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Game One of the series went exactly the way the Vegas Golden Knights wouldâve drawn it up in their path to the Stanley Cup Final. Games Two and Three were alarming and downright panic inducing. Now, just 12 hours removed from the VGK Game Four overtime win, we have a Semifinal Best-of-Three series on our hands.
How did we get here?
Fleury (29) and Lehner (90) celebrate
USA Today Sports
Game One
Put simply, the Vegas Golden Knights played like the wagon they can be. For those unfamiliar with the term, a wagon is loosely defined as a team that is hard to beat, theyâre rolling, and you need to jump on their bandwagon. That was Vegas in a nutshell.
Fresh off four straight wins(!) over the Colorado Avalanche, the Golden Knights parlayed that success into a dominating Game One against the Canadiens. These poor Canadiens were crossing the US/Canada border for the first time, thrust from the security blanket that was the North Division. They werenât ready for the Best of the West.
Carey Price was Carey Price, but it wasnât enough. The Habs lost 4-1, behind strong performances from Shea Theodore, Marc-Andre Fleury, and Co. Theodore broke a playoff-long goal drought with the first goal of the game, a wicked slap shot through traffic.
A Chandler Stephenson offensive zone faceoff win to the right of Price started the sequence. His draw bounced off the foot of Max Pacioretty, perfectly to Brayden McNabb, who looked right and slid a perfect one-time pass to the young defenseman. When Theodore is at his best, the Golden Knights are hard to beat.
He would ride that momentum into the second period, where he set Alec Martinez up with a wide-open net, making the game 2-0 just 2:18 into the middle frame. Theodoreâs shot fake made Price bite so badly, that Martinez scored despite shooting the puck back toward the diving Price. He had a gaping net in front of him for the angle shot from the low circle.
Cole Caufiledâs Power Play goal was erased by goals from Mattias Janmark and a terrible goal allowed to Nick Holden. Fleury was stout making 28 saves on 29 shots. Although he played just as well, Price was saddled with the hard loss. Vegas was relentless, reminiscent of their wins over the Avalanche.
Game Two
Getting outshot 12-4 in the first period is not something that typically happens to the Golden Knights. Even in their losses, they tend to outshoot and out chance the opposition. Somehow, the Canadiens kicked their play into another gear and stormed out to 2-0 first period lead.
They stretched the lead to three, late in the second, when Paul Byron beat Fleury on a breakaway with a pretty backhand. Just 1:01 later, Alex Pietrangelo breathed life into the Golden Knights with a seeing-eye shot that found its way through six, yes six, bodies and into the Canadiensâ net.
Petro got another goal with 5:14 left in the game, but it wasnât enough as theyâd lose 3-2. In the series against the Avalanche, the Golden Knights harped that you donât panic until you lose a home game. They were now headed to Montreal, tied 1-1 in the series.
Game Three
In the next two games, the Golden Knights were visibly trying to put the same pressure on Montreal they did in Game One. More notably, they applied that pressure for five straight games against the Colorado Avalanche. They just didnât seem to have the legs to do it.
In front of a limited crowd of their supporters, the Canadiens were able to take a 2-1 series lead over the Golden Knights. It was a huge 3-2 overtime win, with another home game coming in two days and a chance to go up 3-1 before heading back to Vegas for Game Five.
Despite being a step behind their usual speed, the Golden Knights looked to have the win in the bag. When Pietrangelo netted his fourth goal of the postseason at 2:22 of the final period, he gave the Golden Knights a 2-1 lead, that felt like it would stick. His club was getting the better of the play as the game wore on and Fleury had been flawless.
That was until he misplayed a puck behind his goal, a risk he takes far too often, looking to both help the defensemen and get himself involved in the game. Fleury made a huge mistake, leading to the Josh Anderson tying goal, in what is likely the lowlight of his long and storied career.
Shea Weber took the puck behind the Montreal goal. He sent a pass up ice, that Anderson chipped into the Vegas zone. Montreal had speed entering, yet Fleury came out to slow down the puck for his defensemen. He bobbled the puck as he went to reverse it behind him and it found its way into the blue paint, in front of his vacated net. Anderson was the willing recipient of the easy goal.
Fleury was visibly frustrated with himself and usually he is very good with the puck. With your team up a goal late in the game, the risk/reward was much too risky and he ultimately cost the team the game. Did their offense do their part? No. Were they on track to win anyway? Yes.
When it rains, it pours and Anderson scored the GWG in overtime, giving the Habs an unexpected 2-1 series lead. The gift from Fleury was Andersonâs first goal in 13 games and in less than an hour, he had a second. He rode that energy into a solid Game Four performance.
Game Four
During their morning practice, Robin Lehner was the man in âthe starterâs netâ, not Fleury. Lehner played one game all postseason, a 7-1 whooping in Game One of the Avalanche series. Keep in mind that the Avs were rested as they swept the Blues and the Golden Knights scratched out a Game Seven win over the Minnesota Wild in the first round.
Pete DeBoer notoriously says nothing in regard to his starting goaltender, their injuries, etc. in the media availability, he went as far as saying âNot a chance Iâm confirming thatâ, when asked about his Game Four starter.
Was it the mental error by Fleury, that signaled a much-needed rest? DeBoer is outspoken in his comfort in either goaltender, so weâll never know the true reasoning, but he backed up his talk and confidently went with Lehner.
If you think back, Lehner was his goalie of choice come playoff time for the 2019-20 postseason. This season, Fleury took his performance to another level, while Lehner battled a concussion through the middle of the season. Fleury had tons of momentum heading in and it was rightfully his net to start the playoffs.
As good as Lehner is, heâll never be Fleury in Vegas. His play has ranged from average to great, but more so this city has been conditioned to obsess over the former Penguin from the start of the franchise. The enigmatic netminder was pushed as the face of the franchise even before the Expansion Draft selection was officially made. He was flown in for the eveningâs festivities and the rest is history.
Tweets, videos, interviews, articles, you name it centered around Fleury. The team had many familiar faces in Year zone, but they put all their PR eggs in the Fleury basket. James Neal would walk after one season, same with David Perron. Fleury was the star of the show.
To see him sit is a sin to most Golden Knights fans. No stranger to Twitter, Lehner - who is an amazing follow - has to see the chagrin coming from a large portion of the VGK fan base. Following his Game Four win, the âbackup goalieâ TweetedâŠ..
Winning that game had to feel great for the battle-tested goalie. Itâs not his fault heâs not Marc-Andre Fleury. Heâs an elite goaltender, a luxury the Golden Knights will benefit from once Fleuryâs contract expires at the end of the 2021-22 season. Still, heâs not Fleury and way too many fans under appreciate the âPandaâ.
Lehner kept the Golden Knights in Game Four while they were visibly outplayed in the first and second periods. The Canadiens outshot Vegas 11-4 in the first period. Byron beat Lehner on a second period breakaway, his only blemish during the one-goal performance. By the end of the second, shots were 20-12 in favor of Montreal and they were getting the better of the chances.
Both goalies were standing on their heads. Game Threeâs hero, Anderson finished the game with 10 hits and was all over the ice. His performance was clearly impacted by his two huge goals in the previous game. Still, the Golden Knights were able to knot up the series.
If you havenât gotten it already, Lehner was a huge part of the win. With the Golden Knights visibly tired, McNabb tied the game at one with a rare high danger attempt at the net front. His shot from the low circle squeaked through Price, giving the Golden Knights some life.
Nicolas Roy, a French Canadian with family members donning the grey and gold, scored his first career OT goal just 1:18 into extra time. It was a great scene watching his family celebrate in the stands as their guy was mauled by his team, on an ice surface he likely dreamed of playing on as a child.
His goal was all effort, as the bottom-six forward found a loose puck in a net-front scramble near Price. With boos raining down on him, former Canadien captain Max Pacioretty was looking to make something happen.
The winger took the puck around the net, spun back as he hit the faceoff circle, and sent a shot toward price. The Pacioretty attempt was easily stopped, but Roy was on the door step. Price stopped the first rebound, but Roy recovered, waited him out, and lifted his second attempt up and over the elite goaltender.
Now we have a brand new series. The series is now essentially a Best-of-Three with home ice advantage given back to the Golden Knights. Game Five will start at 9:00 EDT/6:00 PDT, viewable nationally on NBCSN.
Will Lehner get the start after a stellar performance or will the home crowd get their celebrity back in goal? Will Montreal rebound from the OT loss to steal another game in Vegas? They need one if theyâre going to win the series. Itâs up to the Golden Knights to defend the Fortress and make a second Stanley Cup Final in four years.
Follow along throughout the remainder of the playoffs for your VGK news and updates! You can also check me out at the links below!
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