Vegas Golden Knights: The Good, The Bad and the Very Bad from Game 4 loss

There’s still some life in this series after the Vegas Golden Knights dropped Game 4 on Sunday.

Presented with the chance to close this series out and advance through to the Second Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Vegas Golden Knights instead succumbed to a 3-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks.

It was an expected fightback from the Blackhawks who faced a win or go home situation, and they duly delivered.

Drake Caggiula one-timed a dish from Olli Maatta past Robin Lehner in the slot area as Chicago came out swinging, before Matthew Highmore banked a shot in off Lehner from along the goal line.

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Shea Theodore did get Vegas on the board in the first period with a wicked one-timer from the point.

However, after a scoreless second period, Alex DeBrincat finished things off with an empty-netter to ensure Chicago lived to fight another day.

Let’s go over The Good, The Bad and The Very Bad from the game…

The Good

Robin Lehner – After watching Marc-Andre Fleury shine in Game 3, Lehner was back in for the second-game of this back-to-back.

And, despite being on the losing side, the elite goalie was one of the best players on the ice for the Golden Knights.

He stopped 22 of the 24 shots he faced and he came up with some big saves in the final two periods to keep Vegas alive until the bitter end.

It is abundantly clear that Head Coach Peter DeBoer sees Lehner as his man, and you can’t fault him based on how the goalie has performed for Vegas thus far.

Shea Theodore – You need big contributions from your blueline during the postseason and the Golden Knights are guaranteed that thanks to Shea Theodore.

The offensive defenseman could find himself in the Norris Trophy conversation in a year or two, and he’s been lights out for Vegas in The Bubble so far.

And his big release was on display yet again in Game 4 when Alec Martinez dished the puck over to Theodore who unleashed an absolute bomb from the point to make it a one-goal game.

Theodore also finished with 22:14 minutes of total ice time, including 3:36 on the power play, and the defenseman was the highlight of what was a bad night for the Knights.

The Bad

Corey Crawford – Great for the Chicago Blackhawks, not so good for the Golden Knights. Crawford hopped in the time machine and went back to the early 2010’s to dominate Vegas.

He stopped a stunning 48 of the 49 shots he faced, doing everything within his power to stifle the Knights and give Chicago the best possible chance to win.

If the Blackhawks have any chance of extending this series again, they will need Crawford to be at the peak of his powers once again.

Vegas, on the other hand, will be hoping that it was just a one-off.

Power Play – This is becoming somewhat of a trend but the Golden Knights never got anything going on the man advantage again in Game 4.

They went 0/3 and are now 0/9 in the series, and that’s just not going to get the job done the deeper in the postseason you go.

Also, the offense in general has gone a bit stagnant after scored just three goals in two games and that is a slight concern.

The Very Bad

Max Pacioretty – This has been a bit of a slow burner for Max Pacioretty. Back in Game 1 before missing Game 2, Pacioretty has yet to record a point in this series.

And that frustration was seen in the wake of Alex DeBrincat scoring the empty-netter at 19:49 in the third period.

As DeBrincat put the puck home, Pacioretty took a slash at the Chicago forward before bumping him into the boards as the frustrations of the loss clearly boiled over.

And, to make a bad night worst for Pacioretty, he was handed down a swift $2,500 fine for slashing DeBrincat.

Not a good night for Max Pacioretty.

A very bad one, actually.