FSM Essential Recap: Golden Knights vs Ducks- Game 17

The Vegas Golden Knights carried a lot of energy from Monday night’s game into their Saturday night matchup as they seemed to dominate most of the first period.

The opening frame saw VGK look dangerous throughout as they looked to reclaim the first spot in the division after Minnesota had claimed it after beating the Kings earlier in the night. Even though the Knights looked dominant in the first ten minutes, the Ducks were the team to open up the scoring. At the 9:51 mark, Rickard Rakell scored his first goal in fifteen games beating Fleury short-side from the left circle. Anaheim was 5-4-2 after scoring first this season, so Vegas had no reason to worry and continued to play their game.

At the 6:52 marker, Ryan Getzlaf took a tripping penalty and gave VGK their first opportunity of the night with the man advantage, but they failed to score. Shortly after the penalty was killed, Cam Fowler had a great opportunity between the circles, but Fleury showed up to make a big save as he has done all season. VGK finally evened the score up with 3:32 remaining as Alex Pietrangelo scored his second goal of the season after a great screen from William Carrier. It was a welcome sight to see as the high-cost defenseman has not made an impact on many games so far this season.

The second period saw the Knights continue to build momentum through the combination of great defensive plays and capitalizing on a great offensive chance.

At around the fourteen-minute mark, Alec Martinez made a great defensive effort while sprawling out on the ice to prevent a two-on-one opportunity from the Ducks. Martinez has quietly been showing his veteran poise and skill all season as he has made fifteen blocks so far, putting him at second in that category in the NHL With 10:50 remaining in the period, William Karlsson made an outstanding effort to score a goal while falling to the ice to give the Golden Knights a 2-1 lead after receiving a great breakout pass from Alex Pietrangelo. With a little over six minutes left, Fleury made a key save on Max Jones to keep his team in the lead despite Getzlaf’s skillful pass from along the boards. In the last four and a half minutes of the period, both Max Pachioretty and Nic Hague were denied by John Gibson to keep the game within one goal.

The Knights carried a 6-0 record this season when entering the third period with a lead, while the Ducks were 0-6 when trailing, heading into the third period this season. Both teams lived up to that reputation, but not without some drama to end the game.

Not even thirty seconds into the final frame, we saw Alec Martinez take a shot from Jakob Silfverberg off the chin for another block, and while it looked painful, he was not off the ice for long. The first eight minutes of the third saw both goalies make a pair of outstanding saves to keep the game close as both Shea Theodore and Derek Grant were robbed on great scoring chances. Derek Grant ended up taking a penalty seconds after his scoring chance. Still, the VGK powerplay was short-lived as Shea Theodore took an interference penalty just thirteen seconds after being awarded a powerplay. Hampus Lindholm proceeded to take yet another penalty about twenty seconds later to give the Knights a 4 on 3 opportunity, yet both teams returned to even strength with no change in the score.

At the 8:55 mark, Adam Henrique tied the game up jamming in a goal after making his presence felt in front of the net. VGK challenged the play after Rickard Rakell played the puck with a high stick, but it was determined that since the puck hit Fleury first before going in. The momentary change in possession negated the challenge and gave Anaheim a powerplay since Vegas was charged with delay of game, a confusing set of circumstances, to say the least. The rest of the period played out with no change in score as the game went to overtime. After a pair of back-to-back saves by Fleury in the opening minute and a great save by Gibson on Max Pachioretty shortly after, the Knights ended the game with a goal by William Karlsson, his second of the night. While it was not pretty, VGK got the job done and will head into their first game against the Minnesota Wild on a high note.

The Vegas Golden Knights will resume play Monday evening taking on the Minnesota Wild at T-Mobile Arena in front of their fans for the first time in almost a year. The puck drop is set for 7:00 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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