Finally! A win!
In game two of a weekend back-to-back, the Vegas Golden Knights (10-9-3) were finally able to snap their five-game losing streak, at home against the reigning Pacific Division Champion Calgary Flames (10-10-3). Throughout the losing streak, the Golden Knights fell victim to dormant offense and leaky defense, two characteristics missing from the 6-0 slump-buster.
The Golden Knights fought hard to snap their losing streak on Sunday (USA Today Sports)
A game between any combination of the San Jose Sharks, Arizona Coyotes, Golden Knights, or Flames has the potential for fireworks and Sunday evening's game was no different. Matthew Tkachuk and Marc-Andre Fleury have history with one another and the two mixed it up on a few occasions. Tempers flared and Fleury admittedly had to "control myself" amid the chaos and the post-whistle scrums.
The never-shy Reaves was sure to make himself seen and heard (USA Today Sports)
Ryan Reaves and William Carrier wreaked havoc on the Flames with their aggressive, physical play. On more than one occasion, Reaves and Milan Lucic exchanged "pleasantries", somehow avoiding fisticuffs. The Flames have yet to win a game in the T-Mobile Arena and were just what the doctor ordered for the reeling Golden Knights. Often times in games against the Golden Knights, the Flames can't decide if they want to be skilled or tough guys and the half-and-half result has resulted in far more losses than wins.
The Depth!:
William Karlsson and Reilly Smith continue to run the top line (USA Today Sports)
Part of the Golden Knights' recent struggles are directly correlated to a lack of depth scoring. In an attempt to find some, coach Gerard Gallant threw the lines in a blender and ended up with the following units.
Pacioretty - Karlsson - Smith
Marchessault - Eakin - Stone
Glass - Stastny - Tuch
Carrier - Nosek - Reaves
The new-look lines started to gel in the win over the Flames, with goals coming from players on each of the top three lines. William Karlsson (2), Paul Stastny, Max Pacioretty, Cody Eakin, and Mark Stone all lit the lamp in this one making Gallant look like a savant. Something surely needed to change and the line shuffle may have been it. Or maybe it was waiving Brandon Pirri the morning prior? Who knows!
Typically, teams don't look good in prolonged losing streaks, but the Golden Knights dominated the underlying stats while they lost games. Their defense has a propensity for bad line changes and big mistakes that result in goals. They often fell victim to momentary lapses in judgement on the defensive side of the game. With a clean-ish performance, they were able to get a win and snap their franchise-worst (tied) five-game skid.
Marc-Andre Fleury is as good as ever (USA Today Sports)
Fleury outdueled Cam Talbot, stopping all 34 shots sent his direction. The shutout was the 58th of his long, potentially Hall of Fame, career. The man they call Flower still has it at 35-years-old and doesn't seem to be letting up any time soon. His strong performance put the Golden Knights back in the win column with their biggest rivals - the San Jose Sharks - coming into town later this week (Thursday).
Surely, the Golden Knights are hoping to build on this game and go on a prolonged winning streak. They find themselves in fourth place in the Pacific Division, just one point behind the third-place Vancouver Canucks. The losing streak looked AND felt bad, but the team is in good shape as they prepare to host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday evening.
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