The Golden Knights face off with the Blackhawks in first round of the playoffs

The Stanley Cup Playoffs will officially start this Tuesday evening and there are some interesting series on the slate in the first round. For a fast-paced game, it's probably smart to switch your TV channel to the meeting between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Chicago Blackhawks. Who will be the winner of Game 1 in this best-of-seven series?

Vegas Golden Knights: first seed in the Western Conference

Vegas made a great impression in the NHL just before the suspension of the regular season. It was very doubtful whether they could reach that top form again during the restart after months of interruption. It's hard to say how much value should be placed on the results of the round robin games, but the fact is that the Golden Knights remained undefeated thanks to three wins against the Dallas Stars (5-3), St. Louis Blues (6-4) and the Colorado Avalanche (4-3 OT) respectively.

The Golden Knights will get a boost, as Max Pacioretty will be fit enough for the first game against the Chicago Blackhawks. The winger was the MVP of Vegas during the regular season with 66 points (32 goals, 34 assists) and hadn't practiced with Vegas since July 20. Coach Peter Deboer does face a tough choice in Game 1 though. He has to choose if Marc-André Fleury or Robin Lehner, who's been unbeaten since coming to Vegas (5-0), will be his starting goalie during the playoffs.

Chicago Blackhawks: eliminated Edmonton

In the Stanley Cup Qualifiers series there were some surprises, but perhaps the biggest was the elimination of the fifth-seeded Edmonton Oilers by the Chicago Blackhawks (12th seed). Chicago sold their goalie Robin Lehner to the Vegas Golden Knights during the trade deadline and defender Erik Gustafsson to the Calgary Flames, as the chance of qualifying for the Stanley Cup Play-offs seemed to have been lost. The COVID-19 pandemic gave the Blackhawks an unexpected chance, so they seized it with both hands last week.

Chicago eventually defeated the Edmonton Oilers over the best-of-five Qualifier series, but had to concede a total of 15 goals in these games, averaging 3.75 goals against per game. Although the Oilers have the most feared attacking duo in the form of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, the entire regular season has already shown that the Blackhawks' defense is the big Achilles heel of the hockey team. Chicago may now be able to play more freely than other teams, where the pressure is more on, although their defensive will have to improve.

Vegas Golden Knights in regular playing time / Over 6 goals incl. Overtime

When they're hot, the Golden Knights are among the best teams in the NHL. They are defensively stronger than the Blackhawks and also have a better goalie tandem with Fleury and Lehner. On the other hand, the Blackhawks can compete with Vegas when we look at both their depth in forwards. In my opinion, goalkeeper Corey Crawford will have to rise above himself if Chicago is to have a chance in this best-of-seven series. I see Vegas continuing their small winning streak from the round robin games and expect goals in a fast-paced game.