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Against the Wind: 3 Observations as Young Golden Knights Lead the Way Against Red Wings
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- Against the Wind: 3 Observations as Young Golden Knights Lead the Way Against Red Wings
(Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images)
In his 1980 hit Against the Wind , Detroit-born singer-songwriter Bob Seger tells the story of someone who keeps pushing on and persevering even as they get older and life gets harder. The Vegas Golden Knights might not be 'living to run and running to live,' but they sure are fighting and finding ways to win, even when they aren't playing their best hockey.
That's certainly what they did tonight in a low-scoring win over against the Detroit Red Wings .
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"I liked our first period a lot," said Golden Knights head coach Ryan Craig. "What we didn't get was rewarded. And then I think we got away from it, because it maybe didn't show up on the scoreboard. But like I said, we found a way to get it back and get two points."
Detroit came in waves during the second period, but Golden Knights goaltender Carter Hart held the line and made 25 saves in a 2-1 win. Red Wings goaltender Daniil Tarasov held Vegas off the scoresheet until early in the third period, but they stuck with it and eventually broke through.
"We just stuck with it and found a way," Hart said after the win. "I think that's what it's all about in this league, just finding different ways to win. It's not always gonna be pretty; it's not always gonna be perfect. And tonight, I thought we just stuck with it and found a way to win."
"We're finding ways to gut wins out," agreed forward Braeden Bowman. "I think our group's pretty comfortable in those situations."
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1. Defense is Great, But…
The Golden Knights did a lot of good tonight, and I'll get to that in a minute. But first, the bad.
This team shouldn't continuously struggle to score. They won tonight, yes. But you won't win many games scoring fewer than three goals, and the Golden Knights have done that quite a lot recently.
They scored 41 goals in the first 10 games of the season. In their last eight, they've scored just 18 goals. Only 10 of those 18 goals have come at 5-on-5. Both of their goals tonight came at 5-on-5, but they didn't break through until the third period.
Sure, you could chalk that up to a great performance by Daniil Tarasov, the Red Wings goalie, who certainly played well. But the fact of the matter is that the Golden Knights have an elite offense, and it's at least mildly concerning that they continuously struggle to score.
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It's hard to argue with results, and the Golden Knights have won their last two games and picked up a point in the game before that. But over their past eight games, they've only scored more than two goals twice. And one of those 2+ goal games only happened because of two empty-net goals.
Now, onto the good.
2. Watch the Young Man Run (Against the Wind)
The Golden Knights have their fair share of talent on their roster, and the stars usually deliver. The stars can't shine every night, but that isn't always a dagger. Recently, the young Golden Knights have stepped up and scored big goals when their team needed them.
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Braeden Bowman isn't a rookie anymore, but he's still a young player finding his way in this league. His game-tying response goal tonight was just another big moment in a Golden Knights sweater.
"It was a great play right off the face off from Hanny to Oly," said Bowman following the 2-1 win. "And then [Olofsson] makes a great play to Herts, who slides it over to me, and I just kind of shot it. It went through a couple sticks and found its way in."
Then, with a minute and 42 seconds remaining in the third period, Golden Knights rookie Trevor Connelly scored yet another big goal to put his team ahead late.
"I knew Jack, we were coming down with speed and kind of saw the D man overcommit," said Connelly. "I thought if I pulled it around and got a quick shot, it might catch the goalie. Lucky shot for sure."
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This is Connelly's third straight game with a goal. All three have come in the third period.
"He's unreal," said Bowman when asked about Connelly. "He's doing a great job, and he's having some fun doing it, too... Kudos to him. He's playing unbelievable right now.
"He's so fun to watch. He's got lightning speed; he can do pretty much everything," Bowman continued. "There's not a lot to dislike [about his game]. When he's out there, he's playing hard, and he's getting to those areas that you have to get to. He's strong on his skates, and he's fast— he's really fast. His puck skills are unbelievable, world-class... He can do some pretty elite stuff with the puck, and it's cool to see it working out in games."
3. On The Road Again
The Golden Knights might not be fully out of their rough patch, but they sure are fighting through it. Their game isn't perfect, but they're sticking with it and finding ways to win. That's what good teams do.
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"I think we've just been finding our game when we need to," said Braeden Bowman following the win. "We have some periods of games where we're not at our best, but I think we've done a good job of having a 'bend, don't break' mentality and finding our way out of it. And then when we need a big play, there are guys making them."
NHL players and coaches alike say the game is simpler on the road, and the Golden Knights are echoing those sentiments right now.
"I think it was good timing for us to get on the road," said goaltender Carter Hart following the 2-1 win. "It's good to kind of get together and be together on the road for 9 days. Anytime you're on the road for stretches like that, I think it's very important for our bonding as a group. It's been a good trip, and we're looking forward to keeping it going on Sunday."
