Vegas Golden Knights strike early to take down Rangers and achieve a first
Rejoice! The Vegas Golden Knights finally did it after clinching a third straight win by beating the New York Rangers 4-1 at Madison Square Garden on Monday night.
In what was the first game of a three-game road trip on the east coast, the Vegas Golden Knights came out hard and fast from the first drop of the puck and they were rewarded emphatically.
Alex Tuch, who had a breakout game in the win over the Arizona Coyotes on Friday, was outstanding in The Big Apple and the power forward got Vegas on the board early in the first period after his shot squirmed through Henrik Lundqvist.
And Tuch haunted the Blueshirts again moments later after one-timing home a sublime feed from Nate Schmidt.
The Golden Knights outshot the Rangers 17-12 in the first period and they were completely dominant in every single area.
It only got better for Vegas, too, after Reilly Smith stole the puck back before charging up ice on a breakaway and beating Lundqvist with a backhander early in the second period.
The Knights were teaching the Rangers a harsh lesson and they iced the game with their second power play goal of the night, Max Pacioretty cranking home a one-timer from a stellar dish from Cody Glass.
Malcolm Subban, who was outstanding having made some big stops, was denied a shutout late in the second period when he was beaten by a redirect from Brendan Lemieux.
However, that was the only blemish on the Golden Knights’ copybook, with Vegas winning three straight for the first time this year.
Let’s delve into the game by breaking it down period-by-period…
The Game
First Period – One of the Golden Knights’ biggest problems this season has been their lack of consistency having never won more than two games in a row in 2019-20.
However, they were determined to eradicate that and they came out with fire in their bellies against the New York Rangers at the World’s Most Famous Arena.
And it didn’t take them long to land the first blow of the night after Alex Tuch latched onto a superb breakout pass from Jonathan Marchessault before ripping a shot past Henrik Lundqvist at 1:34.
The shot squirmed through the body of Lundqvist and appeared to stay out, only for a review to confirm that the Rangers goalie had knocked the puck in the net with his pad.
It didn’t get any better for the Rangers, either, as Tuch struck again at 3:50, one-timing home a feed from Nate Schmidt on the power play.
Vegas were dominating the Rangers and Lundqvist made a big kick save to deny William Karlsson at the end of the first, with the Knights outshooting their hosts 17-12.
Second Period – It took a few minutes but when the Golden Knights recorded their first shot on goal in the middle frame, they made it count.
Reilly Smith, who was going up against older brother Brendan, cut out a pass in the neutral zone before charging up the ice on a breakaway and lifting a backhanded shot over Henrik Lundqvist.
Vegas then went on the power play and, for the second time, they converted and it was all thanks to Cody Glass.
The rookie sent a delicious and outstanding no-look pass right across the slot area to Max Pacioretty at the backdoor, and the forward was able to crank a one-timer past Lundqvist.
Exceptional.
Malcolm Subban came up big to stop Ryan Strome on a two-on-one, although he was beaten at 15:15 after Brendan Lemieux got to the front of the net to redirect a Jacob Trouba pass into the net.
Vegas had again outshot the Rangers 11-7 at the end of the second.
Third Period – There were no goals in the final period as the Vegas Golden Knights did what they had to in order to see the game out, while Malcolm Subban stood tall to cancel out a flurry of Rangers power plays.
And Subban’s big effort, stopping 29 of 30 shots, coupled with an excellent all-round team performance, gave the Golden Knights their first three-game win streak of the season to get this road trip started in the perfect fashion.
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 New York Rangers:
Marchessault-Karlsson-Smith
Pacioretty-Stastny-Stone
Carrier-Glass-Tuch
Nosek-Roy-Reaves
McNabb-Schmidt
Hague-Theodore
Merrill-Engelland
Subban
These were the scratches for the Vegas Golden Knights:
Here are some key stats from the game:
- SOG – VGK: 32 – NYR: 30
- FO% – VGK: 56% – NYR: 44%
- PP – VGK: 2/2 – NYR: 0/6
- PIM – VGK: 12 – NYR: 6
- HITS – VGK: 23 – NYR: 17
- BLKS – VGK: 21 – NYR: 11
- GVA – VGK: 6 – NYR: 23
And here is the Official Scoring Summary from the game:
- Alex Tuch (3) – Marchessault (13), McNabb (4) – 1:34 / 1st
- Alex Tuch (4) – PPG – Schmidt (9), Karlsson (16) – 3:50 / 1st
- Reilly Smith (12) – Unassisted – 4:44 / 2nd
- Max Pacioretty (10) – PPG – Glass (6), Stone (13) – 6:20 / 2nd
- Brendan Lemieux (4) – Trouba (11), Zibanejad (9) – 15:15 / 2nd
Let’s go over some notes from the game…
- The Vegas Golden Knights are now 14-11-4 on the year after beating the New York Rangers at MSG.
- And the Knights have finally won three games in a row for the first time this season, while they are now 7-6-1 on the road.
- It was a big win for the Golden Knights to start this three-game road trip, and they are closing the gap on the top two in the Pacific Division.
- It was a dominant effort from the Vegas Golden Knights who produced arguably their most complete showing of the year, dominating the New York Rangers in every single area.
- And plenty of credit must go to Malcolm Subban who, in his fourth consecutive start, stopped 29 of the 30 shots he faced including nine shots on the power play.
- Subban is now 3-4-2 this year with a 2.84 Goals Against Average and a .908 Save Percentage.
- Another star of the show was Alex Tuch who recorded two goals in the opening five minutes of the first period, matching the total amount of goals he had scored in his previous 11 games.
- Tuch has really started to breakout in the last two games and the forward is showing signs that he’s reaching the peak of his powers following an injury-ravaged start to the year.
- Reilly Smith recorded his 12th goal of the year with a beautiful breakaway move, and it was also a special night for the forward who went up against older brother Brendan, who plays for the Rangers.
- Max Pacioretty also got on the board, tallying his 10th goal and 26th point of the year, with the forward leading the Golden Knights in points.
- And let’s stick with Pacioretty’s goal, because the primary assist from Cody Glass was absolutely sensational. It was a no-look pass from Glass who has done that before this season, and you may as well start calling the rookie the Patrick Mahomes of the NHL.
- The Knights went a perfect 2-for-2 on the power play after previously going 1-for-28 on the man advantage before Alex Tuch converted on the PP in the first period.
- Jonathan Marchessault recorded his 13th assist of the year after executing a perfect breakout pass to set up Tuch’s first goal of the night.
- Brayden McNabb had the secondary helper on that goal with his fourth assist of the season, while Nate Schmidt recorded his ninth assist of the year.
- William Karlsson now has 24 points on the year after picking up his 16th assist of the year, while Mark Stone registered his 13th assist to take him to 24 points on the year.
- The Golden Knights now have nine players who have recorded 10 or more points so far this season.
- Vegas Head Coach Gerard Gallant threw out a third line featuring Cody Glass as the center with William Carrier and Alex Tuch as his wings, and it is a line that meshed perfectly. It is worth at least another look for sure.
- Speaking of new line combinations, it was reported during the game that the Knights had traded for center Chandler Stephenson from the Washington Capitals, a move that was later confirmed. We’ll have more on that trade and what it means later today.
- Forward Nicolas Roy was reassigned to the Chicago Wolves in the AHL in the wake of the game following the acquisition of Stephenson.
- Cody Eakin missed the game with an upper-body injury and is week-to-week, while goalie Marc-Andre Fleury is expected to join up with the team at some point this week.
- Vegas went a perfect 6-for-6 on the penalty kill, allowing just nine shots, and their PK is now ranked fourth in the NHL (85.6).
- The Knights outshot the Rangers 32-30, they were better in the faceoff circle (56%-44%) and they also outhit the Blueshirts 23-17.
- Vegas blocked more shots (21-11) and they had less giveaways with six compared to New York’s 23.
- Vegas and the Rangers will do battle again as quickly as Sunday when New York make the trip to T-Mobile Arena.
- The Vegas Golden Knights now have an all-time record of 4-1-0 against the New York Rangers, outscoring the Blueshirts 18-13.
- Brayden McNabb led all Vegas Golden Knights skaters in total ice time with 23:29, including 6:52 minutes of shorthanded time.
My Three Stars of the game
- Alex Tuch seems to be nearing his peak following an injury-ravaged start to the year. After breaking out against the Arizona Coyotes on Friday, Tuch elevated his game to a whole different level against the New York Rangers, scoring two goals in the opening five minutes of the game to match the total amount of goals he had scored in his previous 11 games this season. It was a big-time game from Alex Tuch and the Golden Knights need him to continue to produce secondary scoring.
- Malcolm Subban has doubters, me included, but he’s started four straight and he played a key role in the Vegas Golden Knights winning three consecutive games for the first time this year. Subban stopped 29 of the 30 shots he faced, including stopping all nine of the shots he faced on the power play. It was a big effort from the backup goalie who is stepping up to the plate for the Knights.
- Cody Glass gets my Third Star just because of his stunning assist in the second period when he sent a no-look pass over to Max Pacioretty who did the rest on the power play. It was a sublime dish from the rookie who has done that before this season, and it was a reminder of just how much talent this kid possesses.
Official Three Stars of the Game
- Alex Tuch
- Malcolm Subban
- Max Pacioretty
Next. Why the Golden Knights should steer clear from Taylor Hall. dark
Looking Ahead
This was the first game of a three-game road trip for the Vegas Golden Knights, who face the struggling New Jersey Devils in the second game of a back-to-back tonight.
The Knights will then close this road trip out on Thursday against the New York Islanders, who are one of the best teams in the NHL right now.