Vegas Golden Knights Drop Game One Due To Nightmare First Period

Terrible start leads to the Vegas Golden Knights trailing in a playoff series for the first time.

At long last, the Western Conference Finals are finally here. The Vegas Golden Knights played their first game in six days while the Jets were coming off the biggest win of their history just two days ago. The momentum continued for Winnipeg as they got a huge 4-2 win in game one.

The game did not start the way the Golden Knights wanted. Dustin Byfuglien unleashed a howitzer past Marc-Andre Fleury just 55 seconds into the game. But the Jets didn’t stop there.

Winnipeg added two more goals from Patrik Laine on the power play and a controversial goal by Joel Armia. At first, the referees did not rule that it was a goal. The Jets challanged the play and the NHL ruled that there was no goaltender interference.

Sometimes I don’t understand how the NHL makes these calls. If the goal from Jonathan Marchessault in game two versus San Jose got called back, how was Armia’s ruled a goal? Armia did indeed make contact with Fleury as the puck was going into the net. Either way, the rule needs to be changed in the offseason, so we have some concrete calls and no drama.

Brayden McNabb answered right back on a delayed penalty thanks to an excellent cycle by Reilly Smith and Marchessault. Overall, the first period was a disaster for the Golden Knights. It was a near miracle they were only down two goals heading into the middle frame.

Fleury wasn’t great in the first period as he only stopped nine of 12 Jets shots. Two of the three goals weren’t on him, but Fleury should have had the rocket by Byfuglien. Furthermore, Fleury settled down in the second as the whole team did as well.

However, thanks to a McNabb hooking penalty, the Jets went back to work on the power play. Byfuglien threw another slapshot on goal, and it deflected off of Mark Scheifele for his 12th goal of the playoffs. The goal sent the building into a frenzy much like the first period.

Ben Chairot tripped up James Neal late into the second period, and that gave Vegas some life to get back in the game. Marchessault beautifully setup  William Karlsson for an easy tap-in goal. His fifth goal of the playoffs brought Vegas back within two heading into the third period.

Not a bad second period by the Golden Knights but not definitely a good one either. They didn’t limit Winnipeg’s scoring chances, and they kept taking too many penalties. The plus side is the Golden Knights looked really good on the man advantage and when they create a lot of shots on goal.

In the third period, the Golden Knights had a lot of offensive zone time, but the Jets and Connor Hellebuyck stifled the Vegas attack. Hellebuyck didn’t have to make any excellent saves in this game. And that means the Golden Knights didn’t create any grade-A scoring in this game. The UMass Lowell Riverhawk stopped 19 out of 21 shots on net.

The clock hit zero, and the Jets took a 1-0 series lead. This is the first time all postseason long that the Golden Knights trail in a playoff series. It will be interesting to see how Vegas responds in game two.

There will be a lot of work in the video room as there were too many turnovers from the start of this game. The Golden Knights also passed up a ton of shooting opportunities which was also frustrating to watch. Another thing Gerard Gallant will drill into their heads is staying out of the box.

Vegas Hockey Knight’s Three Stars

3rd Star) Mark Scheifele- One goal, one assist, and two points in 20:26 TOI.

2nd Star) Dustin Byfuglien- One goal, one assist and two points in 24:44 TOI.

1st Star) Blake Wheeler- Three assists in 17:59 TOI.

Next: Vegas Golden Knights: Three Western Conference Finals Predictions

All in all, this was not a great showing by the Vegas Golden Knights. The expansion franchise will have a chance to rebound in game two on Monday. Catch puck drop at 5 PM PT on NBCSN.