Overtime issues continue to haunt Vegas Golden Knights in Sharks loss
Despite their best efforts the Vegas Golden Knights were unable to make it three straight wins after falling 2-1 to the San Jose Sharks in Overtime on Thursday night.
The Vegas Golden Knights have now gone 11 straight Overtimes without a goal after losing to their bitter rivals in a close game at T-Mobile Arena.
The contest started with San Jose forward Timo Meier laying a huge hit on Nic Hague in the open ice, with the rookie defenseman okay in the wake of that collision.
Marc-Andre Fleury was sharp early on and he was also bailed out after Meier had a goal ruled out for goalie interference.
But Vegas soon got in their groove and they ended up outshooting the Sharks by a huge margin of 14-6 in the first period, although it was a tied game heading into the middle frame.
However, it didn’t take long for a team to get on the board in the second although it was San Jose who drew first blood.
Meier, who made himself known throughout the first period with a plethora of huge hits, opened the scoring with a sublime goal after skating hard to the net while holding off Nate Schmidt before backhanding the puck past Fleury.
Fleury then flashed a quick glove to stop Meier from recording his second goal, before Cody Eakin fired a shot high after being fed by Jonathan Marchessault on a two-on-one following a bad turnover from Brent Burns.
Vegas had outshot the Sharks 28-17 through the first two periods, and they finally got their just rewards when Brayden McNabb made it a tied game at 9:42 in the third after ripping a shot past Aaron Dell from the top of the circle.
Fleury was called upon to make another big save late in the period, this time sliding across to deny Joe Thornton and then swallowing up the rebound.
So, after three eventful periods, we were consigned to Overtime and both Fleury and Dell were standing on their head.
Dell denied Nate Schmidt on a breakaway and then robbed William Karlsson on the rebound, who was also thwarted by Dell moments later.
However, it was the Sharks who came up with the goods at 3:20 in Overtime, with Logan Couture skating in on a breakaway and then finishing his own rebound to inflict a first loss of this homestand on the Golden Knights.
Let’s go over some notes and stats from the game…
Notes & Stats From The Game
This was the Vegas Golden Knights Lineup against the San Jose Sharks…
Pacioretty-Karlsson-Smith
Marchessault-Eakin-Stone
Tuch-Stastny-Glass
Carrier-Nosek-Reaves
McNabb-Schmidt
Hague-Theodore
Merrill-Engelland
Fleury
These were the healthy scratches for the Vegas Golden Knights:
Here are some key stats from the game:
- SOG – SJS: 29 – VGK: 38
- FO% – SJS: 47% – VGK: 53%
- PP – SJS: 0/2 – VGK: 0/3
- PIM – SJS: 6 – VGK: 4
- HITS – SJS: 35 – VGK: 39
- BLKS – SJS: 19 – VGK: 12
- GVA – SJS: 10 – VGK: 11
And here is the Official Scoring Summary from the game:
- Timo Meier (6) – Gambrell (4), Suomela (1) – 1:26 / 2nd
- Brayden McNabb (2) – Carrier (3) – 9:42 / 3rd
- Logan Couture (4) – Vlasic (3) – 3:20 / OT
Let’s go over some notes from the game:
- The Vegas Golden Knights are now 11-9-4 on the season after dropping the first game of this homestand.
- The Knights have now gone 11 straight Overtimes without scoring a single goal, and that must be a major concern for the coaching staff.
- Marc-Andre Fleury got the start between the pipes and he stopped 27 of the 29 shots he faced.
- Despite it being a low scoring game, it was an entertaining contest as you would expect between the Vegas Golden Knights and the San Jose Sharks.
- The Knights outshot the Sharks 38-29 but they just couldn’t find the clinical touch when it really mattered.
- They were outshot 6-4 in Overtime, however, and Logan Couture landed the killer blow for the Sharks who are starting to find their groove.
- The Golden Knights’ only goal of the night came from Brayden McNabb, who now has two goals and five points on the year.
- William Carrier recorded the primary and only assist on that goal, and the bottom six forward now has six points (three goals, three assists) on the season.
- Carrier also recorded six hits and the forward has 77 hits on the season, ranked 6th in the NHL, with teammate Ryan Reaves leading the league with 128 hits.
- Vegas stunk on the power play, going 0-for-3, although they did go a perfect 2-0 on the penalty kill, but not converting on the man advantage cost them.
- They were better in the Faceoff circle, winning 53% of their draws, and they outhit the Sharks 39-35 although they blocked less shots (19-12).
- Shea Theodore led all Vegas Golden Knights skaters in total ice time with 22:44 minutes, and it was a special night for the defenseman.
- On what was Hockey Fights Cancer Night at T-Mobile Arena, Theodore escorted his Grandmother, Kay Darlington onto the ice for the ceremonial puck drop.
- Kay is currently battling stage-four breast cancer and, after Shea Theodore successfully overcame his own cancer battle in the summer, it was a hell of a special moment for the family.
My Three Stars of the Game
- William Carrier – Picking up the primary assist on Brayden McNabb’s goal, the gritty forward was at his dominant best as he recorded four shots on goal and six hits, finishing the night with a +1 rating as a result.
- Brayden McNabb – Scored the only goal of the game for the Vegas Golden Knights, ripping a wrister beyond Aaron Dell to send the contest to Overtime. McNabb was also a physical force, dishing out a total of seven hits in 20:36 minutes of total ice time.
- Ryan Reaves – Built for the big moments, Ryan Reaves really came to play against the San Jose Sharks. Given the hatred that exists between these two teams, it was always going to be a physical slugfest and Reaves stepped up to the plate, dishing out no less than 12 hits which is just incredible. He was all over the ice and made his presence known throughout.
Official Three Stars Of The Game
- Logan Couture
- Brayden McNabb
- Ryan Reaves
Next. Toronto mess proves team construction is important. dark
Looking Ahead
The Vegas Golden Knights finish this four-game homestand with a matchup against the Pacific Division leading Edmonton Oilers on Saturday, before hitting the road for games against the Dallas Stars and the Nashville Predators next week.