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Golden Knights Analysis

I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues; Knights Miss Out On Golden Opportunity

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Jack Eichel, Mark Stone

The Vegas Golden Knights (29-14-4) stole a point tonight against the St. Louis Blues (23-21-4) but ultimately fell in the shootout, extending their winless streak to four. Even though they secured a point in the standings, tonight’s game reeks of missed opportunities.



Right from the drop of the puck, the Golden Knights struggled to defend in the neutral zone. Robert Thomas accepted a stretch pass from Ryan Suter at center ice and walked right down into the slot fairly uncontested. Adin Hill made the save, but that set the tone for the rest of the night.

The first goal of the game came off the rush. Tomáš Hertl won the faceoff, but Alex Pietrangelo shot it wide. Ryan Suter collected the puck and sent it ahead to Jordan Kyrou, who one-touched it to Dylan Holloway. Holloway entered the zone and fed Blues Captain Brayden Schenn, who scored his 15th goal of the season to break the ice.

The Golden Knights responded well. A hard-working shift from the fourth line sent them to the power play, and a good keep-in by Shea Theodore resulted in Tomáš Hertl putting home Pavel Dorofeyev’s rebound.

The Blues pulled ahead with 17 seconds to go in the first period. After a failed clearing attempt, Radek Faksa found Philip Broberg, who threw it on net. Hill made the initial save, but Nathan Walker slammed home the rebound.

The third Blues goal came 6:31 into the second period when Jake Neighbours found space on the high cycle. He walked right down Main Street into the left dot and beat Hill blocker-side.

The Golden Knights again responded and did so less than a minute later. William Karlsson dropped it back for Brayden McNabb. McNabb passed to Shea Theodore, who blasted a shot towards the net. Brandon Saad blocked Shea’s shot, but the puck bounced right to Brett Howden, who spun and flung it past Jordan Binnington.

With less than a minute to go in the second period, Alexander Holtz tripped Philip Broberg. Cam Fowler made them pay with his fourth goal in 17 games as a St. Louis Blue.

The third period was a muck-fest. The Golden Knights couldn’t get anything going. And then, just when you thought all hope was lost, they struck twice in the last four minutes with Hill pulled for the extra attacker. Shea Theodore and Alex Pietrangelo played catch. Theodore passed back to Eichel, who ripped it past Binnington blocker-side. With less than 29 seconds left, Pavel Dorofeyev sent the game to overtime.

The Golden Knights got their chances in overtime. Oh, did they ever. Just over a minute in, Mark Stone and Jack Eichel had a two-on-one. Stone found Eichel back, but Eichel slid it through the empty crease. With 27 seconds to go, Stone had a breakaway but shot it wide.

Golden Knights Notes

The Golden Knights are now 14-9-1 on the season when allowing the first goal of the game.

Jack Eichel scored to snap a six-game goalless drought. He’s not finding the back of the net as much this season– his playmaking abilities, however, are better than ever– and his shooting percentage is a career-low 8.3.

Tomáš Hertl scored on the power play to extend his point streak to six games. He has five goals and four assists over that stretch.

Tonight was another great one for Shea Theodore. He factored in on every Golden Knights goal to record a four-point night. He also extended his point streak and has a goal and nine assists over the last five games.

The power play continues to operate as well as a top-five unit should. The Golden Knights have at least one power play goal in six straight games.

By reaching overtime, the Golden Knights extended their point streak against St. Louis to seven games. They’ll meet again next game at Enterprise Center on Thursday.