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Golden Knights Analysis

Golden Knights Collapse; Penalty Kill Failures, Quick Records 400th Win

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Jonathan Quick (Photo/Screenshot- New York Rangers PR via Twitter)

The Vegas Golden Knights (31-16-6) desperately needed a get-right game. Through 40 minutes tonight, it looked like they were getting just that. They forechecked, they backchecked, and they kept their game simple. But in the final 20 minutes, they crumbled.



Credit where it’s due— the New York Rangers (25-23-4) played very well. They were aggressive, they were physical, and they were desperate. The Golden Knights weren’t outplayed. The Rangers simply capitalized on their chances.

“They capitalized on their chances,” said Nic Hague. “Especially on the power play… We did a lot of things well up until the second period… We just have to find ways to come out on the right side of those games.”

The first period was evenly matched and very physical. The fourth line was noticeable for all the right reasons and then some. They struggled to maintain the offensive momentum in their last game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, but that was not the case tonight.

Today’s game was nastier than the Golden Knights have seen recently, and the first instance of that came in the first period. Shea Theodore shot the puck over the glass, which would have sent the Rangers to the man advantage. Instead, however, they played 4-on-4, as Matt Rempe threw a late hit on Theodore, negating the power play.

At the end of the first period, the Golden Knights got their first and only power play. Jack Eichel looked for a shooting lane, waited out K’Andre Miller, and used Tomáš Hertl as a screen to wrist one past Jonathan Quick blocker side.

The Rangers tied the game just over a minute into the second period. Alexis Lafrenière exited the zone and passed to Reilly Smith at center ice. Smith entered the offensive zone and left the puck for Adam Fox. Fox threaded a pass cross-ice back to Lafrenière, who had a wide-open net to shoot into.

The Golden Knights responded well and regained the lead eight minutes later. Ivan Barbashev won a board battle in the defensive zone, and Jack Eichel came up with the puck. Eichel left the puck for Shea Theodore, who passed to Keegan Kolesar. Kolesar one-touched it back to Eichel, who skated up the middle of the ice uncontested. Eichel used Vincent Trocheck as a screen and scored from about 40 feet out.

Four minutes into the third period, Brett Howden hauled Matt Rempe down while backchecking and sent the Rangers to their first power play of the night. After a failed clearing attempt, the Rangers cycled the puck. Artemi passed to JT Miller, who ripped a shot on net. It got through Adin Hill, and Mika Zibanejad crashed the net and banged it in.

You could feel the Rangers’ go-ahead goal coming. The Rangers had sustained zone pressure, and the Golden Knights couldn’t clear after Will Borgen hit the post. Some excellent passing (and some puck luck) on the Rangers end resulted in Mika Zibanejad getting the puck below the goal line. Zibanejad found K’Andre Miller, who rocketed a one-timer over Hill’s shoulder.

Despite several valiant efforts to find the equalizer, K’Andre Miller’s goal stood as the game-winner. Chris Kreider broke up ice and got positioning on Alex Pietrangelo, and Pietrangelo took a hooking penalty. Artemi Panarin added the dagger on the ensuing power play.

And just like that, the Rangers swept the season series.

“It’s frustrating,” said Jack Eichel. “I think we did a lot of good things through 40 minutes, and to let it slip away, it’s not a great feeling. It’s a 60-minute game, and we have to find a way to finish it off. We’ll learn from it and get better… We have to come back ready to play on Tuesday and get a win.”

Golden Knights Notes

Prior to tonight, the Golden Knights were 19-2-1 when leading after two periods. On the flip side, the Rangers were 1-20-1 when trailing after two periods. The Golden Knights fall to 19-3-1; the Rangers improve to 2-20-1.

The Rangers came out swinging in the third period, and I mean that literally. Will Cuylle threw a big hit on Alex Pietrangelo, and Nic Hague rushed to Pietrangelo’s defense. Cuylle and Hague dropped the gloves. I typically hate when players have to fight after clean hits, but this was an exception. The Golden Knights were down 3-2, and this fight ignited something in them. They really, really pushed after the scrap.

Tonight’s game was a very physical affair. In the end, the Rangers outhit the Golden Knights 38-22.

Bruce Cassidy said something postgame that stood out to me. Maybe it means something, maybe it doesn’t. But I liked it nonetheless. He said: “‘Frustrating’ usually means you’re not focused on what you need to do… It’s an easy word to use, but I’ve always felt that it’s not a good emotion to play on.”

Jonathan Quick recorded his 400th NHL win tonight. He is just the 15th goaltender to do so. Quick was already the winningest American-born goaltender in NHL history, so he’s now the first American-born goaltender to reach 400 wins.

Tomáš Hertl failed to record a point tonight. His point streak will end at eleven games, one shy of tying the franchise record.

“It’s going to take a full team effort,” said Jack Eichel postgame. “We all need to be better. At the beginning of the year, it seemed like we were confident going into those third periods. We’ve played with a lot of leads and been able to put teams away, and as of late, that’s slipped a little. It’s frustrating. We have to figure out a way to get out of this. We’re going through a little bit of adversity now. We all just have to dig in and be better for each other.”

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