Golden Knights Go Gold Saturday Night As VGK Tie Score Late In Game, Win Seven Seconds Into OT Against Anaheim Ducks

January 16, 2021January 16, 2021 Alan Snel John Gibson, Jonathan Marchessault, Marc Andre-Fleury, Mark Stone, Pete DeBoer, Robin Lehner, William Karlsson

VGK captain Mark Stone donning the gold. VGK Twitter with the photo.

By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com

It’s less than 90 minutes from puck drop inside the big arena off the Strip, yet it’s eerily quiet in front of T-Mobile Arena outside just off the Strip.

Barriers have sealed off the plaza in front of the arena in this age of COVID 19, which has claimed nearly 400,000 U.S. lives.

With the Knights players suiting up for the visiting Anaheim Ducks inside the Big Ice House by the Strip, it’s kind of spooky outside where there’s hardly any people around as cars are moving east past the arena toward Las Vegas Boulevard on a Saturday night. Here’s the arena following the VGK-Ducks game.

If the novel coronavirus wasn’t around, thousands of fans would be milling about, sponsors would be hawking chocolates and giving away plastic pucks and an outdoor DJ would be blasting music from a stage. None of that tonight. The quietness is disorienting.

Inside, the Golden Knights in-game entertainment is doing the best it can to re-create some form of entertainment to give the VGK players a sense of home ice familiarity. PA announcer Bruce Cusick is back. And so are arena hosts Mark Shunock and Katie Marie Jones even with no fans in the building because of the novel coronavirus.

The big uniform news Saturday night was the golden jersey being worn by the players. Even the mascots — Chance and the knight — had a golden gleam. Some fans noted on social media that the jerseys looked mustard yellow during the TV broadcast.

“We have to get used to fans not being here,” VGK winger Mark Stone said.

Even the Vegas showgirls were in the Big Ice House.

The VGK also showed a video with two familiar faces.

Speaking of familiar faces in the Big Ice House, VGK goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury was back in goal for the Knights after Robin Lehner started game one of the 56-game pandemic season in the Knights’ 5-2 win over the Ducks two nights ago.

The Knights played well in period one, registering 14 shots and several good scoring chances. But it was scoreless after the first 20 minutes as Ducks netminder John Gibson was rock solid.

Gibson continued to thwart the Golden Knights in period two as the Ducks converted on a three-on-one break mid-way through the second stanza to take a 1-0 lead into the third period. Fleury didn’t have a chance to stop the Anaheim goal.

I can’t imagine how loud T-Mobile Arena would have been tonight when we scored that late goal and again in overtime for the win. I miss the fans and the atmosphere — Marc-Andre Fleury

With Fleury pulled for a sixth skater, Stone fed Jonathan Marchessault who dropped a pocket pass to William Karlsson — and Wild Bill converted to knot the game at one and send the contest into overtime.

“I thought Flower was great. As good as Gibson was early, Flower was great late,” VGK coach Pete DeBoer said.

And seven seconds into OT VGK winger Max Pacioretty took a pass from Stone and zipped in a goal past Gibson and the Knights came away with a 2-1 win and another two points for Vegas as the Golden Knights swept the two-game series.

Fleury said after the game: “I can’t imagine how loud T-Mobile Arena would have been tonight when we scored that late goal and again in overtime for the win. I miss the fans and the atmosphere.”

Pacioretty, after the game: “There was a sense of belief among the players and the coaches because Flower was making those big saves the way he always does.”