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Delayed Reaction: Thoughts on Golden Knights Win over Winnipeg Jets

Posted on by Tom Urtz Jr.
  • Life got in the way of me completing a normal and timely recap for the Vegas Golden Knights’ most recent win over the Winnipeg Jets, so I am hereby atoning with a delayed reaction notes column.
  • First and foremost… it isn’t often that Connor Hellebuyck allows 6 or more goals against in a game. According to StatMuse, prior to Tuesday, Hellebuyck has only had this happen 9 times, with the most recent occasions being November 23rd vs. the Minnesota Wild, and April 16th vs the Tampa Bay Lightning.
  • Adin Hill surrendered 5 against in the win, and it was a wild game that saw Mark Scheifele score with just seconds remaining to make it 6-5. Prior to this start, Hill’s last 5 starts saw him allow the following of goals (1,1,4,4,3). In that stretch he went 2-2-1, and on the year he is now 8-2-1 with a 2.62 goals against average and a .907 save percentage.
  • The roster is currently missing some key contributors, and it was nice to see the remaining big names contribute, and some unexpected names come through in a big way. Mark Stone hasn’t looked himself since the loss vs. the New York Rangers in which he was roughed up a little bit, primarily a cross check in front of the net, but he scored twice. /

  • Jonathan Marchessault remains on fire and has tallied 6 goals in 7 games played in December after scoring 9 goals in his first 24 games of the season. He scored two of the biggest goals of the game which were the tying goal and the “unofficial game winner”, both coming back-to-back on the power play. /

  • I say unofficial because William Karlsson scored the last Golden Knights goal of the game, and Scheifele scored a meaning goal with two seconds left to make it 6-5.
  • Chandler Stephenson also had a big game with 4 assists, and he continues to thrive in the primary playmaking role he’s taken on this month. Over the first two months he posted a line of 6-13-19 in 24 games played, and in the month of December he’s tallied 8 assists in 9 games played.
  • The unsung hero of this victory was Daniil Miromanov, a player called up to play in the place of an injured Shea Theodore. Tuesday’s game was his 17th as an NHL player, and he picked up his first career NHL goal, and had the primary assist on both of Marchessault’s goals./

  • Overall the power play came up clutch going 2/3, and scoring back-to-back goals certainly provided a huge lift. Vegas, although missing some top contributors, has a lot of good talent on the current roster and can get to another level if they can keep this success up.
  • It was a big win for the Golden Knights, and they were able to rally once again. They gave up a late goal to allow Winnipeg to tie shortly after going ahead, and also allowed a go-ahead goal just seconds into the 3rd period. The game might have been a little closer had Logan Thompson been in goal, but he’s not going to play every game.
  • Tonight the Golden Knights are on the road again vs. the Blackhawks, and it is a very winnable game that hopefully doesn’t end up being a trap game. /

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