On Friday night the VGK’s 10-game winning streak ended when the boys pretty much mailed in their performance with a 3-0 loss to a team that is clearly not as good as they are.

The VGK Top Guns were nowhere to be found on Friday.

Well, last night was a completely different story. Mark “Long Stick” Stone, Max “Sniper” Pacioretty, and Marc-Andre “Crossbar” Fleury had their flight suits on and had their flight plan filed and it showed in their 3-2 OT win.

The flight did hit some turbulence in the 3rd period, which is rare for Vegas as they pretty much dominate the last period. The Knights uncharacteristically gave up 2 third-period goals that forced the game into OT. But a little rough air didn’t scrub the mission, especially with “Crossbar” having a 5-game winning streak on the line, not to mention a crucial 2 points, as Colorado seems to have replaced the wheels that fell off their bus recently.

“Crossbar” was chasing another achievement: He needed one more win to move into a tie for 3rd in wins in NHL history with Roberto Luongo; they’re both now at 489 wins. That was accomplished when Jonathan Marchessault buried his shot on the power play from the left-wing faceoff circle 3:04 into overtime. It was Marchy’s 15th goal of the season, his first OT goal, and his 3rd GWG. Nothing like having the VGK “Little Guy getting the team flying straight. The win extended Fleury’s winning streak to 6 games; he also has a potential three more games to break the third-place tie.

Stone’s goal, which made it 2-0 in the 2nd period, was his 20th of the season. Stone has scored at least 20 goals per season for the last 7 seasons. William Karlsson, who had more than a few grade A scoring chances on Friday, only to be denied by Adin Hill, scored halfway through the first period when he beat Kuemper, the Arizona goaltender. Karlsson was going hard to the net and took a pass from Marchessault. The puck actually went into the net off Karlsson’s lower body and not his stick. This is one of the reasons coaches, especially DeBoer want his players in and around the blue paint. The VGK took a 1-0 lead.

The VGK specialty teams are complete opposites. The PK unit is the best in the league; their PP unit is, well, you know how it is. They seem to generate more scoring chances when they’re killing a penalty than on the power play. I know the GWG was on the power play, but it needs help — lots of help — before the playoffs start. Last night, they switched back to Pacioretty setting up on the right faceoff circle and moved Marchessault back to the left side. They also had Alex Tuch playing the center position between Carrier and Janmark on the 3rd line. DeBoer was looking to create more offense after being shut out on Friday night. Unfortunately, Pacioretty didn’t play in the third period because of an undisclosed injury. DeBoer didn’t have an update on Max in his post-game presser.

The VGK penalty kill had killed off 21 in a row before Christian Dvorak scored on the power play with just 5:12 left in the game to tie it up and create some tense moments for the VGK fans and, I’m sure, the players, who usually have the 3rd period locked down with a 2-goal lead. Vegas has never lost a game this season when they had a 2-goal lead at any point and that streak also continues. With last night’s win, Vegas leads the Avalanche by 4 points in the standings. The Avs have 1 game in hand.

My 3 Stars of the Game
1) Jonathan Marchessault (OT GWG and 1A on Karlsson’s goal plus 4 SOG)
2) William Karlsson (1G, which took the pressure off of Vegas early on)
3) Mark Stone (1G, and a physical presence all game)

Speaking of a physical presence, you have to love how Zach Whitecloud is making himself a force around the front of the net. He’s still growing and is quickly becoming a beast on defense.

One other note. Shea Theodore should consider changing his stick. The one he’s currently using doesn’t seem to like keeping the puck on it. He’s had a rough few games with controlling the puck at key times.

Vegas had 8 SOG on their power play and had 4 SOG from their penalty killing unit. Their power play was 1/5, but the 1 goal was the GWG.

Next game is tomorrow vs. Minnesota Wild at 5 p.m. Pacific Time at Xcel Energy Center

If you want to hear and see more VGK content please check out the podcast I do with Eddie Rivkin on YouTube. It’s called “Hockey Knights in Vegas.”

Your comments and opinions are welcome here at Las Vegas Advisor or you may contact me directly at [email protected] or on my Facebook page or the Facebook page of Vegas Hockey Guy or on Twitter @TheRealJoePane

One other note: If you’re reading this blog from Facebook or Twitter and would like to access it earlier in the morning before I share it on social media, it’s usually published by 8 a.m. the morning after a game on LasVegasAdvisor.com. What better way is there to enjoy your morning coffee than reading my take on last night’s VGK game.

Karlsson’s opening goal
Stone’s goal from Pacioretty
Marchessault’s OT GWG