Following the Edmonton game, I praised the play and goaltending of the VGK in their complete 4-0 win against a division opponent. Well, last night, it was just the opposite. The Calgary Flames embarrassed the VGK with 6 unanswered goals in their dominating win at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Alberta.

Is Calgary that good? Or are the Edmonton Oilers a train wreck? Or should we be concerned about the VGK, considering their lackluster performance last night in a game that has implications in regard to who will win the Pacific Division and secure home ice through the first 2 rounds of the playoffs?

Granted, Vegas was playing their second game in 2 nights and Calgary their first game since the All-Star break, but the VGK have been solid both on the road and in back-to-back games this season. They were 9-1-1 in their last 11 road games and looked to increase their lead over Calgary, who they led by 7 points prior to the game. The 7-point lead is somewhat, deceiving as Calgary has played the fewest games in the Pacific Division at 43, while Vegas has played 48 games. With these 5 games in hand, they have a value of potentially 10 points the Flames have their sights set on overtaking the VGK for the top spot in the Division.

The way the game looked last night, this could very well happen if Vegas continues to play well in one game and not even be a significant threat in another important divisional game. I wrote after Tuesday’s game that Colorado may be the team that stands in the way of the VGK returning to the Stanley Cup Final. I may have to correct that: They first have to get by the Flames to even have the opportunity to play Colorado.

There will be no praise from me in regard to their performance last night. It stunk up and down the lineup from the crease on out. The players themselves said so along with Coach DeBoer

“We knew they were going to come,” Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb said. “They’re a good team. They start fast. They dominated us from start to finish. They embarrassed us. They deserved to win that one like they did.

“No excuse,” DeBoer said. “We know they’re a quick-starting team. We knew they’d be hungry and ready to play and were treating this as a really important game. We were prepared for all that. No excuse for how we started the game. The game was essentially over 20 minutes in, unfortunately.”

The Flames had 16 scoring chances to only 4 for Vegas in the first period. The Flames, like Vegas on Tuesday night, made the most of their shots against Robin Lehner as they scored their first 3 goals on just 11 shots. The Flames had a lot of jump early and Vegas came out flat and unprepared for what they knew was coming.

You can make excuses that Mark Stone wasn’t in the lineup and Zach Whitecloud is still missing, but it was clear from the drop of the puck that Vegas was not ready and the absence of Stone and Whitecloud was not the difference at all.

Jacob Markstrom stopped all 28 shots that Vegas eventually managed to direct his way. It was Markstrom’s league-leading 8th shutout of the season. Down at the other end of the ice, Robin Lehner was dinged for 6 goals on just 33 shots for a disappointing .818 save percentage

Matthew Tkachuck, who plays on the edge most nights and truth be told is a pain in the ass to play against, also seems to score at will against the VGK. Even though prior to last night’s game, VGK held a 9-3 overall record against the Flames, Tkachuck has scored 9 goals in 11 games and added 8 assists against Vegas; 17 points in 11 games is outstanding. Last night, he had 1 goal and 2 assists, along with Mikael Backlund who had a career high 4-point night with 1 goal and 3 assists. Andrew Mangipane chipped in with 2 goals for the victory, which was Calgary’s 4th straight win and 6th of their last 7, which has propelled them right up the back of the VGK for the top spot in the Pacific.

Other game notes and quotes.

“We knew they were waiting for us,” Jonathan Marchessault said. “They’ve been waiting for a while and we came off jst flat. There’s no excuse for our group. We’re a veteran group and we know how to handle those situations, and we definitely didn’t do it tonight.”

Stone didn’t play because of an upper-body injury. He’ll be evaluated in Vegas, according to DeBoer. Based upon his post-game comments, this injury may be longer than just day to day.

Brett Howden’s personal four-game goal streak ended.

Vegas was 0-for-2 on the power play and is 1-for-18 (5.6%) in the past seven games.

Max Pacioretty’s scoreless streak is now 10 games, the longest in his tenure with the VGK. The last time Pacioretty scored was back on Dec 14 when he scored 2 goals vs. Boston on the east coast road trip.

My 3 stars of the game: Jacob Markstrom (stopped all 28 shots for his league-leading 8th shutout), Mikael Backlund (1G, 3A), Andrew Mangipane (2G)

Next game is a week away, Wednesday Feb 16 vs. Colorado 7 p.m. at T-Mobile

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.

Markstrom robs Nolan Patrick
Tkachuk’s between the legs goal
Highlight saves from Markstrom