FSM Essential Recap: VGK vs Canucks – Round 2 – Game 4

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The Vegas Golden Knights won in dramatic fashion Sunday night by a score of 5-3 over the Vancouver Canucks to take a three games to one lead in the Western Conference Semi-Finals.

 

The teams would trade first-period power-play goals. Max Pacioretty started the scoring for Vegas on a wrist shot that beat Vancouver goalie, Jacob Markstrom, low. Elias Pettersson beat Marc-Andre Fleury from point-blank range to tie things up. Chandler Stephenson gave Vegas the lead with just under seven minutes to go, and it seemed to be smooth sailing.

Vancouver scored the first two goals of the second period (Bo Horvat and Tyler Toffoli), which was also the first lead change of the series. The Canucks took a 3-2 lead into the locker room for the second intermission.

 

Before tonight’s game, Vegas had outscored their opponents 14-5 in the third period of the 2020 postseason. Nate Schmidt tallied the equalizer early in the third on a slapshot that Markstrom probably wants back. Pacioretty logged his second of the game on a nice deflection just over four minutes later. William Karlsson gave Vegas some insurance ninety seconds later. The Golden Knights have now outscored their opponents in the postseason by a margin of 17-5 in the third period.

The NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs are a grind. It takes a complete effort for sixty minutes to win, but the Golden Knights did not play a full sixty-minute game. The second period may have been their worst twenty-minute stretch of the 2020 postseason. Multiple penalties in the offensive zone and not capitalizing on scoring chances gave Vancouver hope, but leadership and experience prevailed. Coach Pete DeBoer remained calm and collected. Vegas got a bit of a gift on Schmidt’s goal to start the third period and never looked back.

 

Marc-Andre Fleury got his second start of the Playoffs. He made the saves he had to, and many he wasn’t supposed to.

 

It’s nice to have two elite goalies on the roster; however, no one expected the split to be what it is. Coach DeBoer has made multiple remarks about having a plan for his goaltenders. The program is straightforward; Robin Lehner is the starter, and Fleury plays the second game of back-to-backs.

 

Hopefully, we do not get to this point, but games six and seven are back to back.

In Vegas, we better get used to hearing the name Quinn Hughes. Hughes is going to be a thorn in our side until he retires, or the NHL decides to split up the Pacific Division. On a team with great talents like Bo Horvat, Elias Pettersson, and Brock Boeser, the offense goes through Hughes.

Vancouver has a great core of young talent to build around. Hopefully, we only get one more shot to see that young talent this season.

 

 

Looking ahead, the Dallas Stars have taken a three games to one lead over the Colorado Avalanche.

 

The Stars have relied on defense to win games during the regular season as they were only a plus three in goal differential. Their series against the Avalanche have been a different story, as they have logged nineteen goals in just five games. The Stars have also given up fourteen goals in the series. Everybody in Vegas hoped the Stars would knock out the Avalanche, and that just may happen.

Vegas gets a night off and is back at it Tuesday night for game five. VGK is 1-4 in their last five games dating back to last season when they had a chance to eliminate their opponent. It would be nice to improve on that record.

 

Golden Knights vs. Canucks Series & T.V. info

 

Game 1: Golden Knights 5, Canucks 0

Game 2: Canucks 5, Golden Knights 2

Game 3: Golden Knights 3, Canucks 0

Game 4: Golden Knights 5, Canucks 3

Tuesday, Sept. 1, 6:45 p.m.: Canucks @ Golden Knights | TBD

*Thursday, Sept. 3, TBD: Golden Knights @ Canucks | TBD

*Friday, Sept. 4, TBD: Canucks @ Golden Knights | TBD

*If necessary 

 

The magic number for the Golden Knights to hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup remains at 9. 

VGK vs Blackhawks

Go Knights Go!

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-Chris Gawlik – Franchise Sports Media

Twitter: TDChrisG

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