His absence was felt drastically by the team. Despite tying the game in the second period with two quick goals, the Golden Knights failed to generate enough offense and fell 4-2 against the Carolina Hurricanes.
In the early going of the game, it looked like the VGK were going to be able to weather the storm. However, the Hurricanes took a stranglehold on the game after the 12 minute mark and never really looked back. Robin Lehner did what he could to keep the dam from breaking, but it was not enough.
After some fantastic passing in the zone, the puck found its way to Tony DeAngelo. DeAngelo then rifled a shot past Lehner, who was unable to get back across in enough time to make the save.
Carolina got a power play with a minute left in the period, and it did not take them long to capitalize on it. Sebastian Aho scored off a rebound to give the Hurricanes a 2-0 lead heading into the second period.
Down and out, the VGK desperately needed a spark. Two minutes and 53 seconds into the second period, they got that spark. After winning a foot race to the puck, Brett Howden scored to cut the deficit to one. One minute and 19 seconds later, Shea Theodore scored to even the score back up.
The Golden Knights had a chance to really take over the momentum following these two goals, but were unable to ever truly seize it. Carolina continued to play the same game they had been playing. By the end of the period, they were back in control of the game.
Despite this, Lehner continued to give the VGK a chance to remain in the game. He made big stop after big stop in the latter half of the second period to preserve the tie score heading into intermission.
71 seconds into the third, the tie was broken. After a blocked shot by Evgenii Dadanov, the puck bounced directly to the stick of Carolina forward Seth Jarvis. Jarvis put the puck into an empty net to restore Carolina’s lead.
Vincent Trocheck added an insurance goal late to give Carolina a 4-2 lead. Vegas never really threatened in the period, and were unable to make up the deficit.
This loss, while still not great, was more or less expected. Carolina has one of the best records in the National Hockey League currently, and is one of the hottest teams right now. Vegas, while riding a win streak entering the game, was basically fielding a minor league roster. Five of the bottom six players would not be in the lineup on a healthy team, and four (arguably five) of the top six players would be on the bottom six.
While the loss is bad in and of itself, the bigger story is the injury bug once again hurting the team. In the final few minutes of the game, Shea Theodore lost an edge and hit his head hard on the boards. Theodore remained down for a short time before skating off under his own power. Hopefully this is nothing serious, but Theodore might now miss some time moving forward.
The Golden Knights have still picked up six points in four games on this homestand. An impressive feat, given all the injuries they have.
The team’s homestand continues on Nov. 18 against the Detroit Red Wings. Puck drop for that game is at 7 P.M. PST and can be viewed on AT&T Sportsnet.
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