Golden Knights come out flat in shutout loss in Winnipeg

The Golden Knights allowed three goals in the opening 20 minutes and never recovered, falling to the Winnipeg Jets 4-0 at Bell MTS Place to open a five-game road trip.

It is the fourth time this season that Vegas has been shut out and the third time in six games it has allowed at least four goals.

The Jets scored 32 seconds into the game, then again about four minutes later before finding the net one more time with 1:50 left in the period. They finished the scoring at the 14-minute mark of the second.

“The game was over in the first period,” coach Peter DeBoer said to AT&T SportsNet. “The first period was unacceptable and that’s what happens when you’re playing desperate teams with great goaltending. You get into a hole and it’s hard to come back."

The Golden Knights led in shots on goal 29-24.

Here are three takeaways from the loss.

Another slow start

The idea behind starting the fourth line, something that Vegas has done every game since the All-Star break, was that the trio will start off the game with a burst of energy. The strategy was questioned when the Blues scored against them on the opening shift three weeks ago, and it will be interesting to watch if it is reconsidered again.

The Golden Knights gave up a goal 32 seconds into the game, when a Nikolaj Ehlers centering attempt went off Ryan Reaves and into an open net. It’s the second time Reaves, William Carrier and Tomas Nosek have given up a goal on the first shift of the game. They also gave up a high-danger chance to start the game against the Oilers and Devils recently.

Starting the fourth line hasn’t shown a quantifiable impact, as the Golden Knights have given up the first goal in seven of their last 11 games and have been outscored 6-1 in the last four first periods.

“When you’re not ready to play against good teams, that’s what happens,” defenseman Nate Schmidt told AT&T SportsNet. “We weren’t really good with the puck tonight. That caused us to play slow and turn the pucks over to their transition.”

Facing an MVP

Connor Hellebuyck has been so good this season, he has a legitimate case to become the second goalie in the last 17 years to win the Hart Trophy as the league MVP. He added another bullet to his resume on Friday.

Hellebuyck fended off all 29 shots Vegas sent his way on Friday. The Golden Knights had their chances, generating 3.22 expected goals, according to Moneypuck.com, but couldn’t score an actual goal. It was a rare off night for the Golden Knights, who had scored nearly four goals per game in five outings against Hellebuyck. He entered the game with a career .875 save percentage against Vegas, his worst against any opponent.

Streaky Fleury

The goalie in the other net hasn’t been as consistent. Fleury had a tremendous start to the season, then struggled for the better part of three months before rattling off a terrific stretch right before the trade deadline. It was a sign that maybe Fleury had put it together and would finish strong in what had been one of his career worst seasons.

Then he gave up four goals to the lowly Kings on Sunday, and another four to the Jets in his next start. In the five games prior to last Sunday’s game against the Kings, Fleury posted a .942 save percentage in five victories. In the four games before that, it was an .854 save percentage.

It’s been .805 in the last two games after he went 20-for-24 on Friday, which would be cause for concern if Vegas didn’t have another option. Robin Lehner has given the Golden Knights two strong starts since he arrived via trade last week. If Fleury continues to struggle, Vegas will have no choice but to play Lehner more.