.png)
Another year, another rough offensive outing for the Vegas Golden Knights in the NHL Playoffs.
Despite a spectacular effort from goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, the Knights find themselves down 1-0 in the first round series matchup against the Minnesota Wild.
The one shot that found its way past Fleury was center Joel Eriksson Ek’s game-winner 3:20 into overtime.
“I was just trying to take it one shot at a time against me,” Fleury told ESPN. “Our guys had the puck a lot in the first and it was quiet on my side. I was just cheering for them, trying to keep them in the game, keep the game close. It’s definitely frustrating to lose that one at the end.”
The shot deflected off of defenseman Alec Martinez’s skate and over Fleury’s right side.
It was a frustrating afternoon for the Knights as Minnesota’s Cam Talbot played an equally impressive game stopping 42 shots.
Fleury had 29 saves on 30 shots.
Game two of the series is Tuesday, May 18. Puck drop is at 7:00 p.m.
The Knights out-shot the Wild with shots on goal, 42-30.
“These guys are good,” Vegas captain Mark Stone said. “They’ve got plenty of guys in front of their net trying to block shots. We’ve got to find a way to break them down a bit. It’s disappointing we couldn’t get the win, couldn’t score one goal for (Fleury). There were times I think we were trying to cheat a little bit of offense because we were getting frustrated, and that’s on us.”
The Knights were without Stone’s partner in-crime Max Pacioretty, who continues to be ailed by an undisclosed injury. The offense desperately needs Pacioretty back because Minnesota had its way with disruption of passing lanes all over the ice.
Defenseman Alex Pietrangelo turned the puck over in neutral ice leading up to Eriksson Ek’s game-winner.
After last postseason’s offensive struggles, the Knights will need to quickly move past their game one woes and focus on putting the puck in the back of the net against Talbot, who has played Vegas exceptionally well all season.