The Vegas Golden Knights were back in action on Sunday night as they took on the Vancouver Canucks in the first game of the second round. There were questions heading into the series about whether or not the extended layoff Vegas enjoyed would help or hurt them, but those ponderings were quickly overshadowed.
Controversy preceded puck drop after Marc-André Fleury’s agent, Alan Walsh, tweeted an image of his client being stabbed in the back, in what many perceived as a slight towards the club. In theory, this should have had no bearing on the games to be played in this series, but it was apparent early on that Vancouver caught wind of the incident that made Vegas look like a fractured club and they pounced on a chance early on to play mind games. Antoine Roussel made a point of getting in Robin Lehner’s ear during warmups, earning himself a lengthy stare down from the Panda.
Roussel’s activity did not go unnoticed, but more on that later…
This Could Get Ugly
Vegas had no intention of letting the Canucks get their feet under them, signalling as much by starting the big boy line of Ryan Reaves, William Carrier and Chandler Stephenson. From the outset, the Golden Knights were determined to impose themselves physically and set the tone for the series as a fast and hard one.
Remember Roussel’s antics pre-game? So did Reaves, who looked like a possessed man early on, fixed on defending his team’s honour. One of the league’s most feared players took a different approach to intimidation this time; electing to cluck like a chicken as Roussel passed him by. (Don’t worry, Reaves used his size to punish him during the game as well, he hasn’t changed that much…)
The worries of Vegas being a little rusty after time off were quickly wiped away as the team didn’t appear to miss a beat since vanquishing the Chicago Blackhawks. As the team continued their first round form through the opening period, so did its power play, much to the disappointment of every Vegas fan watching. To say that the power play was a weak spot in the first round would be generous with the only goal on the man advantage coming in game five of the NHL play-in round. It was the same story through the game’s first period: many golden attempts and only donuts to show for it.
While the power play still wasn’t clicking, the Golden Knights produced another even strength goal, a handsome reward for their dominant play. Jonathan Marchessault finished off the feed from Paul Stastny to break the deadlock and put Vegas ahead. It was Reilly Smith, however, who created the opportunity by winning the puck battle below the line en route to Stastny.
Everyone Gets A Goal
The Golden Knights used the second period as an opportunity to put on an offensive clinic, starting with Smith’s early goal, a power play marker at that. They had the Canucks running around their own zone as they moved the puck with such ease, it didn’t look fair. After Alex Tuch fired a shot off of an Alec Martinez assist, Smith came in to fire home the rebound. The goal was Smith’s 38th playoff point for the Golden Knights through 36 postseason games with the club.
With the margin doubled, the speed of the game intensified, something that didn’t look possible after the insane pace of the first. Despite the uptick, Vegas still looked one step ahead of Vancouver in every phase of the game and were rewarded with a third goal. This time, it was Nate Schmidt who fired a wrister through traffic to Mark Stone’s stick who placed a perfect tip behind Jakob Markstrom.
Not satisfied with a 3-0 lead, the Golden Knights continued to throw their weight around at every opportunity, establishing themselves as a very different beast to the St. Louis Blues, who the Canucks had previously ousted. While the Blues could hit hard, they didn’t necessarily have the speed to cause substantial problems. Vegas, on the other hand, has speed and size up and down their lineup and proved they will roll four lines at you all game long.
Speaking of size and speed, Tuch used both of those elements to add to the lead of the Golden Knights. What looked like a simple errant chip off the glass turned into a fourth goal once Tuch turned on the jets and showed sheer determination in winning the foot race against Vancouver’s defensemen. The speed that Tuch can reach is quite astounding for a guy of his size, which has contributed to making him an X-factor on that third line.
Put Them Out Of Their Misery
The third period was more of the same: Vancouver being out battled, out skated, out wanted by Vegas. If the score wasn’t bad enough, it began to look like instead of the Canucks getting in the Golden Knights’ heads, the opposite had started to happen. They did so as Antoine Roussel took a 10-minute misconduct after a hugging session with Reaves.
It kept getting worse for Vancouver as Vegas added a fifth goal to their tally, with Max Pacioretty finishing off a picture-perfect passing play. Stone notched the helper from below the goal line before Vegas’ alternate captain ended Markstrom’s night and Vancouver’s spirits.
The Bottom Line
The Golden Knights could not have drawn up a more perfect start to round two than their 5-0 victory over Vancouver. In every zone, in every element, they were simply the better team and it wasn’t close. If Vegas can continue to produce and roll at the same pace, this could certainly be a fast series. They were leagues ahead of Vancouver and that’s simply all there is to it.