On a night where Vegas Golden Knights fans got to see Marc-Andre Fleury for possibly one last time, their favorite team defeated the Minnesota Wild, 5-1. It was an electric night where Jack Eichel inched closer to 100 points with a first-period goal. They also saw a returning Shea Theodore get an assist, helping the team pull away.
He sniped a shot inside the faceoff circle to get Vegas on the board. Not to be outdone, Brett Howden had a goal in the second period, scoring from his sweet spot.
While Marcus Johansson got a third-period goal to clench some butt cheeks in Sin City, the Golden Knights got their first power play with a high-sticking penalty on Ryan Hartman. There's 5:06 left and you need a power play goal to seal the deal. Who do you call? Why, Eichel of course!
In fact, the center got another hat trick for Vegas, bumping his goal total to 26 for the season. It was also the team's fourth hat trick in nine games, capping off an offensive explosion.
He creeps closer to being the first player in franchise history to hit the century mark in points, bumping his total to 90. The result of his barrage? A series sweep as the Golden Knights maintain distance from those pesky Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings.
So how did they pull away from the Wild on Tuesday? How did Vegas get their fourth straight win in convincing fashion and keep an iron grip on the Pacific Division? Well, dear reader. One statistic stood out the entire night, making life easier for everyone involved (except for the home team).
The Vegas Golden Knights dominated the offensive battle against the Minnesota Wild
The Vegas Golden Knights took control of the offensive zone throughout Tuesday's game against the Minnesota Wild. They controlled the shot battle through the last horn sounding. That's specifically true in the offensive categories, where Vegas imposed its will early and often.
First-period stat | Vegas Golden Knights | Minnesota Wild |
|---|---|---|
Shots | 11 | 4 |
High danger chances | 2 | 0 |
Cycle chances | 3 | 1 |
It was an overall dominating performance that set the tone early. The second period was no different, with the shot totals favoring the Golden Knights, 25-14. The game finished with Vegas peppering Marc-Andre Fleury with 38 shots. Meanwhile, Adin Hill only faced 23 shots throughout the game, stopping 22. The following table tells a deeper story.
Team | First-period shots | Second-period shots | Third-period shots |
|---|---|---|---|
Vegas Golden Knights | 11 | 14 | 13 |
Minnesota Wild | 4 | 10 | 9 |
Of course, an additional Wild goal was called off because of a high-stick. Still, shots were the telling statistic in Tuesday's contest, displaying a newfound aggression and tenacity in Bruce Cassidy's offense. Suddenly, you're seeing Vegas move faster in their breakouts and entries. You're seeing more coordinated shots on goal.
Performances like this could ease losing Tomas Hertl for the road trip (and possibly longer)
Tomas Hertl didn't make the three-game road trip because of an upper-body injury. Fans are still cursing Emil Lilleberg's name after a hard hit in Sunday's game, after all. However, it appears the Golden Knights were comfortable without their beloved "Fun Must Be Always" ambassador around.
On a night where there were concerns about how the power play (and overall offense) would look, Jack Eichel put those worries to rest. It was also a strong showing from the Kolesar-Pearson-Howden line that netted two points on Tuesday. A "Next Man Up" mentality put any worries of a flaccid offensive front to rest.
The good news is the rest of the trip gets easier... At least on paper. Golden Knights fans still have traumatic memories of Hertl not scoring on an empty net, after all. But convincingly beating the Minnesota Wild is a good start. Hey, you got back Shea Theodore (who had an assist) as well. That's another positive to build off of.