3 Game Skid Ends as Vegas Looks to Finish 6 Game Road Trip on a High Note

At the start of the NHL season in early October nearly everybody across the NHL didn’t know what to expect from the latest franchise to join the league, the Vegas Golden Knights. I found their offseason to be pretty successful between the entry level draft, trades, and their expansion draft selections with Marc-Andre Fleury being the highlight of all the Vegas picks. But it was hard to predict that Vegas would have the start they have had thus far through their first 13 games. The Knights started the season on the road in Dallas and Arizona and entered their first home game 2-0. The home opener had some extra meaning to it following the Vegas shootings, and the city and NHL community came together and pulled for Vegas to win and they delivered with a 5-2 victory over the Arizona Coyotes, capping off a three game winning streak to begin the year.

Despite the hot start, Vegas had a hurdle to leap when they lost their leader, Marc-Andre Fleury due to a concussion. Fleury has still yet to play since his initial injury, and since then Vegas has used three different goalies. Sounds like the Knights would enter a downward spiral right? Nope, instead the team put together a five game winning streak from October 15^th to the 27^th. During the streak Vegas had a perfect penalty kill in four of the five victories, they had at least one powerplay goal in four of the five games, and ended the streak with a seven nothing shellacking over the Colorado Avalanche.

Just like every good streak in sports, it eventually comes to an end, and in the NHL all a team can do following a loss is just look to gain at least a point in the next game. Vegas didn’t do that for three straight games after the five game winning streak, bringing their record to 8-4-0. In Vegas’ first visit to Boston, rookie goaltender Maxine Lagace (who was the back up netminder in the AHL), got his start in the NHL. Vegas struggled to put pucks on net and didn’t get their first registered shot until nearly halfway through the first period, even though they ended up with more shots on net at the end of the game. Vegas swallowed a 2-1 loss against the hot and cold Bruins and knew going into their next game against Ottawa in the fourth game of their six game Eastern Conference road trip, had to end with at least a point in their pocket.

Instead, they earned two points in a 5-4 win over the Senators in what was a back and forth game. Vegas’ ability to answer goals from Ottawa is what helped spark the Knights to get the victory with answering goals coming three and five minutes later. Maxime Lagace earned his first career NHL win with his family in the crowd and also made a huge save on Dion Phaneuf in the first period going from one side of the net to diving to the other side to stop Phaneuf’s one timer.

Vegas still has two more games on this road trip in back to back games with Toronto on Monday and Montreal on Tuesday. Vegas currently sits in third place in the Western Conference and are just four points behind LA and five points behind St. Louis. If Vegas can wrap up this road trip with at least two points they should still remain in the top four in the West as they head back home to the desert with their 6-1-0 record at T-Mobile Arena. Keep on keeping on Vegas, the team is fun to watch and continues to open the eyes of opponents and media members with each victory earned.

Written by Nick Gendreau