Vegas Golden Knights made to pay for horrific first period yet again
First period stinkers continue to haunt the Vegas Golden Knights after they dropped a tough 5-2 loss to the LA Kings at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday.
After giving themselves too much to do following a poor first period against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday, deja vu struck again as the Vegas Golden Knights put up an absolute stinker in the opening frame against the Kings.
For whatever reason the Knights struggle to get going in the first period at the moment, and they were dominated by the Kings in the opening frame.
Being outshot 18-10, the Golden Knights fell apart at the end of the first period as LA scored four unanswered goals.
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Alec Martinez and Ben Hutton both dispatched slap shots past Malcolm Subban, who was making his first start since Dec. 27.
Tyler Toffoli then scored straight off the draw as Subban continued to get no help from his teammates, and a bad period was capped off when Adrian Kempe scored with his own rebound.
To their credit, the Knights did show some life in the middle period with Reilly Smith beating Jack Campbell after getting to the front of the net, before Max Pacioretty recorded his 20th goal of the year thanks to a wrister.
Vegas outshot LA 24-3 and 12-2 in the final two periods but they couldn’t quite salvage their way back into the contest, with Adrian Kempe icing the game late in the third by converting on the power play.
The Game
First Period – Vegas was failing to generate much in the offensive zone and, any shots they did get on net, LA Kings goalie Jack Campbell dealt with them.
The same couldn’t be said for Malcolm Subban who was lit up at the end of the period, an onslaught that started at 13:40 as Alec Martinez blasted a shot from the point.
It was the fifth consecutive game that the Knights had allowed the first goal, and they soon allowed a second as Ben Hutton unleashed a slap shot past Subban at 15:01.
Subban did stymie Drew Doughty but he was beaten again moments later after Tyler Toffoli scored straight off the draw with 18:44 played.
And a nightmare first period was complete at 19:56 when Adrian Kempe was denied by the pad of Subban, before converting his own rebound with Subban stranded out of his crease.
Second Period – As was the case in the previous two games, the Knights began to settle into their groove although they couldn’t find a way past Jack Campbell.
That changed at 14:38, though, when Chandler Stephenson did his job along the boards behind the Kings’ net, which led to Reilly Smith picking up on a loose puck at the side of the net before burying the puck.
And, less than a minute later at 15:34, Max Pacioretty continued his stellar year by lasering a wrister past Campbell.
Third Period – As was the case in the second period, the Golden Knights were peppering the LA Kings goal with a flurry of shots, outshooting their opponents 12-3.
However, Vegas couldn’t capitalize on the chances they were generating, and the game was iced at 19:51 when Adrian Kempe converted on the power play.
Let’s go over some notes and stats from the game…