Golden Knights vs Hurricanes

Golden Knights vs Hurricanes

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After a tough loss to Boston last Tuesday, the Golden Knights (25-20-7) come off their bye week to take on the Carolina Hurricanes (29-18-3)

 

The Hurricanes have won the previous two games, giving up only one goal in each and snapping a prior three-game losing streak. They are one of the best teams in the NHL, coming out in recent polls as the #10 ranked team in the league. Boasting one of the best defensive units on the ice, the Hurricanes also average 2.64 goals a game (fourth in the NHL).

Vegas has played well, having a 79% penalty kill average (19), which is a significant improvement this year than in recent years. Carolina is 83.5% on penalty kills, which is third in the NHL, behind Washington and San Jose. This paints a clear picture for the Golden Knights in this game against the Hurricanes, which will be in Carolina on Friday, Jan. 31st, at 4:30 PT.

For Vegas to win, the Golden Knights are going to have to come up with more ways to score goals. Coach DeBoer addressed the team’s offensive issues last week before their game with Boston, putting more attention on spreading the ice, passing efficiently, and creating better shots on goal.

The strategy almost worked against the talented Bruins, which would have given the Knights a much-needed victory to jump-start the second half of their season. A nice ten-day bye week to regroup will do some good for this Golden Knights team. Some time to rest, get treatment for any lingering injuries, and coach DeBoer to implement his new offensive system for the remainder of the Golden Knights road game stretch, would come in handy.

The Knights will have to play without star Goalie Mark-Andre Fleury, who declined to pay in the NHL ALL-STAR game this past Sunday, opting instead to stay home and rest his body. He and star player Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals both received a suspension for the choice and will be forced to sit out one game. This is a massive blow to the Golden Knight roster, considering that both teams would have been at full strength for the upcoming game.

Fleury’s suspension will mean the Golden Knights will have to start back up goalie Malcolm Subban. The Ontario native is 6-7 this season with three overtime losses, giving up over five goals in two of the seven games in which he’s played. His counterpart, Petr Mrazek, for the Hurricanes, however, has only given up on average 2.59 goals a game and has accounted for 18 of the Hurricanes 29 wins thus far this season. He will be starting with that tremendous defensive unit for the Hurricanes this Friday.

If the Golden Knights want to win this game, coming out and playing physical, as they did against the Bruins last Tuesday night, will be crucial. Allowing the Hurricanes to dominate the game physically will not bode well for the Golden Knights, who have, at times, struggled to find their offense in critical moments of games. Focusing their defensive gameplan around Carolina’s duo of left-wingers, Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen, who have accounted for over 90 combined points this season, the Knights will also need to take more shots on goal. Last week the Golden Knights opted to take fewer shots but tried to compensate with more accurate shots with better scoring opportunities, utilizing a long-range offensive style.

The Knights lost the games down the stretch because they did not take enough shots to capitalize on their number of possessions truly. Bringing the knowledge into this game, the Knights should know that they have to be offensively aggressive and physical on the defensive side. They have to assist their back up goalie with more defense of the open ice, creating takeaways and shortening possessions for the Hurricanes.

 

This week Coach DeBoer has finally had had ample amount of time to instill into his new team his ways of playing, for all fans to see the benefit of his hiring.

Golden Knights vs Hurricanes   Golden Knights vs Hurricanes     Golden Knights vs Hurricanes     Golden Knights vs Hurricanes

Vegas! If you want another great place to watch the game, head to Al’s Garage in Summerlin. There are multiple televisions to watch all the games. On the weekends Al’s has “Happy Hour” starting at 9 AM and ending at 9 PM. Al’s Garage is located at 11760 W. Charleston Boulevard, Las Vegas, Nevada 89135. Tell them, “The Franchise sent you!!”

 

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Carolina Hurricanes Franchise News Las Vegas Sports Mark-Andre’ Fleury Mark Stone NHL Paul Stastny Peter DeBoer Ryan Reaves Sebastian Aho Teuvo Teravainen Vegas Golden Knights VGK