playoffs: 2021-21 | WDFR | (W2) Vegas Golden Knights vs. (W3) Minnesota Wild

[Shane Falco]

 

(W2) Vegas Golden Knights vs. (W3) Minnesota Wild

 

 

 

 

REGULAR SEASON RECORDS:

 

Knights: 40-14-2, 82 points

Wild: 35-16-5, 74 points

 

 

SEASON SERIES:

 

VGK 3-4-1; MIN 5-1-2

 

 

 

 

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[td]GAME BREAKERS:[/td]

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[td]Golden Knights: Forward Mark Stone scored 61 points (21 goals, 40 assists) in the regular season. That included eight game-winning goals and a Vegas-leading 10 points (two goals, eight assists) against Minnesota. Defenseman Shea Theodore scored 42 points (eight goals, 34 assists).[/td]

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[td]Wild: Kaprizov made Minnesota far more dynamic and dangerous. He leads NHL rookies with 27 goals and 51 points. Not only did he lead the Wild in goals (six) and points (eight) against the Golden Knights, he produced at key times.[/td]

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[td]GOALTENDING:[/td]

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[td]Golden Knights: Marc-Andre Fleury and Robin Lehner shared the Jennings Trophy when Vegas allowed the fewest goals against (124) in the regular season. Lehner started ahead of Fleury in the playoffs last season, but Fleury took the lead this season. The 36-year-old was 26-10-0 in 36 games, with a 1.98 goals-against average, the lowest of his NHL career, and a .928 save percentage, the highest of his NHL career. He also had six shutouts. Lehner was 13-4-2 with a 2.29 GAA, .913 save percentage and one shutout in 19 games. Against Minnesota, Fleury was 3-3-0 with a 2.41 GAA and a .919 save percentage in six games. Lehner was 0-1-1 with a 3.87 GAA and an .884 save percentage in two games.[/td]

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[td]Wild: Cam Talbot was 19-8-5 with a 2.63 GAA, a .915 save percentage and two shutouts in 33 games. Rookie Kaapo Kahkonen was 16-8-0 with a 2.88 GAA, a .902 save percentage and two shutouts in 24 games (23 starts). Kahkonen had better numbers against Vegas (2-0-0, 1.51, .943, two games) than Talbot (3-1-2, 3.26, .898 six games) did, and each was rocky down the stretch. Talbot allowed 24 goals in his last six games and was 2-2-2. After winning nine straight games, Kahkonen was 4-4-0 with a 4.51 GAA and an .858 save percentage in his last eight. He allowed six goals in one game, seven in another and nine in another.[/td]

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[td]X FACTORS:[/td]

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[td]Golden Knights: Alex Tuch was traded by Minnesota to Vegas during the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft so the Wild could protect another player. The forward has made an impact for the Golden Knights with his size (6-foot-4, 220 pounds), speed and skill, with 139 points (61 goals, 78 assists) in 249 regular-season games and 24 points (15 goals, nine assists) in 47 playoff games. He scored six points (three goals, three assists) in eight games against the Wild this season.[/td]

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[td]Wild: Marcus Foligno has given Vegas fits not just with his physicality but with his offense. The forward scored seven points (three goals, four assists) in six games against the Golden Knights this season.[/td]

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[td]WILL WIN IF:[/td]

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[td]Golden Knights: They keep it simple and don't give too many opportunities to Minnesota's quick-strike offense, and health isn't an issue. Forward Max Pacioretty, who led Vegas with 24 goals in the regular season, missed the final six games with an injury. Forward Ryan Reaves, an intimidating physical presence at 6-foot-2, 225 pounds, missed the final 16.[/td]

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[td]Wild: Kaprizov continues to dazzle, they stay aggressive, and the goaltending shores up. The Wild know how to defeat the Golden Knights and should enter the series with a lot of confidence. But they have to take that style into the playoffs, and the goalies can't be as leaky as they were late in the season.[/td]

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More: https://www.nhl.com/news/vegas-golden-knights-minnesota-wild-playoff-preview/c-324712932?tid=287339198

 

 

[Stephen]

Goaltending looks solid in this series.

 

Remember Cam Talbot? He's standing on his head right now in Game 1.

[Karan]

MIN wins Game 1. Fuck Martinez.

[paddynyc]

Cam Talbot was great yesterday good for him

[Dr. Jimmy]

MIN wins Game 1. Fuck Martinez.

 

Sucks because Fleury was unreal throughout that game and lost it on a fluke deflection off that asswipe Martinez. I mean, yeah someone has to lose, but I'm sure he'd rather it be on an near impossible shot from a crazy angle.....

[BrooksBurner]

Between the Isles/Pens and now watching the greasy goals that Vegas is scoring by just getting the puck to the net, it's no secret what you need to do to compete with a lot of these teams in the playoffs. Something the Rangers lack almost entirely.

[Morphinity 2.0]

Between the Isles/Pens and now watching the greasy goals that Vegas is scoring by just getting the puck to the net, it's no secret what you need to do to compete with a lot of these teams in the playoffs. Something the Rangers lack almost entirely.

Yep, it's a night and day difference between what we see other teams do to win in the postseason and how the Rangers played. That, and the pace of the games is just so much quicker than anything we saw all season.