Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Playoff preview? Knights fall to Flames in another heated affair

Golden Knights at Calgary

Jeff McIntosh / The Canadian Press via AP

Vegas Golden Knights goalie Malcolm Subban, right, lets in a goal from Calgary Flames’ Andrew Mangiapane during first period NHL hockey action in Calgary, Alberta, Sunday, March 10, 2019.

The Golden Knights had an uphill battle Sunday looking for their seventh consecutive win, as they were coming off a road game on Saturday and facing a rested Calgary Flames team.

Turns out the hill was just too high, especially considering the Flames are one of the Western Conference’s best teams.

The Golden Knights gave up three first-period goals, and even though they tied the game in the second period, wound up on the wrong end of a 6-3 loss at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

“We came back and gave ourselves a chance to win the game,” forward Max Pacioretty said to AT&T SportsNet. “The opportunities were there, we just weren’t able to capitalize.”

Brandon Pirri, Reilly Smith and Mark Stone scored for Vegas, and Malcolm Subban took the loss despite making 29 saves.

Here are three takeaways from the loss:

Subban struggles continue in Calgary

Subban may wake up with nightmares of having to play all his games in Calgary. The Flames, who tagged him for seven goals Nov. 19, scored five times on Sunday against the Golden Knights’ backup goalie. The sixth goal came against an empty net.

Subban has allowed five or more goals three times this season, and two of them have been in the Flames’ arena.

The game was reminiscent of the earlier meeting, with the Flames scoring twice in the game’s initial 10 minutes and not letting up — just like in November.

“It’s a little different than our building,” Subban told AT&T SportsNet. “Stuff happens I guess.”

Playoff preview?

This is the last time the Golden Knights and Flames are scheduled to meet this season. But that could change.

Vegas appears to be firmly locked into the Pacific Division’s No. 3 playoff spot. That sets up a first-round meeting with the No. 2 seed in the Pacific, which should either be the San Jose Sharks or Flames.

Calgary’s win against Vegas moved it back into first place, but if San Jose catches the Flames in the end, the last two Vegas-Calgary meetings gave a glimpse of what the emotions would be like a postseason series.

The first meeting of the week, a one-goal win by the Golden Knights, nearly included a goalie fight between Marc-Andre Fleury and Calgary’s David Rittich. Those emotions carried over to Sunday, where Subban took an unsportsmanlike penalty in another physical game.

Mark Stone heating up

When the Golden Knights acquired the former Ottawa winger Mark Stone at the trade deadline last month, they knew they were upgrading their lineup with a player who could put the puck in the back of the net.

It took him five games, but Stone has now scored in consecutive contests. His first goal with Vegas came on Saturday against the Canucks. His second goal came the following day at Calgary in the second period. He nearly scored twice against the Flames, hitting the crossbar minutes later.

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