?I Don?t Know How To Explain It?
Pete DeBoer uttered several variations on the “I don’t know” theme last night after the VGK lost yet another game, 4-3 to the Chicago Blackhawks, they absolutely had to win. It’s been a common refrain of late.
He claimed he didn’t know that Robin Lehner needed surgery a few days ago. How does a head coach not know his #1 goaltender requires surgery? I’m not buying that he’s not in the loop on who will be available to him come game time. This isn’t pickup hockey or a pond skate where you’re not sure if you will have 2 goaltenders. This is an NHL club that cost Bill Foley $500 million just to establish. Is there this much of a disconnect within the organization? Or is it PDB’s marching orders?
The answer is he knows everything that’s going on 24 hours a day with the club, so why the misdirection? On Friday, it was a maintenance day for Robin, then it became 2 maintenance days when Robin was MIA on Saturday. Reports were circulating from multiple reliable sources that Lehner needed surgery. Yet despite these reports, the coach and the team kept denying them.
After Robin skated onto the ice for the Sunday game vs. San Jose, it looked like the reports might not be true. Then we found out that the team asked him to dress as a backup for cap-compliance issues.
Finally on Monday, the team announced that Robin will undergo season-ending surgery. I fully understand the team does not want to disclose the nature or area of the injury, but if he needed surgery as of Monday, was he really going to be able to play if Logan Thompson could not go the entire game the night before? Were the VGK going to risk further damage to Robin’s shoulder just so they could save face by hiding what was really going on?
Was it Lehner himself who reached out to multiple sources to inform them of his prevailing condition? If so, his tenure with the VGK may be in jeopardy. The team was unhappy when Fleury’s agent posted the image of a sword sticking out of Fleury’s back with DeBoer’s name on it. That was the beginning of the end for Fleury as a VGK. Is this the beginning of the end for Lehner?
Has Logan Thompson’s surprising level of play given the VGK the mindset that they could move on from Lehner in the off season? You already know how this organization hates any breaks in rank from players or coaches. Just ask Gerard Gallant or Marc-Andre Fleury if you don’t.
It’s really a sad day in VGK Land. The loss last night eliminated them from the playoffs. Yes, it’s been a trying season injury-wise. But lately, they’re as close to a full team as you could expect at this point of the season. And when you look at their last 8 games and the teams they faced, a record of 2-6 is inexcusable.
You have a team of savvy veterans — former captains of other NHL teams and 3 Stanley Cup winners — in the locker room. You cannot and should not lose important games to the San Jose Sharks who only have 32 wins in 80 games, then lose for the second time to the Chicago Blackhawks this season who had only 27 wins before last night’s game. The Blackhawks earned 5 points out of 6 possible points against the VGK this season, one of the reasons the VGK players will be at Bear’s Best Golf course in Summerlin starting on Saturday.
All 3 of the last must-win games VGK wound up tied after 65 minutes of play, which sent them into a shootout. The VGK went 0-17, while Logan Thompson stopped 14 of the 17 shots he faced. Vegas let 3 important points slip away just in the last 3 games and will miss the playoff by a few points.
Unlike PDB, I do know what happened and I do have an explanation. The adjustments to the power play came much too late. Adjustments to shooting the puck from the perimeter never happened. And getting players to sacrifice their bodies by going to the front of the net was a lost cause, not in the DNA of this coaching style.
Greasy goals are required in the NHL if you want to win consistently. We all love to see end-to-end rushes and toe drags around the defensemen, but if you’re not willing to go to the blue paint, you should be getting limited ice time; if you are, you should be rewarded with less time riding the pine.
This is the first time in their five NHL seasons that the Golden Knights failed to qualify for the playoffs. Maybe, just maybe, this will force Bill Foley to address issues that need attention.
At this point, I’m not sure if a blog post is warranted for the last game on Friday at St Louis. For the first time in team history, they’ll be playing for nothing. I’ll make that decision after watching the final game of a very frustrating season. But Eddie Rivkin and I will be doing a Hockey Knights in Vegas podcast where we’ll wrap up the season and give out report cards on the players and the coaching staff. That podcast is sponsored by the Las Vegas Advisor and will be found here on the home page sometime early next week or at the link that’s contained at the bottom of all of my posts.
If there’s no recap of the last worthless game, I want to thank everyone who took the time out of their schedules to read my thoughts and opinions for the last 81 games and offer their own opinions that sometimes differed from mine. Your feedback is always appreciated. Have a great summer and don’t forget to tune into the podcast for the season wrapup.
Other game notes and quotes
“I don’t know,” DeBoer said. “I don’t know how to explain it. I feel bad for Logan Thompson. LT did a great job in the shootouts (three goals on 17 shots), giving us a chance. And how do you explain that so many good players don’t find the net? I don’t have an explanation for it.”
“That’s why you play,” Chandler Stephenson said, referring to the playoffs. “From the beginning of the year, [training] camp, you’re getting ready for the playoffs. It’s obviously disappointing. It’s not where we want to be, but again, injuries and crazy injuries, too, throughout the year. Yeah, it’s tough, for sure.”
Stephenson has 43 assists. Only David Perron (50 in 2017-18) and Jonathan Marchessault (48 in 2017-18) have more assists for the Golden Knights. Stephenson had his four-game goal streak end, but has seven points (four goals, three assists) in the past five games.
Max Pacioretty said, “There’ll be a lot of regret this summer, a lot of reflection. But I never lost hope. Right now, it makes it even more difficult to digest.”
Interesting fact: The season ended on the stick of Michael Amadio, while PDB still had Roy, Karlsson, and Dadonov sitting on the bench. Was he saving them for rounds 8, 9, and10?
If I’m the coach, Amadio is my last choice of these 4 players, but what do I know?
My 2 stars of the game (yes, 2 were all I could find): Chandler Stephenson (3A, and a +3, meaning he wasn’t on the ice for any Chicago Blackhawks goals), and Logan Thompson (who stopped 37 of the 40 shots he faced in 65 minutes, along with 6 of the 7 shootout shots)
Next game is Friday vs St. Louis at 5 p.m. Pacific time if you want to put the finishing touches on a season that had so much potential, but came up shorter than Gary Coleman ??
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
For more VGK content, check out the Hockey Knights in Vegas Podcast that can be found at this link or on my Facebook page.
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.
Martinez’s goal that tied the game at 2-2
The goal that ended the VGK playoff hopes
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