The Vegas Golden Knights rolled over Calgary Flames this Sunday night. It was, without a doubt, the most frustrating experience for Bill Peters’ boys in a while, as they suffered a 6-0 loss at the T-Mobile Arena.
The Flames did play well in the opening two periods, but fantastic Marc-Andre Fleury prevented them from scoring. The guests were two goals behind after the opening two frames before getting wiped out in the last. Vegas netted four times in that sequence, annihilating the Flames’ defense.
Peters spoke about that following the game, mentioning that third period.
“I thought we battled through 40 (minutes) and had a tough one in the final 20. It was a little deflating in that regard. It feels like it’s just hard to get (the puck) to go in right now.”
William Karlson opened the bank midway through the first, as he beat Cam Talbot after a 2-on-1 rush. Although the guests had 13 shots, Fleury denied them all. The Golden Knights’ goalie had 34 saves for his second shutout of the season.
It was 2-0 for the hosts with 9:39 into the second period, with Paul Stastny sending a wrist shot near Talbot.
“That’s what we were talking about before the third, having the mindset to score more goals, play the same way,” Karlsson said.
The Flames fell apart in the final period, allowing four goals in less than 10 minutes. Max Pacioretty finished a 2-on-1 with a glove side, and Cody Eakin indicated a catastrophe for the visitors with 5:35 to go when he scored the fourth goal for the home team. Peters challenged the goal, claiming that there was offside before it, but the call stayed after a video check.
Mark Stone added a power-play goal at 15:09, blasting a one-timer from the left circle.
The guy who started it all, Karlsson, closed the contest with his second goal of the game, 2:32 before the end. The 26-year old center was pretty pleased with the way his teammates, and he followed the gameplan.
“Be aggressive, but also be aware. I think we executed very well and, overall, played a really good game.”
For the Swed, this was the seventh point over the previous three matches. The reason for his radical improvement was the rotation in his line, where Pacioretty came to play along with him and Reilly Smith.
This was an excellent moment for a win of the Golden Knights (10-9-3), who had five losses in a row before Sunday’s contest. One by one, the Ble Jackets, Maple Leafs, Capitals, Red Wings, Blackhawks, and the LA Kings beat Gerard Gallant’s side.
“We dug a bit of a hole for ourselves with those losses,” said Pacioretty.
They now have three games at home, facing the Maple Leafs first one Tuesday.
Flames (10-10-3) meanwhile, are meeting the Avalanche also on Tuesday, in the hope of snapping their four-game losing skid. After that, Peters’ team is staring a road trip that kicks-off against the champions, St. Louis Blues, and continues against the Flyers, Penguins and the Sabres.
