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Golden Knights Analysis

Losing Streak Over; Knights Hold On To Beat Blues 4-2

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The Vegas Golden Knights (30-14-4) entered tonight’s matchup against the St. Louis Blues (23-22-4) in need of a win. You could sense their desperation from the drop of the puck. They held onto that desperation for a full 60 minutes while maintaining sound defensive structure.



The Golden Knights played one of their more stifling games this season. The Blues didn’t manage their fifth shot on net until over halfway through the game. Jake Neighbours recorded their 10th shot on net at 5:35 in the third period. The final shot total was 31-17 in favor of the Golden Knights.

The Golden Knights avoided a slow start and struck just 19 seconds into the game. Blues defenseman Cam Fowler retrieved the puck and attempted to pass it up the middle. Mark Stone stole the puck, got positioning on Fowler, went skate-to-stick, and beat Joel Hofer glove side. The Blues organist then played a rendition of ‘Forget You’ by CeeLo Green, which I appreciated.

Eleven seconds after a strong but unsuccessful power play, the Golden Knights added to their lead. Alex Pietrangelo worked the puck to Ivan Barbashev from below the goal line. Barbashev found Victor Olofsson all alone in the slot, and Olofsson blasted it home to beat Hofer for his 11th goal of the season.

The Golden Knights were much better at containing the Blues in the neutral zone tonight. This goal was the rare exception. Dylan Holloway entered the zone and dropped it back to Jordan Kyrou. Completely unmarked, Kyrou skated to the right dot and fired a shot that beat Ilya Samsonov far side.

Back on the power play, Jack Eichel plays catch with Tomáš Hertl. Eichel puts Robert Thomas in a spin cycle and passes back to Hertl. Hertl slid the puck across the crease to Pavel Dorofeyev, who one-timed it into the empty net. This ties Dorofeyev with Hertl for the team lead in power play goals with nine.

The third period was low event in the best possible way. The Blues pulled Hofer for the extra attacker with over five and a half minutes remaining in the third period, and it paid off. Justin Faulk passed to Pavel Buchnevich, who fired a clapper on net. Samsonov kicked away the shot, but Robert Thomas managed to stuff the puck over Samsonov’s pad and under the blocker.

After a string of games where the bounces didn’t go their way, the Golden Knights finally got some puck luck tonight. Alex Pietrangelo tried to find Tomáš Hertl for the empty net, but Pavel Buchnevich knocked the pass down at center ice. Blues defenseman Jordan Faulk couldn’t handle the bouncing puck, and Hertl collected it and fired it into the empty net.

Golden Knights Notes

With their win tonight, the Golden Knights are now 15-5-3 this season when scoring the game’s first goal.

Victor Olofsson’s goal tonight made him the first player in Vegas Golden Knights history to reach a ten-game point streak on the road. He has seven goals and seven assists over that time frame. Olofsson has 18 points in 26 games this season. Not bad for a guy who signed for $1.075 million.

Tomáš Hertl’s empty-net goal gives him goals in four straight games and extends his active point streak to seven games. Hertl recorded six shots on net and nine shot attempts.

Shea Theodore did not record a point tonight, snapping his point streak at five games.

Tonight’s game was very, very poorly officiated. Several penalties went uncalled for both teams—like when Joel Hofer tripped up Jack Eichel right in front of an official—and all three penalties called in the second period were arguably not penalties.

The Golden Knights extended their point streak against the St. Louis Blues to eight games.