The Vegas Golden Knights have a chance to take a commanding 3-0 series lead over the Florida Panthers tonight in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final in Sunrise, Florida.
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The Golden Knights are coming off a 7-2 victory in Game 2 and have outscored the Panthers 12-4 in the first two games of the matchup.
Jillian Wagner
However, the Golden Knights will be dueling a desperate Panthers club tonight facing a must-win situation.
Florida is no stranger to adversity or to clawing its way back into a series; after all, the Panthers fought back from a 3-1 deficit against the greatest regular-season team of all time in their first-round series against Boston. But given how the Golden Knights have been playing throughout the postseason and especially in the last three games, it won’t be easy.
One thing working in Vegas’ favor is its track record on the road. The Golden Knights were one of the best road teams in the league all season and have the second-best record (6-2) in road matchups throughout the playoffs, trailing (ironically) only the Florida Panthers (8-3).
At home, the Panthers have gone 4-3 but have had some key moments, including staving off elimination in Game 6 against Boston and completing the sweep against the Hurricanes to reach the Stanley Cup Final.
Vegas has averaged four goals per game and two goals against per game on the road, both of which are better than their home counterparts (3.82, 3.00).
The Golden Knights will have a full lineup for tonight’s contest; Jack Eichel has no lasting effects from Matthew Tkachuk’s punishing hit, and William Karlsson was back at morning skate after missing practice.
The Panthers will have Radko Gudas back in the lineup. Gudas left Game 2 in the first period after taking a massive reverse hit from Ivan Barbashev and did not return; however, Panthers bench boss Paul Maurice confirmed that he will play tonight.
No matter what, the Golden Knights need to stick to their game plan, which has worked admirably through two games.
This is a make-or-break game for Florida.
“They’re gonna bring their best effort tonight, and we’re aware of that,” Jonathan Marchessault said. “We gotta be ready for it.”
The Golden Knights don’t have to win, but doing so would bring them one win away from the ultimate prize. Not winning will give Florida new life and will allow the Panthers to reset the score with a win in Game 4. The Golden Knights need to try to win at least one of the next two.
To do that, the Golden Knights will need to continue to get in shooting lanes and prevent Florida’s shot attempts from reaching the net. They have a combined 36 blocks in two games, and the back end’s overall ability to neutralize Florida’s threatening scoring chances has been a huge component of Vegas’ success.
Likewise, the blue line needs to continue to help Adin Hill clear pucks and keep Florida to the perimeter. This is true especially for Florida’s top dog in Tkachuk. Vegas has frustrated him considerably thus far this series and has done a very good job keeping him away from the net; that needs to continue. Tkachuk has gotten three 10-minute misconducts and has not been a factor offensively. Keeping him in check will be critical, as he has the ability to singlehandedly turn this series around.
The Golden Knights won several battles in the first two games of the series, including the forecheck battle and the special teams battle. Winning at least one (if not both) tonight will be key.
Vegas’ forecheck has been unrelenting throughout the playoffs, and it has been a force in the Stanley Cup Final through two games. The Golden Knights need to keep their foot on the gas and continue to push the pace. The Florida blue line is thinner than Vegas’ to begin with, and Gudas is not 100 percent; forcing the Panthers defensemen to retrieve and go 200 feet repeatedly will put a strain on Florida on which Vegas can capitalize.
Surprisingly, the Golden Knights have won the special teams battle in both games so far this series. The Panthers lacked discipline all season and did not have a strong penalty kill through the first three rounds, but their power play was a clear advantage over the Golden Knights coming into the series. It hasn’t worked out that way so far, though.
Part of that is because the Panthers have accrued an absurd number of penalty minutes (130 through two games). The Golden Knights have had 11 power plays, including seven in Game 1. Most of the penalty minutes are from widespread misconducts, which have been handed out like candy. But the Panthers also have taken roughing, interference, slashing, tripping and cross-checking penalties between the whistles that have resulted in power-play opportunities in the first two periods of each game.
Things unraveled in Game 2; by the end of the night, the Florida bench was mostly empty, and Maurice put five defensemen on the ice for the final faceoff in protest. It’s no secret the Panthers are not happy with how the officiating has been handled, but both teams will look to be disciplined in tonight’s critical contest.
If Vegas can at least hang on in the special teams battle, that will go a long way. Marchessault has led the charge offensively, kicking off Vegas’ scoring in both games with a power-play strike in the first period.
More importantly, however, the penalty kill needs to continue to click. The Panthers got four power-play goals in a low-scoring, four-game series against Carolina and have relied on the man-advantage throughout the postseason.
“I think we try to be a little more aggressive on the kill than we’ve been in the past,” Nicolas Roy said. “I think it’s been working. … Our PK’s been getting better game after game, and we’re just feeling good about it right now.”
Coming into tonight’s game, Florida’s power play has operated at 24 percent, even after going 0-for-7 so far this series. Both teams have seen a change of at least three percent in power-play efficiency, as Vegas started the series at 18.5 percent and is now at 21.5 percent, while Florida started out at 27.9 percent and has dropped to 24 percent. If that trend continues, it will be a major boon to the road team.
Florida has chased the check through two games, often to the detriment of the team. It has been an exhausting effort that has been both taxing and counterproductive.
Expect the Panthers’ top players to focus much more on offense than physicality tonight. The Panthers will expend more energy getting pucks to the net and fighting to get to the middle of the ice than on big hits; after all, Florida has a few players who can deliver in that department. Regardless of what Florida throws at Vegas, maintaining discipline on the road will be paramount.
The Golden Knights have largely avoided the Panthers’ invitations to engage after the whistles, which has served them well. They need to keep that effort going on the road.
But perhaps the thing that has benefited Vegas most of all through two games has been the team’s ability to take away Sergei Bobrovsky’s eyes. The Panthers have helped considerably in this effort, failing to get in shooting lanes and screening their own goalie instead of blocking shots.
If the Golden Knights can continue to score on screens – set both by Vegas and Florida – they will continue to take Bobrovsky out of the fight. Bobrovsky hasn’t played poorly but hasn’t been lights-out. So far, at least.
He was a key factor in Florida’s path to the Stanley Cup, and he will have to steal a game or two in order for the Panthers to get back in this series. Making life as difficult for him as possible will be vital.
Keys to the game
At the end of the day, the four most important things the Golden Knights need to focus on tonight are:
- Getting in shooting lanes and preventing the Panthers from getting in tight.
- Being aggressive on the forecheck and forcing the Panthers’ defensemen to go 200 feet.
- Keeping the Panthers’ power play at bay.
- Getting to Bobrovsky.
Discipline and capitalizing on chances – especially on the rush – will be important factors as well, but the Golden Knights need to keep their structure in place, control momentum swings and deliver a 60-minute effort.
“We’re coming into a road building,” Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. “They’re down a couple games, so you know to expect their best. So those veteran guys will be trying to balance being on your toes and playing with composure and taking a deep breath when it gets loud. So tonight will be a good example, where especially if things don’t go our way early, you need those calming voices.”
The team’s depth has been a factor all year and will be tested in Sunrise, especially since the matchups will be different now that Florida has last change. Through the first two games, it was the fourth line and the third defensive pairing for Vegas that went up against the Tkachuk line. That could be different tonight, but the Golden Knights are confident in all 18 skaters to do the job defensively.
If Vegas sticks to its game and keeps Bobrovsky from getting back to the level of play that got Florida here in the first place, the Golden Knights will get that much closer to the finish line.
Obviously, Hill will have to come through once again, but he has been outrageously solid for the Golden Knights in the last three rounds; if the Golden Knights play their game, he should be able to take care of the rest.
“I think it’ll be a real good game,” Marchessault said. “Obviously, we’re happy with the situation we’re in but we’re not satisfied. I think it doesn’t matter what we’ve done the past few games. In the playoffs, the beauty of it, win or lose, it’s a reset the next game. They’re looking at it that way, and we’re looking at it the same way.”
Projected lineups
Golden Knights
Ivan Barbashev – Jack Eichel – Jonathan Marchessault
Reilly Smith – William Karlsson – Michael Amadio
Brett Howden – Chandler Stephenson – Mark Stone
William Carrier – Nicolas Roy – Keegan Kolesar
Alec Martinez – Alex Pietrangelo
Brayden McNabb – Shea Theodore
Nicolas Hague – Zach Whitecloud
Adin Hill
Jonathan Quick
Panthers
Carter Verhaeghe – Aleksander Barkov – Anthony Duclair
Nick Cousins – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk
Ryan Lomberg – Anton Lundell – Sam Reinhart
Colin White – Eric Staal – Zac Dalpe
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Marc Staal – Brandon Montour
Josh Mahura – Radko Gudas
Sergei Bobrovsky
Alex Lyon
How to watch
Game 3: Golden Knights at Panthers
When: 5 p.m. PT
Where: FLA Live Arena – Sunrise, FL
TV: TNT, TBS, truTV
Radio: Fox Sports 98.9 FM