The Vegas Golden Knights came into Tuesday night’s contest as one of the hottest teams in the NHL. For the second time this season, the Knights were in the midst of a five-game win streak (a franchise record, for what it’s worth). Extending that win streak to six games, however, wouldn’t come easy against a talented Dallas Stars team looking to claw its way back into contention, even though Vegas managed to beat them in their inaugural regular season game.
Stars forwards Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin and Alexander Radulov have been on a tear to start the season, combining for 31 goals and 66 points in just 23 games. To extend the win streak, shutting down the Stars’ top point-getters would be pivotal for the Golden Knights.
Early on in the contest, the Knights did just that. Despite both teams combining for 25 shots on goal, neither team could find twine in the opening period thanks to quality goaltending from Malcolm Subban and Ben Bishop. And while Subban faced more shots than Bishop, it was the Dallas netminder who stole the show in the first period.
For the majority of the middle third, the contest continued to look like a showdown between two hot goaltenders. This time, it was Subban who made several ridiculous saves to keep the game scoreless.
Then things started to unravel.
Just before the seven-minute mark of the second period, Radek Faksa beat Subban on a one-timer to give Dallas the one-goal lead.
In the period’s final minute, Faksa scored again.
Seconds later, the Stars took the 3-0 lead thanks to a greasy goal from, you guessed it, Radek Faksa! That’s right. It wasn’t Seguin or Benn or Radulov who’d give Vegas fits. It was Faksa, who, prior to puck drop, had registered only five goals on the season. He’d boost that number to eight goals against Vegas and also add a hat trick to his resume — the first of his career.
In the final third, the Golden Knights failed to solve Bishop and, despite averaging a ridiculous 3.68 goals per game, were held scoreless for the first time in franchise history. This also marks the end of their eight-game home winning streak. The last time the Golden Knights were beaten in the T-Mobile Arena came on Oct. 13 in a 6-3 loss to the Detroit Red Wings.
Vegas’ offense was lacking from start to finish against Dallas and, for the first time since losing David Perron to injury in their Nov. 24 contest against the San Jose Sharks, looked totally disorganized in the offensive zone. One player certainly doesn’t make a team (unless you’re the Edmonton Oilers), but it would’ve been nice to have Perron in the lineup this time around.
If there’s one positive to take away from this game, it’s that Subban once again looked phenomenal in net. Even though he allowed three goals in the second period, he kept things interesting for the majority of the contest and was Vegas’ best player on the ice. Frankly, it wasn’t even all that close.
A list of Golden Knights players who have performed well tonight:
– Malcolm Subban
— Ryan Quigley (@RP_Quigs) November 29, 2017
The Golden Knights’ next game is scheduled for Thursday at 5 p.m. PT against the Minnesota Wild at the Xcel Energy Center. As always, stay with Knights On Ice for news and notes headed up to that contest.