VGK Return To Game Action For First Time Since March 9, Defeat Dallas, 5-3, In Round Robin Game Monday In NHL’s Pandemic Playoffs
By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
The Vegas Golden Knights returned to the ice for an official postseason game Monday, with forward Ryan Reaves and goaltender Robin Lehner taking a knee during the national anthem before the round-robin game with the Dallas Stars.
During these COVID-19 pandemic times when racial justice is also on the minds of many Americans, it was an unusual sight to see NHL players kneeling during the anthem before a game because the NHL is not known for its players expressing political or social justice beliefs.
But with the NBA, WNBA and MLB embracing the Black Lives Matter messaging, Reaves and Lehner were joined by two Dallas Stars players, Jason Dickinson and Tyler Seguin, in taking a knee before the game. VGK anthem singer Carnell “Golden Pipes” Johnson was on video singing the anthem.
After the game, Reaves said there was “no way” that he intended to disrespect the flag or anyone who fought in the military for the country. As for Lehner, he said, It was “not about politics, it’s about human rights. It’s time to start doing something.”
VGK coach Pete DeBoer said he was in “full support” of the players’ right to take the knee to draw a spotlight to racial injustice. DeBoer noted both Reaves and Lehner approached him, VGK General Manager Kelly McCrimmon and VGK hockey operations chief George McPhee about their intentions to take a knee during the anthem.
Here’s the VGK statement on the two Knights players taking a knee: “We are united in the fight for racial equality. We support our players and all those who peacefully seek to inspire change and raise awareness against racial injustice.”
Jason Pothier of SinBin.vegas tweeted this item:
The Golden Knights defeated the Stars, 5-3, in the first of three round-robin games to determine playoff seeding.
The Knights last played March 9 in Edmonton of all places, the Western Conference bubble for the 12 West teams. DeBoer had the Knights surging before the NHL paused the season March 12 because of the novel coronavirus that has led to the deaths of 155,000 Americans as of Monday. DeBoer was 15-5-2 with the VGK after taking over for fired coach Gerard Gallant in January.
Chandler Stephenson scored on the Knights’ first shot to open the scoring in period one. But the Stars countered by scoring two goals 42 seconds apart in period two to take a 2-1 lead over the VGK. A third goal was scored only a few minutes later as Dallas took a 3-1 lead into the locker rooms after two periods.
But the Knights stormed back with goals with Mark Stone, Nate Schmidt and William Carrier in period three to knock off Dallas. William Karlsson added an empty-netter to seal the win.
The games in Edmonton and Toronto feature the local teams’ sponsor advertisements on the ice rink boards. The ads are changed out before the games to reflect the teams’ sponsors. That’s why you saw Las Vegas-based ads for Caesars, The D, Allegiant, Lee’s Discount Liquor etc. on the boards during the TV broadcast of the Golden Knights game.
VGK broadcasters Dave Goucher and Shane Hnidy did the game from the Golden Knights headquarters back at City National Arena in Summerlin. It appeared as if the audio was a few seconds after the action.
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