In the second half of a back-to-back, the Vegas Golden Knights got off to a slow start, and Utah HC’s early lead proved to be insurmountable.
Coming off an emotional and big win against the Winnipeg Jets the night before, the Golden Knights were hoping to build momentum and begin another win streak. The first period was a sign that it wasn’t going to be the Golden Knights’ night.
The Golden Knights trailed Utah 4-0 after the first period, and the game ended with Utah defeating the Golden Knights 6-0.
Noah Hanifin’s 5-on-5 struggles continue.
Throughout his career, Hanifin has been depended on to keep the puck out of his team’s net at 5-on-5. He uses his skating and size to defend the rush and efficiently move the puck out of his zone, but through the first 25 games, the Golden Knights have been outscored, outshot and out-chanced with Hanifin on the ice. According to Natural Stat Trick, Golden Knights goaltenders have a .873 save percentage when Hanifin is on the ice. Positive regression is expected and should boost Hanifin’s numbers, but the struggles are a real concern.
Ilya Samsonov is still susceptible to inconsistency.
Samsonov is 5-3-1 with a .892 SV% and a 3.40 GAA but has had games where he looks like he can be a No.1 goaltender and games where he looks like a replacement backup. Last night against Utah was a tough night for the 27-year-old. When he’s off, Samsonov looks frantic in his net and overdoes his movements. He had a brutal turnover to Alex Kerfoot which resulted in a goal and proved to be an indication of things to come.
Kaedan Korczak continues to be a trusted and dependable figure on the backend.
In 15:50 of TOI, Korczak wasn’t on for any goals against and the Golden Knights outshot Utah 10-4. In his 14 games, the Golden Knights are outscoring their opponents 9-5. He hasn’t been able to provide the team with individual offence from the blue line but is smart defensively and makes an excellent first pass that puts the Golden Knights in positive situations.
There weren’t many positives to take away from last night’s game but the good news is the Golden Knights can redeem themselves on Tuesday in an important matchup against the Edmonton Oilers.