It’s often said that water rolls off the back of a duck, but in a rare afternoon game at T-Mobile, a New Year’s Eve tradition for the VGK, they ruffled the feathers of the Anaheim Ducks, poured shot after shot on Anaheim goaltender John Gibson, and punched their way to a dominating win by a score of 3-1 in front of 18,022, who ventured down to the Strip before it closed to allow for the many amateurs who will without a doubt fully drink their way to oblivion.

With their win, Vegas increased their record to 22-12-0 for 44 points and increased their lead in the Pacific Division to 3 points over the Ducks. Their 44 points are the most among the 16 teams that play in the Western Conference. Only 2 teams in the NHL have more points than the VGK. Tampa Bay has 46 points and is playing while I write this and Carolina has 45.

This victory also marked their 62nd in calendar year 2021. The 62 wins are the most in NHL history. Only 5 other teams in the history of the NHL have had 60 or 61 wins in a calendar year.

Laurent Brossoit is currently the #1 goaltender for the VGK; Robin Lehner is still out with an injury he suffered on Dec 19th against the Islanders. Brossoit was near perfect, stopping 15 of the 16 shots he faced and was headed for his 3rd career shutout until Ryan Getzlaf scored a power-play goal with just 12 seconds left in the game.

Brossoit’s first 2 shutouts were while he was on the Winnipeg Jets, the first in the 2018-2019 season and the second in the 2020-2021 season.

It was the Ducks’ only goal in the game in the only power play in the game and their only shot on the power play.

On the flip side, the VGK had 6 power-play chances and came up empty. John Gibson stopped all Vegas’ 14 SOG on their power plays.

Just when you thought that the injury bug was in the rear-view mirror, it has resurfaced. Stone, Lehner, and Nicolas Hague are out with undisclosed injuries. Then you have to add Max Pacioretty, who underwent surgery on his wrist and Alec Martinez who hasn’t played since Nov 11 after taking a skate to the face. Martinez, Pacioretty, and Jack Eichel are on LTIR; Eichel is recovering from neck surgery.

This game had a bit of an edge to it. I’m not sure if the Ducks were trying to light a fire under their own asses, as they had almost nothing going on, generating only 16 shots on goal, while Vegas had almost 3 times that amount with 45. Or is there some bad blood between these teams? The rivalry in the first few years of this franchise with the San Jose Sharks has all but disappeared. Are the Ducks, in a tooth and nail fight with Vegas for the top spot in the Pacific Division, the new rivalry?

There were 3 fights in the game with Brayden McNabb dropping the gloves twice. Keegan Kolesar also challenged Ryan Getzlaf who took some unnecessary liberties with William Karlsson 11 seconds after Getzlaf exited the penalty box for his roughing penalty. Kolesar invited him to a dance and Getzlaf obliged.

When Derek Grant violently cross-checked Dylan Coghlan from behind, Brayden McNabb stepped up for a dance with Grant. With tempers and emotions percolating, McNabb issued one of his bone crushing checks along the right-wing boards and multiple players wound up in a big dog pile. McNabb and Sam Carrick found their way out of the dog pile and exchanged punches with just 1:12 left in the game. McNabb received an additional 2 minutes for interference, which was the power-play that ruined Brossoit’s shutout.

The Ducks must have eaten something that upset their collective stomach and it showed: They received 14 penalties, which included 3 fighting penalties, one 10-minute misconduct, and 4 roughing penalties. The VGK aren’t noted for fighting, but they stepped up to the defend their fellow teammates.

Other game notes and quotes.

“I think the team’s been feeling good the last month or so,” Laurent Brossoit said. “To cap off the month and year with a performance like that, you couldn’t feel better.”

When Brossoit was asked about losing the shutout very late in the game he said, “I’m not too worried about the shutout. All that matters is the win.”

Defenseman Alex Pietrangelo and forward Evgenii Dadonov returned for the VGK after missing two games in protocol.

Peter DeBoer was behind the bench after missing one game in protocol.

Jonathan Marchessault had a game-high of 8 SOG for both teams.

Alex Pietrangelo, who usually logs the most ice time, was surpassed by Shea Theodore who had 26:06 of ice time while Petro had 21:32. Theodore was moved up to the top defensive pairing with Zach Whitecloud.

Mattias Janmark was awarded a penalty shot when his stick was held on a breakaway by Josh Manson. Gibson made the save on the penalty shot with 1:39 left in the 2nd period. Janmark made note of the choppy ice that happens toward the end of a 20-minute period. In the shootouts the ice is scraped before.

My 3 Stars of the game: Nicolas Roy (1G, 3 SOG), John Gibson (stopped 42 of 45 shots, including Janmark’s penalty shot), Brayden McNabb (stepped up in defense of his teammates and owned the right-wing boards just inside the blueline that opposing players are now avoiding at all cost)

Next game is another afternoon contest at T-Mobile tomorrow at 1 p.m. vs. Winnipeg Jets and the return of Nate Schmidt to Vegas.

I wish you all a healthy and happy New Year.

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

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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.

Roy opening goal
Janmark goal that makes it 3-0
Getzlaf goal that ruined Brossoit shutout