It’s one thing to lose a game; It’s an absolute disaster to lose to a team that is so inferior on paper. The Vegas Golden Knights did just that in a 5-0 loss to the Sidney Crosby-less Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday afternoon.
And to make matters worse, they lost their captain in the process.
In the first round, there was no sign of the coming blow. The Golden Knights got off to a timely start, recording the first four shots on goal and dictating the game in the first five minutes of the game. And then, the Penguins found their footing and essentially forced the Golden Knights into submission.
The Penguins broke the ice first at 14:56. Anthony Mantha won the board battle against Keegan Kolesar, and Ben Kindel controlled the puck and drove into the zone. Kindall cut to the middle of the ice, stepped into the slot, and ripped a sneaky wrister through to Rasmus Andersen that beat Adin Hill on the blocker.
Despite trailing by just one goal, the Golden Knights entered the first intermission with a storm cloud hanging over their heads. At the end of the period, Mark Stone took a cross-check from Kris Letang and immediately went down the tunnel. Stone did not return to start the second period and was quickly ruled out for the remainder of the game.
The Penguins doubled their lead as their power play ended 5:47 into the second period. Justin Brazeau found Egor Chinakhov all alone in the right circle, and the winger fired a shot past Adin Hill short-side.
At 9:34 of the second game the Penguins struck again on the power play. Jeremy Lauzon knocked down Erik Karlsson’s shot from the point, but he couldn’t stop Bryan Rust from banging in the rebound.
The Penguins increased their lead on the power play at 15:06 of the second minute. Erik Karlsson single-handedly hit Ricard Raquel in front of the net and Raquel buried his own counterattack.
This season, the Golden Knights have been known for their dramatic comebacks. That was not the case today. They created nine high-danger scoring chances in the third period, but could not beat Arturs Silovs.
The Penguins added insult to injury at 14:59 of the third period. Kris Letang stripped Jack Eichel of the puck and found Ben Kindel on a fly through the neutral zone. Kindle entered the zone and released the puck to Justin Brazeau, who fired a shot past Adin Hill.
Arturs Silovs secured the shutout for the Penguins and the Golden Knights lost 5–0.
After Sunday’s regulation loss, the Golden Knights still lead the Pacific Division with 70 points and a 28-18-14 record. The Anaheim Ducks are on top with 67 points, and have two games in hand.
However, the division standings are far from the Golden Knights’ biggest concern right now. Instead, that honor goes to Mark Stone’s injury situation. Despite already missing 17 games this season, Stone is second on the team in scoring with 21 goals and 60 points in 43 games.
The Golden Knights live and die by their captain. He’s not just a dominant player – he’s the emotional leader in the locker room. If he misses any time, the Golden Knights will feel that loss deeply.
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