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Golden Knights Fall 3-1 to the L.A. Kings |
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The puck luck simply wasn’t there for the Golden Knights As they fell 3-1 to the LA Kings last night in preseason game three. Here are some observations:
The Knights special teams were disorganized
Whether it was coverage issues on the PK or players failing to find open space on the powerplay, the Knights struggled on special teams. In one Vegas powerplay in the first the Kings even outshot the Knights. Expect a more concise effort in today’s rematch.
LA controlled the outside
The game could have gone differently if Sparks hadn’t stood on his head, but the Kings also handily controlled the outside in the offensive zone. The Knights need to manage their gaps better.
Here are a few notes on each line:
Pacioretty-Stephenson-Stone
Stephenson was generating chances with his speed. He brought the most urgency of all players on the roster. Garret Sparks completely shut this line down despite several high danger opportunities.
Krebs-Patrick-Dadonov
Patrick is showing some of the poise he was drafted for. He dealt the puck with crisp urgency. This line had an incredible shift in the second and drew a penalty.
Howden-Roy-Kolesar
This line looked much better with Carrier on the left wing. That said, it was the only line on for a goal. Nic Roy picked up an assist on Miromanov’s goal, but left the game holding his back late in the third.
Cotter-Quinney-Brown
This line was used sparingly. Paul Cotter got moved onto a line with Patrick and Dadonov in the 2nd period.
Hague-Coghlan
DeBoer mentioned Coghlan has NHL powerplay potential and he got a look last night. Coghlan showed some excellent agility walking the blue line. Hague put in another solid performance.
Pouliot-Whitecloud
Very quiet night for this pairing. The two ran a good breakout with some good reads though.
Miromanov-Korczak
This pairing lost a corner battle at the beginning of the first and the sequence led to Brendan Lemieux scoring off a cross crease feed from Austin Strand. The pairing failed to stop a 2-on-2 in the second that led to a goal for Lias Andersson from Gabe Vilardi. Korczak’s physical style isn’t translating at this level and you can expect him to be sent down to Henderson pretty soon. Miromanov scored Vegas’ only goal with a glorious snipe over the left shoulder of Sparks.
Lehner
Lehner wasn’t the reason the Golden Knights lost. While he could have stood on his head for a couple goals against; he put in a solid game. Unfortunately he was taken out of the game for precautionary reasons — a nagging injury surfaced.
Dylan Ferguson
Ferguson went in for the third and faired alright. Arthur Kaliev snuck one past him on the powerplay after a scramble in front of the net.
The Golden Knights would probably like that game back. The good news is they get another shot at the Kings tonight at 8pm.
Thanks for reading,
Trevor Neufeld
Vegas Golden Knights Blogger • 
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