Is history repeating itself? The Vegas Golden Knights went on a run around this time last year and they are threatening to do the same after beating the Arizona Coyotes in a shootout on Friday.
It was around this time last year that the Vegas Golden Knights got their act together and embarked on a hell of a run, and they are showing signs that they could be on the cusp of doing the same.
After beating the Nashville Predators in thrilling fashion via overtime on Wednesday, the Knights turned their attention to the Arizona Coyotes who came into the contest sitting second in the Pacific Division.
The Coyotes have morphed into a playoff contender this year and they have been getting the job done thanks to their defense, which was ranked first in Goals Against Per Game heading into the game.
So the Golden Knights knew that they were going to have a real battle on their hands and so it proved.
There were no goals in the first period as both goalies stood tall, before Alex Tuch got the Knights on the board early in the second period.
Arizona hit back, however, as Jakob Chychrun made it a tied game and both teams had to settle for a shootout after failing to find the winning goal in either the third period or overtime.
The shootout went three rounds and, after Malcolm Subban made two stops to go a perfect 5-0 in shootouts in his career, it was Tuch who emerged as the hero with the winning goal.
Let’s delve into the game by breaking it down period-by-period…
The Game
First Period – We mentioned this in our Keys to the Game, but the Vegas Golden Knights were coming up against a red hot goalie in Darcy Kuemper, and he certainly lived up to his billing early as he made a big stop on a Mark Stone tip-in.
Vegas were certainly working hard in the offensive zone and getting pucks on net, but they had nothing to show for their efforts.
It was then Malcolm Subban’s turn to come up big for his team as he made a good stop on Derek Stepan, and he then got across well to make a huge save on Oliver Ekman-Larsson‘s one-timer.
Vegas was outshot 13-12 in the opening period but both goalies were standing tall, while Arizona’s compact defense was getting the job done.
Second Period – Shea Theodore pulled off a hell of a move to break up a developing 2-on-0 after Nic Hague’s stick snapped, before the Vegas Golden Knights landed the first blow of the game at 7:01.
Nic Hague let rip with a shot from the point and Alex Tuch had got himself to the front of the net to redirect the shot past Darcy Kuemper.
Vegas was absolutely dominating the second period and were looking more and more like the team we thought they were heading into the regular season.
However, they were brought back to earth at 14:53 as Jakob Chychrun walked in down the left side before unleashing a pure snipe past Malcolm Subban to tie the game.
Third Period – The Golden Knights had a number of opportunities on the power play but they failed to capitalize, while Cody Eakin left the game after being on the wrong end of a crushing hit from Brad Richardson.
William Karlsson was denied by Darcy Kuemper while Malcolm Subban also came up with a huge save to stop Clayton Keller on the doorstep with seconds left in regulation.
Overtime – Malcolm Subban got a pad save on a shot from Phil Kessel, while Darcy Kuemper was also great as both goalies continued to dominate this contest.
Shootout – This game was always destined to go the distance and so it proved with those inside T-Mobile Arena treated to extra hockey on Black Friday.
Nick Schmaltz was stoned by Malcolm Subban and Jonathan Marchessault beat Darcy Kuemper in Round One, before both Shea Theodore and Conor Garland were stopped in the second round.
That set this shootout up for a thrilling finish and so it proved as Christian Dvorak converted for Arizona, but Alex Tuch kept his cool to pull off a filthy move and beat Kuemper to win it for the Vegas Golden Knights.
Let’s go over some notes and stats from the game…