The Vegas Golden Knights had an opportunity for their second playoff sweep of an opponent in their third year. Up 3-0 on the Chicago Blackhawks and going off of the rate at which they’ve scored (averaging four goals a game), it looked to be entirely possible. That is until they ran into a vintage Corey Crawford who stood on his head and handed Vegas their first loss in the bubble by a score of 3-1.
Use Your Head (Not Like That)
The Blackhawks carried the momentum they built through game three’s third period into the opening frame of this elimination game. They came out on the front foot and caught Vegas on their heels again and they capitalized quickly. Drake Caggiula, whose name has been all over these playoffs, put his team ahead just over four minutes in, with assists being credited to Oli Maata and Kirby Dach.
After getting beat early, Robin Lehner looked to be on high alert and may have gotten in his head. Unfortunately for him, he then used his head to deflect a shot attempt from Matthew Highmore past himself, doubling Chicago’s lead. Highmore scooped the puck towards the middle from below the goal line, perhaps aiming for a streaking teammate. Instead, it was met by the mask of Robin Lehner.
Unfazed, Lehner’s teammates took the restarting faceoff into the offensive zone and buried it behind Crawford just 18 seconds later. Shea Theodore picked up his fourth playoff goal off of a laser shot from the blue line that beat Crawford through traffic. It appeared it may have been tipped by Patrick Brown, but the goal was ruled as Theodore’s, with Alec Martinez and Ryan Reaves picking up assists.
Crawford Comes Alive
The second period was a sight for sore eyes for Vegas fans as the team’s power play woes continued through the second period. The Golden Knights have yet to score on the man-advantage in these playoffs and went 0-3 again in this game.
Further frustration began to kick in as Crawford continued to heat up. The second period was quite simply owned by the Chicago netminder, not to mention that he was in large part to thank for his team being able to take that lead into the first intermission, as their defence seemed discombobulated all night.
By halfway through the second period, the shots were sitting at 28-12 for Vegas, yet they were still down by a goal. With every save, the Golden Knights grew more unsettled and Crawford grew more confident. Crawford’s confidence appeared to bleed into his team, especially as fatigue began to set in throughout the Blackhawks lineup.
The last minute of the third saw grade-A chances for both teams, with each goalie being up to the task. When all was said and done after 40, Vegas had created 66 shot attempts to Chicago’s 28. As well, shots-on-goal were 36-15 for the trailing team.
Not Their Knight
The Golden Knights came out for the third much more adjusted to the Blackhawks heavy forecheck. The team from Sin City managed to hold their foot on the gas and keep the Chicago rush at bay, which could also be explained by Vegas being a deeper team, thus the fatigue of a back-to-back not having as much of an effect on them.
The third period was the classic tale of not being able to buy a goal. Up and down the Knights lineup, easy chances for tap-ins or open nets were being missed, fanned on, or miraculously saved by Crawford. Max Pacioretty, Reilly Smith, William Karlsson, Alex Tuch, you name the player and they probably missed an easy tying goal.
None of that is to the discredit of Crawford who continued to play like the Stanley Cup winning netminder Chicago got used to. Game four was Crawford’s highest number of saves made in a postseason game that didn’t go to overtime with 48.
Alex DeBrincat finally got the goal scoring monkey off of his back as he banked in an empty netter to seal the deal and extend the Blackhawks’ playoff lives by at least one more game.
The Bottom Line
The Golden Knights were served a healthy reminder of the all too familiar sports saying that the last game is the hardest to win. On the positive side, they weren’t outplayed in game four, they simply ran into a goalie who spent his night in a time machine that brought him back to his prime. If they can manage to be slightly more clinical in front of the net, or even just get their sticks on some tap-ins, it should be long before this series wraps itself up.