Vegas Golden Knights: Carrier’s brilliance, other takeaways from Blues win

There is such a thing as a statement win and you can slide the Vegas Golden Knights’ stunning comeback success over the St. Louis Blues under that category.

Dominated in almost every aspect and entrenched in a three goal hole, the Vegas Golden Knights somehow fought their way back to beat the reigning Stanley Cup champions in overtime on Saturday.

It was a wild contest and one that threatened to get away from the Knights at one point as David Perron, going up against his former team, put up a three point night for the Blues.

He tallied the primary helper on Alex Pietrangelo‘s power play goal in the first period, before sliding a dish across to Jaden Schwartz on an odd-man rush with Schwartz beating Marc-Andre Fleury with a wrister.

The Golden Knights were being beat up on and it only got worse before the opening period came to an end as Oskar Sundqvist made it a three goal game.

However, games feature flashpoints that can change the tide and there were two such moments in the second period.

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First, a plethora of players were sent to the box following a giant scrum, which seemed to light the fire under the Vegas Golden Knights.

Then, after Marc-Andre Fleury pulled off a huge save, the puck bounced over the goalie and looked to be heading into the net until Nick Holden arrived and swiped the puck off the line to keep Vegas alive.

Those two moments acted as turning points as the Golden Knights fought their way back into the contest.

Ryan Reaves battled hard in-front of the net to force the puck past Blues backup Jake Allen, before William Carrier displayed his playmaking ability to send a feed across to Paul Stastny who made it a one-goal game going into the final period.

The momentum was firmly with the Knights by this point and they made it a tied game early in the final period as Nicolas Roy‘s hard work in the slot paid off, while Reilly Smith put his team in the driving seat.

There was one more sting in the tail for Vegas, however, as Perron continued to haunt his old team by unleashing a hell of a shot past Fleury on the power play to take the game to overtime.

And a superb turnaround was complete at 3:01 in overtime when Chandler Stephenson stripped the puck from Robert Thomas before scoring on the breakaway to make it four consecutive wins for the Vegas Golden Knights.

Let’s delve into some takeaways from an exhilarating contest between the Knights and the St. Louis Blues…

1. Fourth line leaves its mark

Let’s be honest, it isn’t often that the fourth line on any hockey team gets the headlines following a big statement win.

But, following the events of Saturday, we felt it only right to dish out some love to the Vegas Golden Knights’ bottom line.

After all, they contributed two huge moments at critical periods in the contest and both proved to be turning points.

It started with Ryan Reaves who put his imposing frame to good use by making his presence felt, getting to the front of the net and then shoving a loose puck past Blues goalie Jake Allen.

That got the Golden Knights on the board after they allowed three unanswered, and it was a goal that sparked the fightback.

And then another member of the bruising fourth line stepped up to make a huge impact. A one goal game at this point, Nicolas Roy kept a play alive before getting to the front of the net and mopping up a rebound after defenseman Nic Hague had a shot blocked.

It was two huge plays by a line that often goes unnoticed and unpraised but, on this occasion, they deserve the limelight for the role they had in a famous comeback.

2. Carrier’s ceiling

We are getting to the point where we may have to reassess just exactly what we think of William Carrier as a player.

Having built his reputation on being a gritty and powerful bottom six forward, Carrier has shown a different side to him in his last two outings.

Playing on a third line with Paul Stastny and Cody Glass, Carrier was a playmaking machine against the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday and he was at it again on Saturday.

And it all started in his first shift in the first period against the St. Louis Blues as Carrier burned veteran defenseman Jay Bouwmeester, before circling the zone and then dishing a sublime feed to Nic Roy in the slot.

Carrier was buzzin all night and he produced a highlight-reel play in the second period after weaving through a crowd of bodies before dishing a no-look pass to Stastny who did the rest.

Carrier displayed some filthy mitts on that assist and you can’t help but think just what the 25-year-old could be capable of.

Is he wasted on the fourth line?

We’ll be exploring that question in more detail on Monday but it is worth thinking about after the last two games.

Granted, it is only a small sample size but Carrier has shown what he can do when given more ice time with more skilled linemates.

He’s clearly got the skill, the hands and the vision and that third line looked awesome in the two games against the Flyers and the Blues.

With Nicolas Roy also playing well, it could be worth keeping Carrier on the third line to give him more chance to show us all the true William Carrier.

4. Stephenson an inspired trade

Few ripples were made inside the hockey world when the Vegas Golden Knights sent a fifth-round pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft to the Washington Capitals for bottom six forward Chandler Stephenson on Dec. 3.

However, Vegas President of Hockey Operations George McPhee had the inside track after drafting Stephenson while he was GM of the Capitals, and it has proved to be an inspired trade.

Stephenson, with his hustle and raw speed, has slotted seamlessly into this lineup and he’s made a real impact with five goals and four assists for nine points through 16 games.

And, Stephenson has earned the trust of the coaching staff so much that he is now logging top six minutes between Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone on the second line.

And the swiss army knife type player rewarded that faith against St. Louis.

It started in the third period when Stephenson blocked a pass before driving into the offensive zone and ensuring the puck got to Reilly Smith, who proceeded to slap it past Jake Allen to put Vegas ahead.

Then, with the game in overtime, Stephenson showed his hockey IQ by getting across to the boards and stripping the puck from Robert Thomas, before charging down the ice and putting the game-winner past Allen.

It was a big night from Stephenson who logged 19:13 minutes of ice time, and he could go down as one of the best low key trades of the season.

5. Perron comes back to haunt Knights

Since leaving Las Vegas to return to St. Louis for the 2018-19 season, David Perron had failed to tally a single point in four outings against the Knights.

But man, did that change on Saturday.

Arriving at T-Mobile Arena with a chip on his shoulder, Perron absolutely roasted Vegas in the first period alone with two primary assists.

He absolutely carved open his old team with two sublime dishes, and he was everywhere on the ice.

And then, with the Golden Knights clinging onto a slender lead, Perron punched his old team in the gut by unleashing an absolute rocket on the power play to take the game to overtime.

It was a three-point night by the veteran forward who is carving out a hell of a year with 17 goals and 26 assists for 43 points in 43 games.

Unfortunately, and while the Golden Knights eventually had the last laugh, it was just a stark reminder of the caliber of player that Vegas lost when Perron left to return to the Blues.