Hannah Kirkell
Although the Las Vegas Strip’s St. Patrick’s Day festivities continued late into the night, green-clad spectators flocked to T-Mobile Arena in droves to watch their Golden Knights host the Atlantic Division-leading Buffalo Sabres. The 17,844 fans in attendance were treated to a good old-fashioned goaltender’s duel, and the Golden Knights fell 2-0.
The Sabres are the hottest team in the league with a record of 31-4-2 since December 9th, and both teams jumped out to a fast start. The Golden Knights outshot Buffalo 11-10 in the first period, and generated 13 scoring chances while allowing only eight.
The Sabres opened the scoring at 18:02 in the first period. Adin Hill misplayed the puck behind the net, and Josh Doan beat Rasmus Andersson to it. As Hill retreated back to his crease, Doan banked a shot off his pad and into the net.
In the second period, the Golden Knights looked even more dangerous. The Sabres boasted a 9-8 shots advantage, but Vegas controlled 62.51% of the expected goal share. And once again, the Golden Knights generated more scoring chances, topping the Sabres 10-7.
As the game progressed, the physicality ramped up. At 9:01 in the third period, a hard hit by Brayden McNabb drew a crowd, resulting in Brett Howden and Noah Ostlund taking matching roughing minors. The officials assessed McNabb a five-minute penalty, but upon review, they deemed his check clean.
The Golden Knights continued their push in the third period, and outshot the Sabres 8-6. They had no problem generating looks, but Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen answered the call.
The Golden Knights pulled Adin Hill for the extra attacker with 1:28 remaining in regulation . They managed just one shot on goal, and Josh Norris hit the empty net at 19:02 in the third.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen finished the night with a 28-save shutout and a 3.49 GSAx. The Golden Knights were shutout for just the third time this season– and the first on home ice– in a 2-0 loss to the Sabres.
Three Takeaways
1. Adin Hill started his fifth straight game on Tuesday and was fantastic despite not coming away with the win. He finished the night with 23 saves, a .958 save percentage, and a .83 GSAx; if not for his one blunder that resulted in Doan’s game-winning goal, he would have been perfect. Even with the misplay, he was easily the best Golden Knight on the ice. With an average save percentage of .958 over his last three starts, Hill is getting hot at the perfect time.
2. Now, for the bad. Tomáš Hertl hasn’t been himself since returning from Milan, and it really shows in one-goal losses. In the 11 games since the Olympic Break, Hertl has just two goals and five points. The Golden Knights desperately need him to return to form as they begin the final— and most important— stretch of the season.
3. The Golden Knights finished the night with 61 shot attempts; only 28 ended up on goal. The Sabres recorded 13 blocks. The other 20 were missfires– they hit the crossbar, the post, or simply went off-target.
“Hit the net,” said head coach Bruce Cassidy following the 2-0 loss. “There’s not much else you can say.”
