Preview: Golden Knights vs Canucks – 2nd Round – Game 6

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The Vegas Golden Knights will have another chance to eliminate the Vancouver Canucks in game six of the Western Conference Semi-Finals.

 

Vancouver is the team playing with house money as they are one win away from forcing a game seven.  VGK held a three games to one lead in the first round of last year’s playoffs, and we all remember how that scenario played out.

 

It is time for another daily dose of “which goalie do we think will be starting?”  I would guess that Marc Andre Fleury gets the net in game six, and here is why.  Robin Lehner is the starting goaltender for VGK.  I believe both goalies will get one start should the series go seven games.  I do not see Pete DeBoer going to his “backup” in a win or go home game.  DeBoer has rotated his goalies in both of VGK’s back to back situations of the 2020 postseason.  Plus, I do not see a scenario where VGK could lose three straight playoff games, and Fleury sits on the bench for all three.

DeBoer has been tremendous, and VGK’s record upon his arrival confirms how great of a coach he is.  However, a sure way out of Las Vegas would be not to give Fleury at least one shot to save VGK’s season.

Coach DeBoer stated after VGK’s game four victory, “Individually we maybe had some guys that weren’t as sharp as they were the night before.  But collectively, I just felt it was our advantage with the fresh bodies we put in, Flower in net…we had more fresh people in the lineup than they did.  I feel we’ve got more depth than them throughout our lineup.  I knew that would eventually pay off.”  In short, DeBoer likes his depth.  In game five, during the second and third periods, William Carrier has 2:19 of ice time, Ryan Reaves 2:20 minutes of ice time, and Nick Holden 6:24 minutes of ice time.

It is also important to note that Nick Holden was a healthy scratch for game four.  DeBoer’s quote after game four comes as a bit of a headscratcher when you look at how some of the “depth” players were used.  The game was tied until early in the third period.  It will be interesting to see how DeBoer rotates the lines tonight.

 

The 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs are unique for many reasons.

 

Something that stands out to me is the number of games the teams making the Stanley Cup Finals will potentially play.  Teams qualifying for the round-robin games would play a maximum of thirty-one games, and the fifth through twelfth seeds in each conference would play a maximum of thirty-three games.  It is also important to note that each series has at least one or two back to back games.  It is common that once teams get to the Conference Semi-Finals and deeper to have a travel day.  More games and shorter breaks between games add even more reason for the confusion over DeBoer’s comments.

Zach Whitecloud probably looked like Roger Dorn after Dorn finally started putting his body in front of ground balls in the movie “Major League” after last night’s game.  DeBoer stated, “He looked a little bit like a car accident victim at the end of the game.  He had been through the wringer.  This time of year, you need guys that are warriors like that.”  Whitecloud has performed so well; hopefully, he can get the treatment needed to get him back on the ice for game six.

I will repeat it; game sevens are only fun when it is not your team playing or when your team wins game six.  If VGK has a game seven Friday night, it will not be enjoyable.

 

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
*Game 5: Golden Knights 2, Canucks 1
*Game 6: Tonight 6:45 pm: Golden Knights @ Canucks | NBCSN
*Game 7: Thursday, Sept. 3, TBD: Canucks @ Golden Knights | TBD

*If necessary

 

The Golden Knights magic number to hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup is at 9!

GO KNIGHTS GO!

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-Chris Gawlik – Franchise Sports Media

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