Lehner gets first shutout as Vegas Golden Knights roll past the Devils
Robin Lehner was the star of the show as the Vegas Golden Knights shut out the New Jersey Devils in a dominant 3-0 win at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday night.
Making only his second start for the Vegas Golden Knights, Lehner secured his first shutout as his team bounced back from a tough loss to the LA Kings on Sunday.
On a night where the Edmonton Oilers also won, the Golden Knights won their first game of March as they took advantage of a Devils team currently going through a rebuild.
Vegas put 11 shots on the board in the first period but they came up against a hot goalie in Mackenzie Blackwood, who stood on his head for New Jersey.
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However, he was finally breached in the middle frame when Max Pacioretty ripped a shot from the top of the circle past Blackwood.
Pacioretty turned provider in the final period as he claimed a secondary assist on William Karlsson‘s 100th career goal in the National Hockey League.
And the game was iced midway through the third period when Ryan Reaves swatted the puck past Blackwood after the Golden Knights had kept the puck alive in the offensive zone.
Robin Lehner stopped all 27 shots he faced for his first shutout for the Vegas Golden Knights, who have now won nine out of their last 10 outings.
The Game
First Period – Robin Lehner, making his second start for the Vegas Golden Knights, had to be alert early as he pulled off a stunning glove save to absolutely rob Travis Zajac who was left all alone in the slot.
Chandler Stephenson then deked Mackenzie Blackwood only to slam the puck off the post following some neat play by Brandon Pirri.
Blackwood was keeping the Devils alive in the first period, which was livened up somewhat after Ryan Reaves absolutely levelled Mirco Mueller with a bone-crushing hit.
Second Period – With just 45 seconds on the board the Golden Knights landed the first blow of the night.
William Karlsson picked up the puck in his own zone before spinning a sublime no-look pass right on the tape of Max Pacioretty, who fired a wrister from a ridiculous angle past Mackenzie.
It was a hell of a shot by Pacioretty and an even better assist from Karlsson.
Tomas Nosek, Alec Martinez and Robin Lehner all came up clutch to kill off a Devils power play, before Blackwood made a huge stop on a Pacioretty one-timer.
Third Period – This was a perfect illustration of the Golden Knights executing the game-plan to perfection, as they limited the New Jersey Devils to just three shots on goal from the slot through the first 40 minutes of the game.
And they continued to frustrate their guests in the final period as William Karlsson pounced just 37 seconds into the period.
Karlsson raced up the ice, dished the puck to Nicolas Roy before getting it straight back and then one-timing a wicked release past Blackwood for his 100th career goal in the NHL.
And the game was iced at 8:49 as Ryan Reaves slammed home the rebound after Blackwood had made a flurry of saves.
Lehner made one more big stop and that was it as the Golden Knights were rewarded for a dominant performance with a big win.
Let’s go over some notes and stats from the game…