Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Blog: Second period dooms Golden Knights in 4-1 loss to Blues

Carrier

David Becker / AP

Golden Knights left wing William Carrier (28) punches St. Louis Blues defenseman Joel Edmundson (6) during a scuffle in the second period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Nov. 16, 2018, in Las Vegas.

Updated Friday, Nov. 16, 2018 | 9:39 p.m.

If the Golden Knights could skip right from the first period to the third, they’d be in a much better spot.

After outscoring the Anaheim Ducks 3-0 in the middle frame Wednesday, Vegas surrendered a trio of goals in the second to fall behind the St. Louis Blues at T-Mobile Arena on Friday. The Golden Knights could not recover, and fell 4-1.

It dropped the Golden Knights to a minus-11 goal differential in the second period. In all other periods including overtime, their differential is plus-3 (this is before the third period tonight).

The Golden Knights entered the frame knotted at 1-1, but three St. Louis strikes were the difference. First was Ryan O’Reilly’s deflection in front of the net, his second goal of the game. Brayden Schenn scored in a similar way later in the period before Oskar Sundqvist picked up a rebound and danced it around Vegas goalie Marc-Andre Fleury.

St. Louis’ top line was deadly, coming into the game with a combined 42 points. Then Vladimir Tarasenko and Jaden Schwartz assisted on both of O’Reilly’s goals to make it 48. Goalie Jake Allen was great for the Blues, recording 31 saves.

Vegas did not give itself much of a chance in the third. William Carrier, Cody Eakin and Tomas Nosek all took minor penalties, keeping the team short-handed for too long to mount a comeback.

The Golden Knights also struggled on the power play. They got some good looks, but they went 0-for-4 on the night (before third period), dropping their season percentage to 15.7.

Carrier scored on a breakaway for the Golden Knights 6:03 into the game. Assists went to Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Shea Theodore.

The Golden Knights fell to 8-11-1 in front of 18,488 fans. The Blues won their second road game of the season and improved to 7-7-3 overall.

Come back to lasvegassun.com later for more coverage.

O'Reilly's second puts Blues on top, goals keep coming

It looked like if the Blues were going to score on the sequence they did, it would be Vladimir Tarasenko. He was the one who danced around the Vegas zone, and took it behind the net. But he left the puck for Jaden Schwartz, who fired it on net into the stick of Ryan O'Reilly. The deflection beat Marc-Andre Fleury for O'Reilly's second goal of the game to put the Blues up 2-1 with 12:58 to go.

Shortly before, Colin Miller blocked a slapshot with his leg and stretched it out in the tunnel before returning to the ice and ringing a shot off the left post. He went to the dressing room after the shift, but returned later in the period.

The goals came quick for the Blues after that. With 3:47 remaining in the second, Tyler Bozak won the faceoff to Joel Edmundson, whose shot was redirected by Brayden Schenn. Fifty-nine seconds later, a rebound bounced off Fleury's pads and to the stick of Oskar Sundqvist. After a quick deke, Sundqvist put it home to make it 4-1.

The Golden Knights have been outscored 28-17 in the second period this season, even after Wednesday's 3-0 advantage in the middle period.

Early goals start off first period

The Golden Knights and Blues both got on the board early.

William Carrier got things started for the Golden Knights, taking an outlet pass from Pierre-Edouard Bellemare that went through the legs of St. Louis defenseman Carl Gunnarsson. Carrier was all alone, and slid the puck past Jake Allen for the the first score of the game with 13:57 to play. Shea Theodore was also credited with an assist.

The lead didn't last long. Ryan O'Reilly knotted things up for the Blues when his back-hander got past Marc-Andre Fleury and deflected off the top of Fleury's stick to make it 1-1 just 38 seconds later. Vladimir Tarasenko and Jaden Schwartz assisted on the goal.

The Golden Knights did not score on either of their power plays in the period, but had some good looks on both. They also killed St. Louis' only chance with the man-advantage. Vegas held the advantage in shots on goal, 10-7.

Pre-game

When the Golden Knights line up against the St. Louis Blues at 7 p.m. today, they’ll see a familiar face looking back at them.

St. Louis winger David Perron makes his return to T-Mobile Arena as a member of the Blues after helping the expansion Golden Knights reach the Stanley Cup Final last year.

“He was a key part of our group last year, and it’s going to be fun to play against him tonight,” Vegas defenseman Shea Theodore said. He predicted Perron will get a warm reception from the fans. “With everything happened last year, it’s hard not to," he said.

Perron, who has five goals and six assists in 16 games, faced Vegas at home Nov. 1 in a 5-3 win for St. Louis.

At the beginning of the year, few would have anticipated this game would be between two teams near the bottom of the standings. The Blues' record of 6-7-3 and 15 points is second worst in the NHL ahead of the Los Angeles Kings. The Golden Knights have 17 points at 8-10-1 and are tied for the third-worst record.

“We’re a desperate team right now, too,” Vegas defenseman Jon Merrill said. “We’re still a desperate team that needs two points as much as they do.”

The Blues have lost two in a row and have scored two goals in their last three games. They last played Wednesday in Chicago, a 1-0 loss to the Blackhawks.

The Golden Knights are coming off a 5-0 victory Wednesday over the Anaheim Ducks and have not allowed a goal in two straight games at home, where they have won three straight.

Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant said his team will run out the same lineup as Wednesday against Anaheim.

Emerson’s Prediction: Golden Knights 4, Blues 1

Season record for predictions: Keefer 5-4, Emerson 0-0

Pick to score the Golden Knights’ first goal: Max Pacioretty

Season record for first goal scored: Keefer 1-for-9, Emerson 0-for-0

TV: AT&T SportsNet (DirecTV 684, Cox 1313, CenturyLink 1760)

Radio: Fox Sports 1340 AM and 98.9 FM

Betting line: Golden Knights minus-155, Ducks plus-140; over/under: 5.5 (plus-104, minus-115)

Golden Knights (8-10-1) (5-2-1 home)

Coach: Gerard Gallant (second season)

Goals leader: Jonathan Marchessault (8)

Assists leader: William Karlsson (10)

Expected goalie: Marc-Andre Fleury (2.51 gaa, .902 save percentage)

St. Louis Blues (6-7-3) (1-2-2 road)

Coach: Mike Yeo (third season)

Goals leader: Ryan O’Reilly (8)

Assists leader: Ryan O’Reilly (13)

Expected goalie: Jake Allen (3.73 gaa, .883 save percentage)

Golden Knights expected game day roster

Forwards (12): Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, William Carrier, Ryan Carpenter, Cody Eakin, Tomas Hyka, William Karlsson, Jonathan Marchessault, Tomas Nosek, Max Pacioretty, Ryan Reaves, Reilly Smith, Alex Tuch

Defensemen (6): Deryk Engelland, Nick Holden, Jon Merrill, Brayden McNabb, Colin Miller, Shea Theodore

Goalies (2): Marc-Andre Fleury and Malcolm Subban

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