David Becker/AP
Vegas Golden Knights right wing Reilly Smith (19) shoots against Vancouver Canucks center Jay Beagle (83) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, March 3, 2019, in Las Vegas.
Sunday, Aug. 23, 2020 | 2 a.m.
Hockey players will frequently mention “staying out of the penalty box” as a key to victory. It’s an adage that has become cliché, but in a series with the Vancouver Canucks, the Golden Knights know the importance of not taking penalties.
The Golden Knights have a marked advantage over Vancouver in most aspects of the game, especially at 5-on-5. That’s one of reasons why they are a minus-335 betting favorite in their second-round series, which begins at 7:30 p.m. today.
But if Vancouver goes on the power play, that’s where it could give Vegas problems.
The power play, though, is where Vancouver starts to slide the scale back to center, and a parade to the box would allow the underdog Canucks opening, something Vegas will look to prevent in Game at 7:30 p.m. from Rogers Place in Edmonton.
Among teams that advanced beyond the qualifying round, the Golden Knights were the least penalized, with just 24 in their first eight games. The Canucks were the most penalized, racking up 58 in their 10 games. Vancouver though also drew 57 infractions, most in the league.
That means the Canucks were on the power play more than any other team, and that’s where they are deadly. They converted on 26.2% of their chances, and 30.4% in their first-round series against St. Louis, the second-best rate of any first-round team.
“I think our team has done an exceptional job of figuring out the standard here is going to be as far as what’s going to be called and adhering to that,” Golden Knights coach Peter DeBoer said. “Vancouver draws a lot of penalties. They want to get on the power play, they have a great power play. So I think it’s going to be on us to continue to play and check with the type of discipline that we have through the play-in and the first round.”
The Canucks are led by their two young phenoms, 21-year-old center Elias Pettersson and 20-year-old defenseman Quinn Hughes. They’ve combined for 15 points on the power play this postseason, one fewer than the rest of the team combined.
Vegas’ penalty kill struggled in the regular season with a 70.7% success rate, third-worst in the league since DeBoer took over in January. It’s been better in the postseason — an 86.4% mark that ranks fifth among teams that qualified for the first round — but the Golden Knights know they can’t give Vancouver too many chances on the power play.
“I think we’re a smart team. We know what we have to do to win and it starts with guys like (Ryan Reaves) and Will (Carrier),” forward Jonathan Marchessault said. “They’re so physical but they do it in a smart way. It starts from those guys and everybody joins in. At this time of the year, it’s no time to do selfish or bad penalties.”
Carrier and Reaves have taken one minor penalty apiece in the eight games so far, an impressive feat for the players who rank fifth and 14th in the league, respectively, in hits per 60 minutes this postseason.
In the regular season Reaves led the Golden Knights in penalty minutes and Carrier was fourth. So far the pair has expertly walked the line, and not allowed their physical play to send them to the box.
“We’re not trying to give them any momentum or trying to create energy for a team so taking penalties doesn’t help,” Carrier said. “It’s a fine line, but I mean we’ve been doing it for so long, so I think me and (Reaves) are doing pretty good.”
The Golden Knights are 3-3 all-time in Game 1 of a series, and have never lost a series in which they won the first game.
Series: Tied 0-0
TV: NBC Sports Network (DirecTV 220, Cox 38, CenturyLink 640)
Radio: Fox Sports 1340 AM and 98.9 FM
Betting line: Golden Knights minus-190, Canucks plus-160; over/under: 5.5 (minus-115, minus-105)
Golden Knights (7-1, Western Conference No. 1 seed)
Previous round: Defeated Chicago in first round, 4-1
Coach: Peter DeBoer (first season)
Points leaders: Reilly Smith, Mark Stone (8)
Goals leaders: Mark Stone, Shea Theodore, Alex Tuch (4)
Assists leaders: Jonathan Marchessault, Reilly Smith (5)
Expected goalie: Robin Lehner (2.44 GAA, .904 save percentage)
Canucks (7-3, Western Conference No. 7 seed)
Previous round: Defeated St. Louis in first round, 4-2
Coach: Travis Green (third season)
Points leaders: Elias Pettersson (13)
Goals leader: Bo Horvat (6)
Assists leaders: Quinn Hughes, Elias Pettersson (9)
Expected goalie: Jacob Markstrom (2.44 GAA, .929 save percentage)
Golden Knights projected lineup
Forwards
Max Pacioretty—William Karlsson—Mark Stone
Jonathan Marchessault—Paul Stastny—Reilly Smith
Nick Cousins—Nicolas Roy—Alex Tuch
William Carrier—Chandler Stephenson—Ryan Reaves
Defensemen
Brayden McNabb—Nate Schmidt
Alec Martinez—Shea Theodore
Nick Holden—Zach Whitecloud
Goalies
Robin Lehner, Marc-André Fleury
