Vegas Golden Knights: Three Takeaways from Ottawa victory
It took a Shootout but the Vegas Golden Knights were able to squeeze by the Ottawa Senators by a score of 3-2 at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday night.
The Vegas Golden Knights prepared for a three-game road trip in perfect fashion by edging a close-fought contest against the Senators, with both netminders on top of their games for their respective teams.
Reilly Smith‘s golden touch in-front of goal continued as he netted his sixth goal of the year from a Jonathan Marchessault helper, although it was a tied game in no time thanks to Thomas Chabot‘s sublime wrister after toe-dragging the puck past Paul Stastny.
Nick Holden ensured that the Golden Knights would take a slender lead into the first intermission break, however, after sending an absolute rocket of a one-timer past Anders Nilsson on the power play..
Both Nilsson and Marc-Andre Fleury were in absolute unstoppable form between the pipes which contributed to a scoreless second period, with the former going on to record an NHL career-high 52 saves for the Senators.
Overtime was confirmed, though, when Jean-Gabriel Pageau pounced on a Tyler Ennis rebound but neither team could grab the winner at 3-on-3.
So the game’s fate would be decided by a shootout and it went five rounds with Jonathan Marchessault eventually coming up with the goods to win it for Vegas, with Brandon Pirri and Shea Theodore also successful in the shootout for the Knights.
Here were our three takeaways from the Golden Knights’ 3-2 success over the Ottawa Senators…
1. Fleury’s Brilliance
Marc-Andre Fleury has been absolutely lights out to begin the 2019-20 NHL Regular Season and he’s proving that there is life in the old dog yet.
Carrying the majority of the workload with Malcolm Subban currently day-to-day, Fleury has proved with every passing game so far this year that he really doesn’t need load management.
Even at the grand old age of 34, Fleury’s lateral movement in the crease is among the best in the NHL and he is proving why he is still considered an elite goalie.
In eight games and seven starts this year, Fleury has carved out a 5-2-0 record with a 2.46 Goals Against Average and a .926 Save Percentage.
He has been sensational and it just proves the old adage right that you need elite goaltending in order to be successful in the National Hockey League.
The Vegas Golden Knights are certainly getting that at the moment.
And Fleury arguably produced one of his most eye-catching performances of the year against the Ottawa Senators, stopping 37 of 39 shots including all eight shots he faced on the Senators’ power play.
But it was the nature of some of those saves that really impressed, be it the aggressive poke check when Fleury came charging out of his crease in the first period, the unbelievable glove save without a glove in the middle period or the absolute ridiculous pad save to rob Connor Brown in Overtime.
It was another stellar night from Vegas’ future Hall of Famer and any success they enjoy this year will be in large part down to the brilliance of Marc-Andre Fleury between the pipes.
2. Special Teams Reign Supreme Again
It seems that we have talked about Special Teams an awful lot recently, but only because they keep on getting the job done for the Vegas Golden Knights.
In tight games such as this one was on Thursday, you live and die by the performance of your Special Teams and that was certainly a driving force behind the Knights’ fifth win of the year.
And the penalty kill in particular continued to roll at a killer pace on Thursday, killing all four of Ottawa’s penalties.
The Golden Knights allowed just eight shots in four attempts, and they have only allowed three power play goals against all year.
As a result, their penalty kill is ranked third in the NHL (93.5) and they are also capable of grabbing a shorthanded goal, especially when their dangerous top unit of William Karlsson and Reilly Smith is on the ice.
Vegas’ power play has also been red hot through eight games this year and it struck again on Thursday, with the Golden Knights going 1-for-3 on the man advantage.
The Knights’ lone power play goal came in the first period when Nick Holden launched a thunderous one-timer past Anders Nilsson in the Ottawa goal, with Mark Stone claiming his 200th career assist in the NHL on the tuck.
Vegas have scored eight power play goals in eight games and their man advantage is ranked sixth in the NHL (29.6).
3. Reaves The Born Entertainer
When the Vegas Golden Knights were scrambling frantically to shift contracts off the books during the off-season in order to remain cap compliant, there was a school of thought among some fans that Ryan Reaves should have been sacrificed.
Some don’t think he brings all that much to the table and others point to the fact that he is widely overpaid with an average annual value of $2,775,000.
Be that as it may, if you really scratch beneath the surface and look beyond the obvious then it is easy to see why the front office made such a commitment to the bruising enforcer.
Firstly, Reaves is a true glue guy in the locker room and his hilarious banter and easy-go attitude is infectious and it helps to relax the mood among his teammates in the room.
He’s also a key figure when it comes to the work the Golden Knights do in the community, be it charity events or even officiating weddings. Yes, you heard that right.
Reaves has also set up shop in Las Vegas with his own brewery company – 7Five Brewing – and he’s made it clear that he wants to remain in Sin City for the long-term.
But, of course, we all know that it’s what you do on the ice that really counts and there is no disputing the fact that Reaves has become a cornerstone of this Vegas team since being acquired in a trade from the Pittsburgh Penguins on February, 23, 2018.
He achieved career-highs in goals (nine), assists (11) and points (20) last year, while this season he’s averaging 9:20 minutes of ice time per night.
However, it is moments like early in the first period last night which really epitomises what Reaves brings to this team.
He dropped the gloves with Ottawa’s Scott Sabourin – who hit the headlines after being mocked by Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews in the preseason – and proceeded to pump up the home crowd after schooling Sabourin in the art of fighting.
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Reaves knows his role, he is aware that he isn’t a flashy Rolls Royce type of player who will make highlight-reel plays, so instead he makes sure he contributes in other ways by giving his team a jolt of energy when they really need it.
So, although on paper he looks overpaid, you can’t really put a value on what Ryan Reaves brings to this team on and off the ice.