A rough night in Nevada as Flames take a beating
Expansion Golden Knights show why they’re among league’s best
LAS VEGAS According to the latest report from the sports betting gurus at Bodog, the Vegas Golden Knights have 6-1 odds of winning the Stanley Cup.
And after Wednesday ’s 7-3 royal beat-down of the Calgary Flames, it’s easy to see why.
The surprise expansion club was able to hit the back of the net when it mattered, played physical and got good goaltending in a clash that, for a while, was actually more closely contested (on the scoreboard) than it appeared.
Luca Sbisa scored a dagger with 3:17 elapsed in the third period, more than enough time for the Flames to bounce back. But the visitors seemed jarred by an offside call that overturned a potential game-tying marker.
Sean Monahan was ruled to have his skate in the air just as Dougie Hamilton was carrying the puck over the blue line. Monahan looked to have knotted the score 4-4, banking in a rebound off the back boards from Mark Giordano’s (purposely?) missed shot just off Vegas goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury’s net.
Instead, the Golden Knights added to the scoreboard at 11:15 when Tomas Nosek planted himself in front of Flames goalie David Rittich and was able to get his stick on a Sbisa point shot.
The Flames attempted to call goaltender interference, indicating that Erik Haula had impeded Rittich. That failed and the goal stood.
For good measure, the Knights added another from Cody Eakin with 5:42 left in the game.
But by then, the Flames had cashed in their chips and tried to shamefully slink away from the Blackjack table, calling it a night.
However, we weren’t lying. The game was close at one point.
The Golden Knights and Flames traded goals in the second period with Dougie Hamilton knotting the score 2-2 just 20 seconds in off a sharp angle over Fleury’s arm while Reilly Smith tallied 58 seconds later to pull the Golden Knights ahead.
Tkachuk was able to tie the game — again — on a power play which went off Eakin’s skate and in, a play set up by Johnny Gaudreau and Hamilton which came at the 11:07 mark.
But 2:51 later, Vegas struck again when Rittich allowed another weak marker, this time from Alex Tuch and it sent the home side ahead 4-3.
It was a good thing the Flames’ moms were enjoying wine in a suite during the first period intermission — the first-ever Flames Moms trip — and not having to bring their boys orange slices between frames.
That’s because the F-bombs were likely being dropped left, right and centre as the Flames were terrible in the first period.
It took them 11:08 to record their first shot on net, a Tkachuk toss at Fleury’s pads, while Ryan Carpenter capitalized on a Mark Jankowski gaffe in front of Rittich with just 2:28 elapsed.
Carpenter threw a backhand on the Flames netminder which marked the seventh straight game that the Flames have allowed the first goal of the game.
Even after TJ Brodie deflected a Travis Hamonic point shot to miraculously tie it with 3:15 remaining in the first 20 minutes, the Flames surrendered a Golden Knights power-play goal with 30.7 seconds left to go ahead 2-1.
William Karlsson delivered a shot through Rittich’s five-hole, a weak one.
It was also a rough game for Jankowski, who accidentally kicked a loose puck to David Perron, who fed Sbisa for the Golden Knights’ fifth goal of the game.
A lineup change might be in order for Thursday’s clash at the Arizona Coyotes, meaning that Ryan Lomberg may draw in while Jon Gillies might be tapped on the shoulder to tend twine for the Flames.