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Vegas Golden Knights

Golden Knights Don’t Have Luck of the Irish in Rough Loss To Flames

The Vegas Golden Knights (42-21-6, 90 points) returned from their road trip and lost a Pacific Divisi…

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The Vegas Golden Knights (42-21-6, 90 points) returned from their road trip and lost a Pacific Division matchup against the Calgary Flames (31-24-14, 76 points) by a score of 7-2. This marks the first-ever win by the Flames at T-Mobile Arena.

No lineup changes were made by head coach Bruce Cassidy outside of Paul Cotter and Brett Howden switching lines. Injured goaltenders Logan Thompson and Laurent Brossoit both skated on their own before Thursday morning's practice.

FIRST PERIOD

  • Both teams were limited to chances from the outside early on. Michael Amadio got a strange bounce on goal.
  • The game had a physical edge to it early with both Ivan Barbashev and Nicolas Hague throwing strong hits.
  • The offense continued to be hard to come by as the Flames clogged both their own zone and the neutral zone.
  • The first player to almost break through was Brayden McNabb, who had two shots, one of which was stopped. 
  • The other Brayden McNabb shot hit the crossbar and McNabb celebrated as if the puck was in, which it was not.
  • 1-0 CGY GOAL- The Flames scored the first goal of the game with Mackenzie Weegar firing one from the point.
  • Nikita Zadorov and Paul Cotter collided right near the Flames bench, sending both airborne.
  • VGK PP- Milan Lucic was called for interference, putting the Golden Knights on their first powerplay of the game.

SECOND PERIOD

  • Pavel Dorofeyev got a good chance on the powerplay, getting a shot off Phil Kessel's rebound, but he put it wide.
  • 2-0 CGY GOAL- The Flames leading goal scorer, Tyler Toffoli rushed to the net and got the best of his former teammate, Jonathan Quick.
  • FIGHT- Paul Cotter dropped the gloves with Troy Stecher for his first career NHL fight, ripping his jersey in the process. 
  • VGK PP- Tyler Toffoli was caught tripping the feet of William Karlsson.
  • Jonathan Huberdeau got a chance shorthanded but missed the net wide on his backhand attempt.
  • 2-1 VGK GOAL- Zach Whitecloud pinched after some VGK offensive pressure and scored on a wrist shot.
  • Reilly Smith stripped a Flames defender of the puck and went in on Jakob Markstrom but missed the net.
  • 2-2 VGK GOAL- But on that same shift, William Karlsson found Reilly Smith right at the side of the net for a goal.
  • 3-2 CGY GOAL- The Flames answered with another spray and pray goal. Elias Lindholm's centering feed hit Blake Coleman's stick and went in.

THIRD PERIOD

  • VGK PP- Mackenzie Weegar sailed the puck into the stands and got a delay of game penalty as a result.
  • Right as the powerplay expired, William Karlsson received a pass in the slot but shot it into Jakob Markstrom.
  • CGY PP- Brett Howden's stick came up and hit Rasmus Andersson and was called for a high stick.
  • 4-2 CGY GOAL- The Flames got another wacky bounce that resulted in a goal as Mikael Backlund scored from behind the net.
  • 5-2 CGY GOAL- After Andrew Mangiapane rushed to the net, Tyler Toffoli cleaned up his rebound and scored his second of the game.
  • VGK PP- Blake Coleman was called for holding, giving the Golden Knights a last-chance powerplay opportunity.
  • Desperate, head coach Bruce Cassidy and the Golden Knights bench pulled Jonathan Quick and used their timeout with over five minutes left.
  • 6-2 CGY GOAL- Blake Coleman added an insurance empty-net goal.
  • 7-2 CGY GOAL- Dillon Dube added insult to injury, scoring the Flames' seventh goal of the night.
  • CGY PP- Alec Martinez was called for tripping with 2:49 left in the game.

GOLDEN KNIGHTS NOTES

  • The Calgary Flames played a very Darryl Sutter-like game, playing strong defensively and getting goals off fortuitous bounces. 
  • Paul Cotter got into his first career NHL fight against Troy Stecher in the second period. He had two fights in the minors with the Silver Knights.
  • Playing alongside Reilly Smith and William Karlsson, Pavel Dorofeyev had another strong offensive game but lacked the points.
  • Reilly Smith now has three goals and six assists in his last seven games. If he scores next game, it will be a career-high point streak.
  • Playoff-Relevant Games on 3/16: BOS 3, WPG 2. CHI 2, NSH 1. EDM 4, DAL 1. LAK v CBJ (late), SJS v SEA (late).
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VHN's Player of the Game: Paul Cotter

Up Next: The Golden Knights will play their final game of the regular season against an Eastern Conference opponent on Sunday when they play the Columbus Blue Jackets at 1:00 p.m. at home.