3 keys for Golden Knights in Game 5 of Stanley Cup Final
Here are three keys for the Golden Knights ahead of Tuesday’s Game 5 matchup against the Florida Panthers with a chance to clinch the Stanley Cup at T-Mobile Arena:
1. Make them tin men
The Panthers are in a fragile state. Their confidence is dangling by a thread knowing that their best player, Matthew Tkachuk, has one good arm remaining after Keegan Kolesar’s hit in Game 3, and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky’s veil of invincibility was pierced long ago in the series.
This is when the Knights have to take their heart.
Florida rallied from a 3-1 series deficit to defeat the record-setting Boston Bruins in the first round, and teams that trail 3-1 in a best-of-seven Stanley Cup Final are 17-20 in Game 5s, according to NHL public relations. Of those 17 wins, 11 were by road teams.
It’s not easy to handle the pressure of playing with the Stanley Cup in the building while the home crowd is bursting with anticipation. But the Knights have the best home record in the league in the postseason (8-3), and this is when their experience in this situation matters.
The Knights need to get the lead in the first period, trust goalie Adin Hill can continue to make timely saves, and don’t allow the Panthers to hang around and play spoiler in the third period the way Dallas did during Game 5 of the Western Conference Final.
Avoid going back to that shopping mall hockey rink in Florida at all costs.
2. Control second period
What once was a weakness for the Knights is now a strength. They have outscored Florida 6-2 in the second period during the four games, and both of the Panthers’ goals came off fluky deflections.
In Game 3, the Knights outscored Florida 1-0 in the middle period and had a 15-8 advantage in scoring chances, but their inability to cash in against Bobrovsky proved costly when they lost in overtime.
It was more of the same in Game 4, as the Knights generated 14 more scoring chances than the Panthers in the second period and six of the seven high-danger chances, according to the website Natural Stat Trick.
The Knights struggled with the long change in the second period during the regular season, particularly at home, and their plus-three goal differential in the second period ranked in the middle of the pack. But they have outscored their opponents 30-10 during the postseason and lead the league in second-period goals.
That needs to continue for the Knights to put away the Panthers.
3. Special delivery
Aside from overall team depth, the biggest difference in this series has been special teams.
The Knights are clicking at 33.3 percent on the power play (6-for-18) and held Florida scoreless with the man advantage in 13 tries. The Panthers have had open shooters on the weak side of their power-play formation, but haven’t been able to get a cross-ice pass through the Knights’ penalty killers for a one-time shot.
As long as the Knights are even or better in the special teams department during Game 5, they should be in good shape.
If Jack Eichel is going to break his 11-game goal drought, this seems like the perfect time to bury one on the power play.
Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.