Jeff McIntosh / The Canadian Press via AP
Vegas Golden Knights goalie Robin Lehner, right, lets in a goal from Calgary Flames’ Andrew Mangiapane during the second period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022, in Calgary, Alberta.
Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022 | 10:29 p.m.
It might not have mattered if Mark Stone played tonight for the Golden Knights. Simply put: With or without their star, they didn’t stand much of a chance against the Flames.
Playing for the second straight night on the road, Vegas surrendered three goals in a 10-minute span of the first period against host Calgary in being blanked, 6-0.
“They dominated us from start to finish,” said defenseman Brayden McNabb. “They embarrassed us and they deserved to win that one like they did.”
The Golden Knights’ captain was a late scratch due to an upper-body injury in missing his 20th game of the season.
Coach Pete DeBoer said Stone sat due to a nagging injury — reportedly involving his back — that forced him to miss 12 games earlier in the season. He will be re-evaluated when the team returns to Las Vegas.
“This was an important game,” DeBoer said. “He would’ve played if he could’ve.”
Robin Lehner made 27 saves and gave up at least five goals for the third time this season, but the performance wasn’t necessarily because of poor play in the net. Rather, the Golden Knights looked like a team playing on the second night of a back-to-back.
Some more observations:
The Golden Knights’ sluggish start
The Flames’ speed put the Golden Knights on their heels, none more evident than Johnny Gaudreau’s goal to open the scoring five minutes into the game.
After carrying the puck through the neutral zone and working it behind the net, Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk worked a give-and-go in front to beat Lehner top corner.
“We knew they were waiting for us. They’ve been waiting on that game for a while,” Vegas forward Jonathan Marchessault said. “We came off just flat.”
Goals from Mikael Backlund and Elias Lindholm in the next 2:42 pushed the lead to 3-0.
Tired legs or not, the consensus among the Vegas coach and players was there was no excuses for the performance.
“We know they’re a quick starting team,” DeBoer said. “We knew they’d be hungry and ready to play and treating this as an important game. We were prepared for all that. There’s no excuse for how we started the game.”
Strong play from Nolan Patrick
In a game with few bright spots, Nolan Patrick was one of them.
Patrick returned to the lineup after being a healthy scratch Tuesday and might have had his best game as a Golden Knight. It’s likely to be forgotten given the result, but Patrick had four shots on goal in 13:22 and was the only player to not be on the ice when Vegas allowed a goal.
DeBoer moved him to the top line with Max Pacioretty and Chandler Stephenson in the third period as a reward for his play.
“He jumped in the lineup with some pop, which is what we were looking for,” DeBoer said. “Could’ve had at least a couple of goals.”
Patrick had two great chances to get on the scoresheet in the second period; a deflection in front stopped by Flames goalie Jacob Markstrom, and a breakaway with 25 seconds remaining but he shot it over the crossbar.
Patrick’s NHL career has been mired with migraine issues. The No. 2 pick from the 2017 draft was acquired from Philadelphia in the offseason in hopes of kickstarting a fresh start for him. But Patrick missed 29 games due to an upper-body injury and is teetering between being a mainstay on the roster going forward. Play like this is why he’s still in consideration for a spot.
Tough spot on road
It’s a tale of two buildings in this rivalry.
The Golden Knights have never lost to the Flames in seven tries in T-Mobile Arena, outscoring them 30-9.
But in the past five meetings in Calgary dating back to 2018, the Flames are 4-1 against Vegas, have outscored them 29-11 and have scored at least six goals four times.
This was only the third time the Golden Knights have ever lost by at least six goals. Two of those have come inside the Flames’ Scotiabank Saddledome.
“It’s not the building that’s tough to play in. I think they’re a good home team and we’re the same way a little bit, too,” Marchessault said. “Obviously back-to-backs are hard on the body and stuff like that, but it’s no excuse for us. Good teams find a way to win, and tonight we weren’t good.”
