Golden Knights Bounce Back With 6-1 Trouncing Of Nashville Thursday; Golden Knights’ Howden In ‘Stable Condition’ After Removed From Ice On Stretcher; Dadonov Returns After Invalidated Trade With A Goal

  Story by Alan Snel   Photos by J. Tyge O’Donnell

Who would have thought that the paths of Golden Knights player Evgenii Dadonov and Welcome Back Kotter actor Gabe Kaplan would cross on a fan’s sign for tonight’s Nashville vs Vegas NHL game in Las Vegas?

But there they were — Dadonov’s name and Kaplan’s face on a sign after Vegas announced a trade of Dadonov to Anaheim only to have the National Hockey League invalidate the trade because Dadonov had a no-trade clause that the Golden Knights either didn’t know about or didn’t think it applied.

It was an embarrassing situation all the way around and fans gave Dadonov a big cheer when he was introduced as a starter next to center Jack Eichel and right winger Nicolas Roy.

 

Throw in the fact that the Golden Knights were coming off a 0-for-road-trip performance with no goals against Minnesota and Winnipeg Monday and Tuesday and you’ll understand why fans were more than a little ecstatic when forward Mattias Janmark made a slight re-direct of defenseman Alex Pietrangelo’s shot from the blue line to give the VGK a quick 1-0 lead over the 37-24-4 Predators.

Later in the period, Roy made a helluva effort to wheel around 180 degrees and fire a wrister past Nashville netminder Jusse Saros and the Golden Knights had a 2-0 lead.

It’s been a disjointed season for the Golden Knights with so many injuries to pivotal players like goalie Robin Lehner, captain Mark Stone, high-scoring winger Max Pacioretty, hard-hitting defenseman Brayden McNabb, defensive leader Alex Martinez and others like Nic Hague and Reilly Smith.

Officially, the Knights began the night outside of the top eight teams in the NHL’s Western Conference for the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Most of the VGK players were on the ice to watch Brett Howden, 23, be placed on a stretcher after he was hit by Nashville forward Filip Forsberg with 3:31 left in period one. There was no penalty on the hit as Howden collided with the boards and his body eventually went limp.

Howden was wheeled off the ice amid fans’ claps and cheers.

After one period, Vegas 2 Nashville 0.

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This is VGK coach Pete DeBoer’s 1,000th NHL game as a coach. He is the former coach of the Florida Panthers, New Jersey Devils and San Jose Sharks.

He’s a pro. You have to be when a team trades you and then you stick around because the league invalidated the trade.

So, Dadonov ended up scoring a power play goal, sending a backhander into the net off a scramble in front of the net.

I felt the support from the fans. It pumped me up even more. I’ve always loved playing here even when I was coming with Florida. It’s a great experience to play in front of this crowd and I still think they’re the best fans in the league. — Golden Knights (nearly-traded) Evgenii Dadonov

The Knights took a 3-0 lead.

Then Nashville countered with a power play goal from Forsberg, his 36th of the season.

Nashville cut into the deficit trailing, 3-1.

But this time, the Knights responded with another goal. Eichel showed some mad skills by gathering the puck along the side boards, maneuvered in and fired a wicked shot that beat Saros on the short side.

 

The Knights were up 4-1 on 30 shots and the game was not even half over.

The Golden Knights also announced that Howden was in “stable condition.” Howden was sent for further diagnostics and exams.

After two periods, Vegas Golden Knights 4 Nashville Predators 1

The Knights also piled up 36 shots on goal to Nashville’s 23 after two periods.

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This game was one of the Knights’ best performances of the choppy season. Goaltender Logan Thompson was solid and the Golden Knights piled up the shots on goal, including a goal by Chandler Stephenson on the power play when Eichel fed Stephenson with a precise cross pass to lead to his 16th goal of the season.

With 2:53 left in the game, Dadonov fed Roy who passed it to a wide-open Pietrangelo, who steered the puck into an open net and the Golden Knights enjoyed a 6-1 cushion.

And with 1:23 left in the game, Janmark even got into a fight.

Final: Golden Knights 6 Predators 1

Attendance was announced at 18,021.

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Postgame comments:

• DeBoer mentioned he didn’t like the hit on Howden and thought he was driven into the boards. He mentioned the officials gave the Knights the option to leave the ice while Howden was tended to, but noted the players wanted to stay on the ice. DeBoer said Howden has movement of his body.
• Eichel said it’s been a rather smooth experience fitting into the team amid all the injuries.
• Dadonov said it was rather “stressful” to wait out the days to see if the Knights’ trade of him to Anaheim would go through or not. But he said he was not mad and tried to be a pro about it.
• Marchessault said this year has been a grind as the VGK try to qualify for the playoffs after four years of making the postseason without the drama and injuries of this season.

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PSA