Sometimes, you have that awful days at work where nothing goes right. Your 32-year-old co-worker (who thinks a Bachelor's Degree in underwater basket weaving from the University of Nebraska warrants being your boss) starts getting up in your business about your position. Perhaps it's the printer jamming at the most inopportune times. Maybe it's the security guard that's too loud for her own good that annoys you.
Whatever the case, we've all had those days in the office. The Vegas Golden Knights had that day on Saturday, losing to the Utah Hockey Club, 6-0. It was a day marred by numerous mental errors, ranging from bad tripping penalties to this play from Ilya Samsonov.
🗣️ IF YOU'RE A GOALTENDER, TEND THE GOAL 🗣️
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) December 1, 2024
Ilya Samsonov delivers a gift to Alex Kerfoot from waaaaay outside of the crease pic.twitter.com/Z4yK4VtyJF
You can just hear Steve Dangle's head explode from that play.
"If you're a goaltender, TEND THE GOAL!"
Plays like that were the epitome of Golden Knights hockey on Saturday. Utah jumped to a 4-0 lead in the first period thanks to goals from Clayton Keller (seventh), Alex Kerfoot (fifth, short-handed goal above), Nick Schmaltz (first of two), and Logan Cooley (sixth). Then, Utah scored two more goals in the second period, thanks to Schmaltz (second) and Michael Carcone (first).
But wait! There's more.
Jaxson Stauber got his first career shutout, stopping all 29 shots from the Golden Knights. It was his seventh career start, where he improved his career GAA to 2.41 and his save percentage to .923. The terrible day dropped the home team to a record of 15-7-3, while Utah improved to 10-10-4 (24 points).
What's next for the Vegas Golden Knights and Utah Hockey Club
The Vegas Golden Knights will face the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday at T-Mobile Arena. The Oilers blew out the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday in Denver, 4-1. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Brett Kulak scored for the road team, improving to 13-9-2 (28 points).
As for the Utah Hockey Club, the Dallas Stars will come to Salt Lake City on Monday. Their division rivals have a record of 14-8-0 (28 points), sitting in third place in the Central Division. It's another opportunity for Utah to move closer to a playoff spot, although Jason Robertson and company will be a tough test.
That will be before a brief two-game swing in the Eastern Time Zone. That'll start with the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday, December 7, followed by the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday, December 8.
Utah looked like the faster team on Saturday, outskating the Golden Knights at every turn. In turn, it led to a flurry of goals to start the game, where the home team never recovered. Of course, that's what happens when you're playing on back-to-back nights. Although they overcame two-goal deficits in the previous two matchups, they couldn't do it tonight.
Some people will chalk up Saturday's loss as the Golden Knights being tired from their long road trip. Some will say they didn't wear magic underwear like Utah did. Regardless, it was an ugly loss that good teams forget about the next day. After all, you can't linger on that when your divisional rival comes to town on Tuesday. Otherwise, they'll make short work of you.