel and Chandler Stephenson didn't show up, the defensive coverage was atrocious, and the team lacked puck control as the rebuilding Red Wings controlled the game.

FIRST PERIOD

• The Misfit line started out the game with one of their patented rush chances. William Karlsson was unable to feed Jonathan Marchessault.
• Adin Hill was forced to make some big scramble saves on the Red Wings' fourth line after Alex Pietrangelo turned over the puck.
• 1-0 DET GOAL- Too much time and space was given to Dylan Larkin, who found Lucas Raymond on the doorstep for an easy goal.
• The Golden Knights had a rough time breaking out the puck and turned over pucks to the Red Wings, which led to some chances.
• The Misfit Line of Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson, and Reilly Smith was the only line to generate anything offensively.
• Michael Amadio almost cleaned up a rebound chance for a goal, but fell and ran into the boards instead.
• 1-1 VGK GOAL- The Misfits won the puck, and the VGK went D-to-D for an Alex Pietrangelo one-timer goal.

SECOND PERIOD

• Nicolas Hague turned the puck over to Lucas Raymond, who went in on a break and was stopped by the pad of Adin Hill.
• DET PP- Nicolas Hague then took a tripping penalty, which sent the Red Wings to their first powerplay.
• 2-1 DET GOAL- Some nice passing by the Red Wings resulted in Dominik Kubalik scoring on the man advantage.
• The Golden Knights had a chance, with Chandler Stephenson feeding Phil Kessel in front of the net.
• 3-1 DET GOAL- After the Golden Knights almost woke up, Joe Veleno cut behind Nicolas Hague and scored.
• Jack Eichel, and the rest of the Golden Knight's offense, minus the Misfits, looked invisible.
• If you turned the game off at this point, you didn't miss much.

THIRD PERIOD

• Bruce Cassidy put his line combinations in a blender once more.
• Visible frustration started to kick in for the Golden Knights as some extra pushes and shoves were exchanged.
• Brayden McNabb had the best chance of the period, receiving a pass from Paul Cotter, but he was stopped.
• Adin Hill was pulled with just over two minutes remaining in the game.
• 3-2 VGK GOAL- Jack Eichel's pass hits William Karlsson and went in with 42.5 left. 
• Bruce Cassidy used his timeout immediately after.
• But it was too little too late for the Golden Knights, who lost in regulation.

GOLDEN KNIGHTS NOTES

• The Golden Knights remain lost without captain Mark Stone.
• Both Jack Eichel and Chandler Stephenson, players who are expected to step up in these circumstances, did not.
• Nicolas Hague had a bad game, plain and simple, with several defensive mistakes and a penalty that resulted in a goal.
• The Golden Knights traded three draft picks to the Red Wings in 2018 for Tomas Tatar. One of them became Joe Veleno, who scored tonight.
• This was the sixth straight game the Golden Knights have played a T-Mobile Arena. Perhaps a road trip will kick them in gear.
• Apparently, Jonathan Marchessault gave a pep talk to the Golden Knight's after the 4-0 loss to the Stars. I would expect another tonight. 
• I know a lot of VGK fans are fearing for the worst and seeing the similarities to last year's team. But it's a long season anything can happen.

VHN's Player of the Game: Shea Weber

Up Next: The Golden Knights will finally finish up their seven-game homestand Saturday against the Washington Capitals at 7:00. Afterwards, they begin a six-game road trip that is broken up by the 2023 NHL All-Star Weekend.