FSM Essential Game Recap: VGK vs Wild - Game 58

Game Recap: VGK vs Wild

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Tuesday night’s game for the Golden Knights (28-21-8) playing the Minnesota Wild (26-23-6) can be described in one word, sloppy.

The Golden Knights came into Minnesota’s arena to play after a gut-wrenching collapse against Carolina that saw them fumble a three-time multi-goal lead during the game to lose in a shootout overtime period. Las Vegas gave up four goals in the third period alone, to send the game to overtime. Before the loss, the Golden Knights and their fans were hopeful that a single game road trip to Minnesota would yield a newly resilient Golden Knights team a much-needed victory.

But the Knights seemed to have never gotten off the bus. From the very start of the game, the Wild were in control, with an early goal by 3-year Centerman Joel Eriksson Ek five minutes into the opening period. One of three goals scored while a Vegas player was in the penalty box. From there, the Wild continued to play the Knights as they had played in previous games. They attacked the net, rushed the Goalie and took aggressive shots on the goal to rack up a 4-0 lead going into the third period.

Defensively, goalie Alex Stalock, finished the game with 26 saves giving up zero points for the game. He was undeniably the best player on the ice tonight for either team. However the story of the game doesn’t surround the outstanding play of the Wild’s goalie, instead, it surrounds the flat and disorganized play of the Golden Knights.

The Knights have an all-time record 2-5 against Minnesota, but their play has always been more up to par with the teams’ talent than what was on display Tuesday night. The Wild are one of the worst Penalty killer teams in the NHL giving up a power-play goal in 33 of the 55 games they’ve played this season. Yet the Golden Knights, on five separate power-play attempts failed to score a single goal against the Wild. In contrast to the Wild, with three of their four points coming off of a shorthanded Golden Knights defense.

The Wild also outshot and out-skated the Knights for most of the game, creating inopportune turnovers for the Golden Knights and creating more opportunity for the Wild to score much-needed points or even get Golden Knights players to commit a costly penalty.

Most importantly, with the playoff approaching and the Golden Knights teetering on that postseason bubble, Vegas can’t afford to allow games like these to escape their grasp.

The Knights now return home to play the St. Louis Blues (32-15-9), a team currently in the middle of a midseason slump, losing four of the five games. The Blues are currently holding on to the central division lead by a single point. They have a good reason to come into the T-Mobile Arena and hand the Golden Knights another loss at home.

For the Golden Knights, Tuesday’s loss saw the team drop from their second-place spot in the division to fourth place; Now down three points behind Vancouver. The Knights have to find a way to win some games over the next two weeks to pull within striking distance of a wild card spot in the postseason, let alone the division title.

It’s safe to say that the Golden Knights need a win desperately to be in a position to salvage their season and avoid being snubbed from the playoffs for the first time in their history.

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Vegas! If you want another great place to watch the game, head to Al’s Garage in Summerlin. There are multiple televisions to watch all the games. On the weekends, Al’s has “Happy Hour” starting at 9 AM and ending at 9 PM. Al’s Garage is located at 11760 W. Charleston Boulevard, Las Vegas, Nevada 89135. Tell them, “The Franchise sent you!!”

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