Brett Howden was acquired from the NY Rangers on July 17 of this year. The last goal he scored came a month ago on Nov16 vs. Carolina in a game that the VGK lost 4-2. Last night he scored the first VGK goal and assisted on Dylan Coghlan’s late 3rd period goal for the VGK 3-2 overtime/shootout victory. The 5-minute overtime period was nerve racking, with non-stop action and not one stoppage of play. Laurent Brossoit shined, turning aside multiple grade A scoring chances. LB was spectacular, sending the game to a shootout to determine who was going to get the 2 points and who would have to settle for the 1 consolation point awarded to the loser of the skills competition.

Once again Jonathan Marchessault was called upon as the last of the 3 shooters in the shootout. Nicolas Roy and Evgenii Dadonov failed to beat NY Ranger netminder Alexandar Georgiev in rounds 1 and 2 of the shootout. Marchessault scored and all Brossoit had to do was stop the last NY Ranger shooter, Mika Zibanejad. He did so and the VGK won their 4th game in a row and now the first 3 games of this 4-game road trip, which increases their record to 19-11-0. Not a bad record, especially when you consider that after the first 5 games of the season the VGK record was 1-4. So, in the last 25 games the VGK are 18-7-0, a .720 winning percentage. They sit in 2nd place in the Pacific Division, just 2 points behind division-leading Anaheim with Vegas having played 2 less games.

Vegas had a strong first period and led 1-0 after the first 20 minutes. The Rangers came out for the 2nd period with a different approach and started dictating the play, with an 11-4 shot advantage in the period. Zibanejad used Zach Whitecloud as a screen, firing a shot between his legs just 17 seconds into the period; Brossoit never saw it. That tied the game. When Kris Kreider scored a power-play goal halfway through the period, the Rangers had their first lead of the game, 2-1, which they took into the 3rd period.

The VGK, playing their 6th period in the last 24 hours, dug deep and found that extra push that was going to be required to win this game or at least get it to overtime. They took control of the game, as the Rangers seemed content to sit on a 1-goal lead. New York had 2 shots on goal for the entire 20 minutes. The VGK had 11.

With just over 5 minutes to go and Vegas still needing a goal to get it even, former NY Ranger Brett Howden won a key faceoff. The puck wound up on Dylan Coghlan’s stick at the blue line and with Mattias Janmark positioned in front of Georgiev, taking away his eyes, Coghlan’s shot puck flew past him and the Rangers’ decision to try to sit on a 1-goal lead created the opportunity for Vegas to find a way to win a game where they might have been playing on fumes. The VGK earned a much-needed day off today before they conclude these 4 games in 6-night road trip, not to mention the 3-hour time change.

Other notes and game quotes

“It was a pretty fun night,” Howden said. “Obviously, I was really happy we got the win. I think I’m probably playing some of my better hockey right now. I just want to keep building on that and keep trying to do the right things.”

When former VGK coach Gerard Gallant was asked about facing his former team for the first time, he said, “Nothing changed, really. It wasn’t like it was two months ago. It was two years ago. I know a lot of players there very well. It was fun. I enjoyed it. ”

Golden Knights Coach Peter DeBoer said about Howden, “Anytime you’re playing against your old team, there’s always extra motivation, but that doesn’t happen by accident. I think he’s worked to have the success he’s having, and it hasn’t been easy, and it hasn’t been given to him. He’s earning the shifts and the opportunities he’s getting.”

When asked about the last 2 games, DeBoer said, “I saw us running out of gas a little bit, but I really liked our first period. You have to give the Rangers credit. I thought Zibanejad’s line, particularly, took a step in the second period and they had us on our heels there for a good chunk in the middle of that game.”

Vegas defenseman Alex Pietrangelo’s five-game point streak ended.

Rangers forward Ryan Reaves had six hits in 10:33 of ice time. Once again, the VGK only had 12 hits total in 65 minutes of play. This trend continues and there is no explanation that makes sense unless you want to say they are trying to avoid any additional injuries.

In a game that everyone was focused on Gallant and Reaves, a young 23-year-old kid and a 1st round draft pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2016 draft was the story of the night on HOW-DEN do you beat the NY Rangers.

My 3 stars of the game: Brett Howden (1G, 1A and a key faceoff win that set up Coghlan’s tying goal late in the 3rd period), Dylan Coghlan (game tying goal and his 2nd in back-to-back nights), Laurent Brossoit (stopped 27 of the 29 shots he faced and was perfect in the 5-minute OT and the shootout)

Next game is tomorrow vs. the NY Islanders at UBS arena at 11 a.m. Pacific Time. The VGK return to Las Vegas immediately following Sunday’s game which concludes this 4-game east coast road trip

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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Brett Howden opens the scoring
Kreider’s PPG for the 2-1 Ranger lead
Coghlan’s goal that tied the game
Marchessault’s shootout winner