The Montreal Canadiens looked like they were ready to play against the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday. While the Golden Knights peppered Sam Montembeault with shots all day, the Canadiens held the line. The result? A 4-1 loss to Montreal.
Montembeault stopped 30 of 31 shots, frustrating an aggressive Golden Knights team throughout the night. That included a stellar first period where he stopped all 11 shots. The win bumps Montreal to 13-7-3, giving them 29 points. The loss drops Vegas to 10-6-8, leaving them at 28 points.
Eventually, some things must change for the Vegas Golden Knights. Sure, getting the loser point numerous times is nice on the surface. It provides you with a nice cushion in case you break out. But that's the thing with Vegas. You can only do it so many times before games like Friday's contest happen.
When is that breakout going to happen? Who will step up and take the reins for the Golden Knights? Are we still waiting for Mitch Marner to break his goalless slump? Will it be someone other than a defenseman to make the magic happen?
Let's be honest. The Golden Knights are an enigmatic mess right now. That's been the story since "Opening Knight," where they blew a 5-3 lead to lose in the shootout. But let's dive into the postgame takeaways and see the good and the bad. What went down for the Golden Knights on Friday.
The Golden Knights get more aggressive offensively against the Montreal Canadiens
The Vegas Golden Knights started Friday's game on a more positive note, outshooting the Canadiens in the first period, 11-6. They've turned up the pressure despite Montreal holding a 1-0 lead from a 6-on-5 goal. The majority of that onslaught came from Jack Eichel (three shots in the first, seven overall) and Tomas Hertl (four shots in the first, seven overall).
The problem? They haven't buried many chances. You can attribute that to a strong showing from Sam Montembeault, who stopped 30 of 31 shots. Still, Mark Stone has shown that he's an absolute boon in the offense with a goal.
One can say that having the Captain return to the team has been an overall net positive for Vegas. Suddenly, the Golden Knights are crashing the net more and finding better looks. It's just that nothing was turning up for the Golden Knights all night. If they can start banking on solid opportunities, they'll offset numerous problems.
Montreal's weapons overwhelm the Golden Knights
It wasn't just the 6-on-5 goal from Zachary Bolduc that hurt the Golden Knights. It was also Cole Caufield turning a bad angle into a massive advantage, getting Montreal's second goal. It's been the story for the Canadiens throughout the season, getting help from their top scorers.
Entering Friday's game, the Canadiens had the third-best attack in the league (3.45 goals per game). When you have big names like Caufield burying opportunities, that's problematic.
It's especially rough when you're without your top goaltender. While Akira Schmid has had nice moments for Vegas, the netminder wasn't on his best game on Friday. If that's the case throughout the season, it'll be tough for Vegas to dig themselves out of deficits, especially when the goalie isn't clicking.