Vegas Golden Knights Goaltender Malcolm Subban Injured in Win Over St. Louis
Goaltending depth will be an issue moving forward for the Vegas Golden Knights.
Yes, the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the St. Louis Blues 3-2 in overtime to improve to 6-1-0 on the young campaign. Yes, it’s the best start to an inaugural season in the 100-year history of the National Hockey League. However, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows for this hockey club.
Let me begin by saying this; this team has already overcome a ton of adversity. When things are looking down, this team finds a way to scratch and claw til they get those crucial two points. Injuries to the top players on this roster such as Marc-Andre Fleury, Erik Haula, and Jonathan Marchessault. The team has stayed calm through thick and thin, but I have no idea how they will react after last nights significant injury.
Malcolm Subban was on a role last night making 37 of 38 saves; it just seemed that he was finally settling into a groove. Halfway through the third period, Blues forward Jaden Schwartz took a shot that missed wide and Subban overextended for it and went down in pain. That was not what the Golden Knights needed at this time especially with Fleury out with a concussion.
Subban had to be helped off the ice which is never a good sign. Backup goalie Oscar Dansk took over the crease and did pretty solid when called upon in the third. It’s never easy when you come off the bench cold when your last warmup session was two and half hours prior. Dansk did let in the first shot he saw when Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo fired a slap shot past the third string goaltender to tie the game at two with five minutes to go.
After that, Dansk settled in and made ten consecutive saves and a couple of timely stops to earn his first NHL win. Head Coach Gerard Gallant threw Dansk in the fire, and the 23-year old netminder survived and did a fantastic job. It was an excellent goaltending performance from both Subban and Dansk combining for 47 saves on 49 shots.
The Stockholm, Sweden native signed as a free agent with the Golden Knights to bolster their organizational goaltending depth. The former Columbus Blue Jackets second-round pick in 2012 was highly regarded as a top prospect. However, his performance hasn’t lived up to his fullest potential. But he has a chance to erase all that away with a good run with Fleury and Subban out for the foreseeable future.
As for Subban, his timetable doesn’t look very promising. A possible groin injury is one of the worst injuries you can have as an NHL goaltender. The Vegas Golden Knights will likely callup Maxim Lagace to the big club and take Subban’s spot on the roster.
Next: Vegas Golden Knights Defenseman Brad Hunt Is Making Strides.
It’s the Oscar Dansk show for now in Vegas. But how long can the Golden Knights go without their number one AND number two goaltenders? The NHL’s newest franchise needs to start getting healthy because if they don’t, their hot start will get catch up to them and they will fall hard.