Vegas Golden Knights: William Karlsson Records Natural Hat Trick VS Flames

The leading goal scorer on the Vegas Golden Knights drove his team to a 4-0 victory.

With frustration boiling over, the Vegas Golden Knights held a mini team meeting following Friday’s loss to Minnesota. Nobody said anything about the gathering, but you have to think the leaders in the locker room had to get the message through to the younger players. The last two home games at T-Mobile Arena have been a disaster for the NHL’s newest franchise.

An embarrassing 8-3 defeat at the hands of the New Jersey Devils and a complete no-show in the first two periods against the Wild. Next up for the Golden Knights is a struggling division rival in the Calgary Flames. The Flames need to start putting up some points, or their playoff hopes will go up in smoke.

Before the game, I was shocked to hear from Gerard Gallant that Marc-Andre Fleury was receiving another start. I thought for sure Malcolm Subban would start against Calgary. In my opinion, I thought it was time to start resting Flower down the stretch. Luckily, I’m not the coach because he earned his fourth shutout of the season in a 4-0 victory.

The first period started off much like the game against the Wild. The team was slow, losing one on one battles and forcing too many turnovers. The Flames dominated the first outshooting the Golden Knights 19-5.

Fleury got put to work right away in this one as he stopped all 19 shots he faced. However, Vegas survived the first and came alive in a big way in the middle frame. Even when the Golden Knights had poor stretches, they handled adversity very well over the course of the season.

In the second, the switch flipped for the Golden Knights as Ryan Reaves bowled over TJ Brodie. Reaves sized up Brodie for a clean body check below the goal line, and that’s when the tide changed in this game. Dougie Hamilton took a tripping penalty shortly after, and the Golden Knights went to work.

Colin Miller ripped a shot from the point that deflected off of Michael Stone in front and past Mike Smith for goal number ten of the season. The hit from Reaves immediately sent a much-needed spark to the Golden Knights bench. Shortly after Miller’s goal, the floodgates opened for the Golden Knights and William Karlsson.

On a mini two on one rush, “Real Deal” James Neal made a quick pass to Karlsson who roofed one for his 37th goal of the year. That play was a thing of beauty right from the start, a true goal scorers goal. The Flames had no answer for Karlsson as he went on a scoring parade for the rest of the second.

Karlsson took a Jonathan Marchessault pass from behind the net and found a hole past Smith for his 38th of the year. Marchessault finally registered his first point in eight games, and it came at no greater time for Vegas. And no, Karlsson was not done yet.

Nate Schmidt fed Karlsson in the defensive zone creating another two on one opportunity. Karlsson’s lane for the pass was closed off so he quickly wristed one stick side on the Flames goaltender and into the back of the net. The hats came flying onto the ice in celebration for the Marsta, Sweden native.

The Golden Knights locked it down in the third period and shut down the Calgary Flames by a score of 4-0. Fleury saw 42 shots and stopped them all en route to his fourth shutout of the season. A strong game overall for the Golden Knights as they’re back on the winning track.

Three Stars

3rd Star: Ryan Reaves

Without his hit, this game may look different. There’s no doubt the players feed off his energy and intensity on the ice. If he keeps making plays like that, the entire NHL will have to keep their head up when 75 is on the ice.

2nd Star: Marc-Andre Fleury

All in all, Fleury was simply outstanding all game long. 42 saves is no joke at the NHL level. Timely saves once again from the three-time Stanley Cup champion. He would’ve been the number one star if it wasn’t for the future 40-goal scorer.

1st Star: William Karlsson

Karlsson completely took this game over and lifted his team on his shoulders. The 25-year old scored his 37th, 38th and 39th goals consecutively in the second period for a natural hat trick. With ten games left, big number 40 is on the horizon for Karlsson.

Next: Vegas Golden Knights Struggling On Home Ice

Overall, this was precisely the type of game the Golden Knights needed at T-Mobile Arena. They look to continue their winning ways on Tuesday as the Vancouver Canucks, and former Golden Knight Brendan Leipsic come to town. Catch puck drop at 7 PM PT with Dave Goucher and Shane Hnidy on AT&T Sportsnet.