FSM Essential Preview: Golden Knights vs Blues- Game 8

While VGK’s first game back at home was obviously disappointing for the Knight’s and fans alike, there were some positives to take away from Tuesday’s game against the Blues.

While there are no real moral victories in professional sports, especially during a shortened season, the Vegas Golden Knights have reason to head into their next game feeling confident.  Their first matchup against the St. Louis Blues this year definitely felt like a game that the team probably deserved to win. VGK outshot the Blues 46-25 and had plenty of dangerous chances that would have gone in on most nights.

Shot total can be deceiving at times as a false positive indicator if they’re mainly taken from the perimeter or low scoring areas. However, that was not the case for the Knights as the majority of their shots/chances looked threatening.

By my count, they hit SEVEN posts throughout the game. It could have been twenty shots off the post for all I know, it sure felt that way. The difference between hitting the post and scoring a goal is literally a matter of inches. So the Knights were dangerous all night and they were not just throwing the puck at the net hoping it would go in. Tuesday night was just one of those games where it felt like the hockey gods were not on VGK’s side. With that being said, give some credit to Jordan Binnington as his team definitely hung him out to dry most of the game and he had to make some outstanding saves to steal the win for the Blues.

As good as Binnington played, it is unlikely that any goaltender can sustain that kind of production night after night.  If VGK can come out tonight and play like they did on Tuesday I expect the result to be in their favor.

As always, there is room for them to improve upon their last performance. The Knights were one for six on the powerplay against the Blues 27^th ranked penalty kill, which is an area of St. Louis’ game they will want to exploit tonight. VGK will also want to cut down on turnovers as they gave the puck away 8 times throughout the game. When playing from behind, the last thing a team wants to do is give their opponents extra opportunities to put the puck in the back of their net.

While Fleury will most likely get the nod tonight, one area of concern for Knights fans and coaches alike is Robin Lehner’s underlying stats so far this season. His goals-against average (GAA) is 2.95 while his save percentage currently sits at .885% with a 2-1-1 record. It is still way too early to hit the panic button, but he will definitely want to improve upon those numbers as he gets more starts under his belt. I expect the Knights to stick to their plan for this season giving both goalies rotating starts, but I would keep an eye on those two stats to see if his performance improves. Lehner’s production will be important this season and he’s going to be expected to steal some games to help the Knights stay in the lead in their division.

The Vegas Golden Knights will resume play Thursday night as they take on the St. Louis Blues for the second time at T-Mobile Arena. The puck drop is set for 6 p.m. and will be on AT&T SportsNet and FOX Sports Las Vegas 98.9/1340.

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-D.J. Wood– Franchise Sports Media

Follow D.J. on Twitter @DJwoody97

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