Tuesday night, the Vegas Golden Knights play their second game against the Vancouver Canucks in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Golden Knights dominated in Game 1. Will they be able to get an even more comfortable lead, or will the Canucks tie the series?
Vegas Golden Knights: impressive shutout win
The Vegas Golden Knights have an incredibely deep group, besides that, head coach Peter DeBoer will have one of the best goalie tandems in the NHL with Marc-André Fleury and Robin Lehner. The Golden Knights were the most dominant team in the NHL during the regular season in terms of puck possession during 5 vs. 5 play and the hockey team is also able to reach a high level during the play-offs.
In the first round of the playoffs, Vegas faced the Chicago Blackhawks. The Golden Knights could have swept the Blackhawks, but Chicago goalie Corey Crawford was able to steal one game thanks to an outstanding performance. In the second round a meeting with the young and talented Vancouver Canucks awaited. The Golden Knights set the tone in Game 1 by booking a 5-0 shutout win. The team have emerged as possible Cup favourites and there is a lot to be said for that.
Vancouver Canucks: no longer on cloud nine
The Vancouver Canucks started the second round of the playoffs against the Vegas Golden Knights last weekend with the necessary confidence. The hockey team managed to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs by eliminating the Minnesota Wild in four games. This was followed by a difficult task beforehand, when the St. Louis Blues turned out to be the opponents in the actual first-round series.
It was questionable whether the Canucks would be equal to the physically strong Blues, but the young and talented group eventually managed to eliminate the Blues in six games, pulling off a big upset. The move into the second round was partly due to goalie Jakob Markstrom, who played excellent in this series. On Sunday Markstrom could not help his team in Game 1 of the second-round playoff series. The Canucks were shutout by Vegas (5-0), it was the biggest defeat for Vancouver in the playoffs since 2011.
Golden Knights in regulation
After the 5-0 shutout defeat, I expect a better effort from the Vancouver Canucks in Game 2 against the Vegas Golden Knights. As said, Vegas is incredibely deep and it will be a difficult task to upset them in a best-of-seven series. If The Canucks want to pull it off, they must hope Markstrom can improve his game and plays lights-out again. Besides that, they need to improve their shot volume. It will be interesting to see if Vancouver can find a way past Lehner, the goalie is now 9-1 since the Golden Knights acquired him at the Feb. 24 trade deadline from the Chicago Blackhawks. The Canucks will make some adjustments, but I don't think it will be enough and I see Vegas winning again in regulation.
