Shutout and Lifeless: Bruising loss to Penguins

It's the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day.

Not a beautiful day in the neighborhood for the Golden Night Sunday, as they were shut

out in Pittsburgh 5 to zip.

What has gone wrong?

More head on this edition of Lockdown Golden Nights.

For Lockdown Golden Nights, your daily podcast on the Vegas Golden Nights, part of the

Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day.

Hi again from Las Vegas, Tony Kerdasco and Chris Golic.

Welcome to Lockdown Golden Nights, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network.

Now the number one sports podcasting network on the planet.

I'm a longtime sportscaster, marketing consultant, and the host of the Believe in Vegas

Podcast and Chris is the owner of Silver State Cards and Sports and also the host of the

Hockey News Collectible Show.

Coming up on this edition, VGK drops two straight games over the weekend, and there is absolutely

no pulse with this team, even with the return of the five Olympians.

And this is Trade Deadline Week.

What will the Golden Nights be doing?

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Let's start first with Sunday, the Golden Nights, Chris, blanked five to nothing in Pittsburgh

on Mr. Rogers Day, don't have any cardigans left, sorry, but they honored the Pennsylvania

native.

That was so good, by the way, that was really good.

That was really, really good.

It was an absolutely miserable day in the neighborhood for VGK, a game that we wish we

could blame entirely on the goal tending, but there was no offense to speak up for the

Golden Nights.

And furthermore, VGK lost its captain, Mark Stone, to an apparent upper body injury.

He was injured there in the game early in the first period, never returned to the lineup.

It wasn't a big hit by Chris Lattang.

And first, we didn't even think that it was something that could really bother Mark Stone

in that matter.

First thought that came to my mind was this had to be something due to a previous injury,

maybe something that I think was aggravated.

I don't know, Cassidy also, Chris hinted that that could be the case.

It is March and it is LTIR season.

Yeah, as news comes out, it's going to get ugly, especially if this is a rough injury,

which all indications are that this is not a good thing to say the least.

I guess starting with the stone injury, so I want to try to dig as deep as I could here.

It looks like Stone is kind of peeling off a little bit early.

You got Eichel doing a dump and chase or whoever had the puck.

And I thought Stone's route was somewhat interesting.

So the first thing I wanted to look at was how long was that shift?

Was he out there for 10 or 12 seconds and then just peeled off right away?

And the shift was over 40 seconds, which is about the NHL standard plus or minus.

So he was near the end of the shift, but you almost wonder if the way he's kind of peeling

off in that moment, if something was bothering him right before that and letting him, I mean,

that was sharp and soft.

He didn't hit him too hard at all.

It was just more of a push than anything.

Maybe Stone had something already bothering him and he twisted it.

That's funny.

I mean, I know if I fall down and on the ice or something like that, I can pop right

back up.

But God forbid I'm walking down my hallway and I do a quick pivot in turn.

I'm on the LTIR list for at least six hours.

So backs are very finicky and funny and Stone's head is back issues.

So I thought it was his drinking arm with all the bats that they were consuming there in

the Olympics.

Or maybe it was something that happened for playing multiple overtime games and playing

best on best hockey for two and a half weeks.

Yeah.

I think there could be some sort of an ailment there, perhaps that was aggravated and we'll

find out.

I did feel that the physicality of the penguins might have taken something out of the

Golden Knights too early in this game.

And then VGK had to chase the game after Ben Kendall, the rookie scoring his 15th goal

of the season.

It was as I pointed out on X the penguins.

Again, they've scored the first goal in 37 of 59 games this season and you don't want

a team like Pittsburgh getting out on the league because I felt as though that gave

them the momentum.

You thought it was a very weak goal.

And what is the VGK announcer doing the color analyst?

What's he doing on the national broadcast said, oh, that hits something out in front of

it.

Absolutely.

No more.

No, if you listen to Pang are talking about it during the broadcast, Darren Pang.

Yeah.

Darren Pang was very critical.

The entire game.

First, they waited, you know, they watched the replay and everything and Pang was very

critical.

That no, it didn't hit anything.

Tukuraska former Bruins, great goalie was also in the TNT studios talking about.

He's great.

What was he just missed it or something like that?

He just fanned.

Yeah.

And then there was a couple other really nice bang, bang goals in front of the nets.

The one where I don't know who the score was.

It was your Shinnikov for, might've been the Rikal goal on the power play.

Looks like a bang, bang play, a really good, nice number.

Rikal goal was so fast.

That was the fast one.

Yeah.

It was a very nice goal.

You know, you're like, oh man, what could Aden Hill have done differently?

But then Darren Pang right away says he got caught, caught drifting on the play.

The puck is going wide.

Why is he drifting?

Right.

Right.

And you also set it right in the open to be fair.

Goaltending shouldn't be dragged completely because of the old score goal.

Who cares?

A Nilke lit up nine goals.

And this game, Aden Hill would have had to pitch a shutout for the goal mates to have

a chance at getting a point.

So that's not least a lot of time on Hill, because this isn't entirely on him.

I would like to talk about the physicality though.

Do it that Nil on the head too.

The goal mates had a good three or four minutes to start and that was it.

Pittsburgh started hitting everything that moved.

Colonel great hit by Maulkin.

Maulkin.

Oh my goodness.

Riley Smith got leveled in the game.

It's not how you treat.

That's not how you treat a farmer penguin.

Yeah, exactly.

Not nice.

But no one is taking liberties and finally, Col Reinhardt kind of did something in the

second.

What was that?

It started fine.

It was a fight.

Unfortunately, he took the instigator and took himself out of the game for 12 minutes.

Right.

Right.

Right.

But the fight starts and then like, like they just stop.

Yeah.

Like what the beep was that?

I mean, right.

If you're going to fight someone, pummel him, fight him, take him to the ground, violence.

Don't throw three punches.

Okay.

I got my fight in.

Okay.

Now we can part ways.

Just don't do that again.

Or I'm really going to get you that.

Like there is no pulse.

You hit that on the head too.

No pulse.

None.

Coles are.

Coles are equate on the one play.

He quit.

He absolutely quit.

He thinks he's a skill player, but he can't score goals like Tom Wilson.

He thinks he's a physical player, but he can't check like Tom Wilson.

So Coles are pick a lane and do your job.

Do your job.

No one's talking about Coles are stepping up for this team this season, like they used

to in the past.

Are they?

No.

No, absolutely not.

And oh, did you notice that TNT finally quit with the Mike Noah Hanuffin after the score

was like for nothing on that fourth goal and Hanuffin was an absolute passenger.

They just go no more.

That's enough.

Like.

Why would you?

You and I in a private conversation talked about Rasmus Anderson being at the bottom of

the stat card.

I believe on Friday's game.

He was also at the bottom of the stat card in this game along with no Hanuffin was on

McNabb.

Okay.

Cool.

VGK gave up nine penalties over the past two games.

Pittsburgh scored twice on the power play and VGK had too many men.

Was that for the second game in a row?

Just like I forget.

Now, what's going on?

Your tweet was great, Tony.

You're practicing for too many men.

That was that was gold.

They had to sped up practice with all these players on the ice.

So my gosh.

So good.

Wait, wait, I just I do have to get back to Aiden Hill because you were defending him

and sort of I said, I said, no, no, no sort of I was defending Aiden Hill.

I said to save.

I said in the right place.

Okay.

I said to save percentage Wednesday night was 789.

You thought perhaps you might be improving.

Yes, sir.

His save percentage on Sunday went down 773 and then I saw this tweet by an NHL reporter,

Mike Kelly, who said that Hill came into Sunday's game last in inner slot, save percentage

playing at least 10 games, his inner slot save percentage, 671. Something's got to give there.

He sucks. I mean, it's just really bad. I mean, can I say that? He sucks. I'll say it again. He sucks.

I mean, it's either him or Sean Burke or both the package deals. Sean Burke sucks too.

So they have to do something. They have to do something. I mean,

listen, it has shown the ability to do a lot. And you also mentioned on your Twitter, I believe.

Where was he during this break? And I don't know where he was. I could probably find out,

but I'm not going to invade that. Where was Aiden Hill? He should have been on the ice every

single day. And he just, he looked there was his 13th, I believe, appearance of the season.

He should be fresh. He should. You should see some promise right now. The fact that he's not

firing. This is a major problem. Coming up next, our recap of Friday's loss in Washington.

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So Chris Bruce Cassidy steamed following the three to two loss and the nation's capital to the

caps on Friday night. He said in the game that VGK was not ready to play in a game like this.

He said they are professionals. They got to be ready to go. He said good of the gold of

the nights to play 20 minutes with another third period. Come back. He goes. Imagine if they could

play 40 or 45 minutes. They're winning games now. And he was asked if the Olympians were

sluggish perhaps, which we'll talk about in the next segment. And Cassidy said absolutely not.

These are high end players. He cited McCarr, Matthews, McDavid, all players that they're first

the letters. It's all iteration all beginning with the same letter, Emma, the three M guys.

Players already came back and they had played two games before the golden nights top five there

had played one game after returning from the Olympic games. He was steamed. And I don't think

I don't think he's going to let off of the gas right now. I think he's going to continue to accelerate

and jump on these guys until they they show some progress because they're not right now.

So the Minnesota wilds using Quinn Hughes as an example. And Matt, well, Quinn Hughes,

because that's an L, but played on Thursday. So an extra day fine. Okay, I'll give him that.

Play Thursday, played Friday, played Sunday in Utah on Sunday. Flies to New York probably

sometimes Saturday for the SNL skit, which was a lot of joy to enjoy. That's three hour flight.

Bill Garen said, and he got there 58 minutes before showtime.

Yeah, no, I had heard through the TV's that this was happening. Quinn Hughes was a big question,

Mark. I got I got a guy for us and now that I go to for this sort of stuff. But

son, and then he plays a game today. Unfortunately, they did lose. They lost their last two games

the wild did. So I mean, but he's showing up and they also won their first game back against

the Colorado avalanche mind you. So there you go. So yeah, I mean,

a lot happening here. But I guess let's talk about the Capsulee first. Yeah, no. And yeah,

and it was the capacity just cast the other Olympians answering the bell right now is what I'm saying.

Right. And he said that they need more earlier. They need it sooner. You trail three nothing

after two. And then the goal of nights, third period, final get go. They get going there with

Braden Bowman going blockerside on Logan Thompson on a broken play to score that first goal.

The assist by Kaden Korsak. And then Tomas Hurdles scores on the power play. And then VGK

actually benefited from too many capitals on the ice in that game and the penalty and the shot

by Doraphiev goes off of Matt Roy of the capitals. And then that's how Hurdles scores. Colton

Sizzens. He had a crack at the time goal at about the 10 minute mark. Braden McNabb. Who wins

the race? McNabb versus Stone? Who would win the race up the ice between those two players?

If on one finish line was LTIR, give it to Stone. If it was a mickle old ultra on the other side

to give it to McNabb. I mean, I don't know. I think they have their their reasons for one

on the win races. What's steaming me a little bit here. I'm going back. I watched that game pretty

closely on Friday night. And I'm going back to the second goal of the game, which is also up here,

Luke Dubois. Second goal of the game is going through the goal of visualizer here. You got to

puck that lines up going virtually the length of the ice here. And looks like it might have been

icing might have been 10. Who cares? Doesn't matter. Schmidt plays it to the corner. He does what he's

supposed to do. And then Anderson loses a battle. Noah Hanuffin is a passenger. Right. And

who sticks down them? And then where's where's Eichel here? Eichel's the center. Eichel's

responsible for the slot. And he just abandoned ship. Yeah. Eichel did well. Exactly. There's a

couple of goals where Eichel was slow in the in the coverage. Yeah. We wonder if there's some mix-ups

with the system of, you know, team USA. And then now the system of coming back to Viji K. And

honestly, I don't care. I mean, like Cassidy said, these guys are professionals and you know,

figure out the F out at this point because he was mad. Yeah. No one. Cassidy should be mad because

I got news for you. If it goes bad for the next few days or if it goes bad for the rest of the

season, they're not going to Jack Eichel. You're off the team. That's not how this works. Mitch

Marta, you're off the team. It's not how this works. It rolls downhill. And, you know, Bill Folly will

start the snowball on the top of the hill. Sort of speak for the big ball of poop. And if it goes

by, if it goes by Mick Feet, then the next person in line is McCrimmon. It'll likely go by McCrimmon.

And that big ball of poo would stop at Bruce Cassidy. And he deserves better, I think. I think the

players just aren't firing right now. They're not on top of what are we going to do with the

deadline, which we'll talk on a special episode later on. Okay. You know, that special episode.

You're 11. You're 11. Okay. Go the nights leading the league 82 third period goals. But

they're relying too much on the comeback. They really are. And I don't know why does in this team

fire out early in games. The one positive thing too that really stood out in the Washington

game was the kill of the five on three. So they did a good job there. And that was on Friday. And on

Sunday, special teams, they give up two power play goals. But then also you could see with the loss

of Mark Stone. This power play unit just was not firing whatsoever because they don't have him to

look for down low beneath the goal line. Mark Stone of EGK is what Sydney Crosby is the team

Canada. It's a much different. Yeah, but they compensated for Crosby. The silver medal is not

bad. I guess to anyone outside of Canada, but I get what you're saying. And this VGK team should

be able to find a way to compensate without Mark Stone because God knows they're used to it for

the last four years now with Mark Stone. It's it's March. He made it longer. And he normally does

give him credit there, I guess. So, you know, I say that tongue in cheek. And I say that also

very seriously too, because you can say it's bad luck. Whatever Stone situation is, who cares?

It doesn't matter. The reality is he is a dynamite player for this roster. You can argue. I mean,

I'm not going to say what captain is better than the other, but he is an amazing captain. He's an

amazing leader. And he, him and Pavledore, if you have a probably two of the best stories that

this team is having right now. Yeah. Unfortunately, Stone's going to have the asterisk of injured

again, missed possibly half the season again. But hey, he was on his pace for 130 points. We

have been healthy all the time. Again, well, again, again, Sid Crosby, you definitely feel the effects

of his loss. And not today, it was hurting. Well, but it was hurting the penguins. Get this.

The Ranger game I checked out some of that on Saturday. Sorry. And they were 10 and 42 inside the

circle. Oh, God. 10 and four. So 10 of 52, they won. And then on Sunday, how do they do it going

18 of 52 on Sunday? So, oh, that's right. The faceoff circle is not important.

Do you see the goal? It's one like 70% of the faceoffs. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely.

Yeah. That's about what it was. So 34 and 18. Yeah. Good call. Wow. Yeah. So I was just,

that really was an amazing stat. And like, how were they damaged? Maru had seven for 10. Wow.

Okay. Hurtle 13 for six. Michael seven. Wow. This is great. I can scratch. And in

said was terrible. So as I'm in barbershop, everyone else was great. Okay. I could scratch right now

looking for a center here at the deadline. No, the last one. We're good. We're good. We're good.

The lasting effects of VGK having eight Olympians could Olympic fatigue have set in.

We'll talk more right after this. Unlock down golden nights.

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so VGK had its five members in the gold medal game, but also participating in the Olympics

was Rasmussen, Tomas Hurtle, Akira, Kira, Anderson kind of Rasmussen kind of old. Yeah,

we can talk a lot more about him. He's not my napkin. Maybe in the special edition. So those

three also play that's eight players. Are some of the players still suffering from again,

we have to call it for lack of a better term Olympic fatigue. Do you feel that this has

set in not just physical, but emotional. I think it takes a lot out of players coming off of

the highest stage imaginable and then just coming back to the states and trying to get back to

your normal lives because this was all about the experience you go from the very high to maybe

it's not the very low, but again, you have to return to as Bruce Cassidy says your day job.

I mean, listen, Cassidy was also over there. So I'm off Cassidy has anything to talk about

right now because he's also at he doesn't seem gas accountable as the players are when it comes

to that. So he's a gas for sure when you're pointing one finger for back at you, is that how that

goes or whatever whatever that terminology is right. So you know, that's the first thing I would say

to that and Olympic fatigue emotions. Yes. And then getting back into the swing of things with

your day job as you just said different systems and it's a little different when you had, you know,

the the fourth line is a top line for many teams in the NHL and that's what the fourth line was.

So yeah, Michael doesn't have all the amazing players around him nor did Mark Stone out of the

stone situations a little different right now. Yeah. He's in Jack Eichel. We used to a avian or

Dave. Hope he's doing okay right now. Deviator. Deviator. There we go. He's got. Eichel has one

shot on gold as last two games. So a deviator like he broke right now. Yeah, I took a couple of

else. He always bets two over two shots per game. Yeah. And that's my point. Like we we always

joke about Jack. Like well, not shooting the puck enough. And then all of a sudden we look up one

show randomly. He's in the top three overall and shots taken, slept in code. I still remember that

like it was yesterday. But if Eichel isn't getting pucks to the nets as the driver of the top

line, we got a big problem here. Yeah. And Eichel, they interviewed him on the pregame there on TNT

on Sunday. And he said that he wished he had some more time with his Olympic bros. He said,

you know, we got we got whatever have fun dude. Well, what were they going to do? It's like a

fraternity right now. They're all like he said there. They're really tight. They've become very

close and it's pretty interesting that those words would come, you know, it goes to show me that

Eichel is not completely focused back here at home. He's still on that Olympic cloud. I have to

believe, you know, and I'm not saying it in a negative way. Just the euphoria of winning the gold

medal. He still hasn't landed back in Vegas. Does that make sense? It does. But I think it's garbage

that that's the spot that we're in right now because well, check Eichel since leaving Buffalo

and full credits of the Sabre's great story right now. It's happening and happening in Buffalo.

But since leaving Buffalo, Eichel has become a Stanley Cup champion. Now he's won a gold medal.

Like he's a champion already. I know that you winning a Stanley Cup in a gold medal,

two separate things. And I get all of that. But he's better built for this moment than

Taj Thompson, Brock Nelson, et cetera, et cetera. So he should be able to bring his fellow Olympians

to the fight here and find a way to help motivate this team. This is where you're missing an

Alex pitch rangelove who's going to put these guys in their place or a Jonathan Marchesau again.

Marchesau I didn't say that he was. Hanuffin sounded like he was putting what would march.

So be doing in the locker room right now. What would he be doing? He would be going home with

a newly ape. He would pile up. He would be hitting everyone with his stick to wake him up.

He would do something and I think they played an early game. They played an early game on Sunday.

What's the excuse there? I mean, okay, we haven't said once that the penguins played on the back

side of the back to back. Right. And the bullets looked like they played a triple header.

It surely did. You know, we're talking about Olympic fatigue, but there's also players that have

not yet returned, right? You've got ranting in. You've got crossby. You've got more C. You've

got players again. And it brings us back to that argument about whether it's worth playing in

the Olympics and good Mark Stone's injury have been something that we know and knew about that

I think it was. That was my first impression and pure speculation, but I'm thinking he got hurt

there and it aggravated it. And now it's it's pretty bad. We appreciate everyone tuning in.

Thank you so much for making Lockdown Golden Knights your first list out of the day.

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