Vegas Golden Knights: Lehner the real deal, other takeaways
It was back to business for the Vegas Golden Knights who shutout the New Jersey Devils in a dominant 3-0 win at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday night.
After dropping a tough one to the LA Kings on Sunday, the Vegas Golden Knights bounced back to win for the ninth time in their last 10 outings.
Facing off against a Devils team going through the early stages of a rebuild, the Golden Knights did what they had to do to maintain their lead at the top of the Pacific Division.
And it was all down to Robin Lehner who stopped all 27 shots he faced to secure his first shutout for the Golden Knights.
More from Vegas Hockey Knight
- The moment the Vegas Golden Knights have been waiting for
- 3 Golden Knights players deserving of the Conn Smythe Trophy
- If Golden Knights win Stanley Cup, who should Mark Stone pass it to first?
- Why are Vegas Golden Knights fans obsessed with flamingos?
- Just one more game for Golden Knight supremacy
Lehner was a real calming presence for Vegas and the Knights now boast one of the best goalie tandems in the entire National Hockey League heading into the postseason.
Some of Vegas’ big-hitters also delivered the goods as Max Pacioretty fired in his 33rd goal of the year following a sublime pass from William Karlsson in the second period.
Karlsson then had a moment to remember in the final period after recording the 100th goal of his NHL career, one-timing a Nicolas Roy dish beyond Mackenzie Blackwood.
And the game was iced when Ryan Reaves eventually jammed the puck past Blackwood, who had made a couple of stops in quick succession after the Golden Knights had kept the play alive in the offensive zone.
This was a big win for the Vegas Golden Knights on a night where the Edmonton Oilers also won, and we had some takeaways from the contest with the New Jersey Devils…
1. Lehner the real deal
The Vegas Golden Knights made a splash at the NHL Trade Deadline after pulling the trigger on a blockbuster trade for Robin Lehner from the Chicago Blackhawks.
It automatically upgraded the goalie position on the depth chart and it also gave the Golden Knights one of the best netminding tandems in the NHL.
And we saw on Tuesday the full benefit of having two elite goalies on the roster, with Lehner absolutely lights out against the New Jersey Devils to record his first shutout for the Golden Knights in what was his 300th career game in the NHL.
He absolutely robbed Travis Zajac with a sublime glove save in the opening minute of the game, before going on to stop all 27 shots he faced.
It was a real accomplished and confident outing for Lehner, who just instils confidence in his defence with his sheer size and ability to track the puck.
In two starts for the Golden Knights, Lehner is 2-0-0 with a .967 Save Percentage and a 1.00 Goals Against Average.
Although a small sample size, Lehner has been absolutely dominant and that bodes well for the coming weeks.
It must also fill General Manager Kelly McCrimmon and Head Coach Peter DeBoer with joy knowing that they can now rest Marc-Andre Fleury down the stretch, knowing that they’ve now got a more than capable backup in Lehner.
That is going to be huge come the postseason when the Golden Knights will have a rested Fleury in addition to an elite goalie in Lehner.
After all, you can’t win championships without elite goaltending and the Vegas Golden Knights look like they’ve got that particular box well and truly ticked.
2. Karlsson’s milestone night
As has been the case for many a player, pulling on a Vegas Golden Knights jersey has only produced good things for William Karlsson.
Known as a bottom-six forward with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Karlsson has flourished with the Golden Knights and has morphed into a franchise center.
And the forward was reminded of his rapid ascension on Tuesday when he lit the lamp early in the third period.
After taking the puck in his own zone and charging up the ice, Karlsson dished the puck to Nicolas Roy before getting it back and one-timing a wicked shot past Mackenzie Blackwood.
Not only did the goal double Vegas’ lead but it was more significant than that because it was Karlsson’s 100th career goal in the NHL.
It was a hell of a moment for a player who has come a long way in a short space of time, and it was a reminder of just how important Karlsson is to this team.
And it was also a productive night for the 27-year-old who finished the game with one goal and one assist for a two-point night.
As important as the goal was, Karlsson’s primary helper on Max Pacioretty’s second period goal will attract all the headlines, and rightly so.
With the puck on his stick in his own zone, Karlsson flicked a sublime and incredible no-look pass with his backhand right on the tape of Pacioretty, who proceeded to wrist a laser of a shot past Mackenzie Blackwood.
It was a hell of a pass by Karlsson who is fifth on the Golden Knights in points with 44 (15 goals, 29 assists), and the fact that he is starting to hot up now is only good news for this team.
3. Reaves is a bad man
Ryan Reaves is a dying breed.
There aren’t too many players out there with the build of the human wrecking-ball, who can hit like an absolute train and fight like Mike Tyson.
That is why the Golden Knights preferred to trade Cody Eakin and keep Reaves, who is a pending UFA with a cap hit of $2,775,000.
We did an article a few weeks ago on the pros and cons to trading Reaves, and it is fair to say that the reaction was overwhelming in terms of Vegas fans being dead against the idea of trading the enforcer.
And that is because Reaves is an important cog in the Golden Knights machine, and he will be going forward into the postseason.
Because, not only is Reaves an old-fashioned disrupter, but he can also produce and provide an offensive punch.
We saw both sides of Reaves’ game against the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday, and it was spectacular.
First, the forward absolutely took out Mirco Mueller with the cleanest but most devastating hit I’ve seen in a while.
It was typical Reaves and that’s exactly what he brings to the table for the Knights.
Then, midway through the third period, Reaves was in the right place at the right time to jam home a rebound after Mackenzie Blackwood had pulled off a couple of stops, recording his eighth goal and 14th point of the year.
This was a real dominant outing from Ryan Reaves who also finished the game with six hits, and there really is no other player like him in the National Hockey League.