The Vegas Golden Knights responded well after being shutout in Game 1 of the Western Conference Final.
The Vegas Golden Knights headed into Game 2 of the Western Conference Final with their first series deficit of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. After losing Game 1 1-0, the Golden Knights looked to even up the series. They came out with one of their most impressive efforts of the postseason, beating the Dallas Stars 3-0 in Game 2.
Two days after looking listless, Vegas resembled the brutally efficient team fans have seen for most of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The decision to rest Robin Lehner in Game 1 paid off, as he posted his second consecutive shutout, stopping each of the 24 shots on goal he saw.
With the series tied at one game each, let’s look at three things fans should takeaway from Game 2.
3. Centers Of Attention
Heading into Game 2, the Vegas Golden Knights hadn’t gotten much from their centers. In their last three games, their centers had given them just one goal and three points. They make a huge impact in Game 2, as Paul Stastny, William Karlsson, Nicolas Roy, and Chandler Stephenson each finished the game with at least one point, with Stastny recording two.
On the first goal, Stastny battled his way to the net and was able to pounce on a nice centering pass from Max Pacioretty, putting it past Anton Khudobin. This was Stastny’s third goal of the postseason.
The second goal came on the power play and was scored by William Karlsson. He fired a rocket shot from the faceoff circle to cleanly beat Khudobin for his fourth goal of the postseason and his first point in his last five games. Stastny picked up the secondary assist, giving him his second multi-point game in his last three games.
Their third goal came from Tomas Nosek, who scored his second goal of the postseason. Stephenson, Roy, and Nosek created a 3-on-1 opportunity, with Nosek providing an impressive finish.
It was a great night for the Golden Knights centers. They’ll need more nights like Game 2 if they want to win the Stanley Cup.
2. Physicality
So far, this has been a brutally physical series. Thus far, the Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars have combined for 200 hits in two games. In Game 2, the Golden Knights were the ones dealing out the most damage, as they recorded 55 of the 102 hits in the game.
Despite this, the Golden Knights also played a very disciplined game, as they only committed two minor penalties all game. Both of them were committed by defenseman Brayden McNabb. Obviously, McNabb has to work on staying out of the penalty box. But the Golden Knights were able to physically dominate the Stars while still playing by the rules.
1. The Value Of Having Two Goalies
The Vegas Golden Knights surprised a lot of people when they decided to start Marc-Andre Fleury in Game 1. Turns out, it didn’t matter who was in goal for Vegas, as the Golden Knights couldn’t get anything past Anton Khudobin. It was a risky move to start Fleury, but it paid off for the Golden Knights and Lehner, who has now recorded two consecutive shutouts and four shutouts overall in the postseason.
Had Lehner started in Game 1, it would have been not just his second start in three days, but also his third start in four days and his fourth start in six days. That’s a lot to ask from any goalie. It’s why the Golden Knights have such a huge advantage by having two reliable goalies.
Compare that to the Stars. Khudobin was playing in his third game in four days and fourth game in six days. By the end of the second period, he seemed exhausted, so he was pulled for rookie goaltender Jake Oettinger.
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