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Vegas Golden Knights: Three Keys to putting out the Flames against Calgary

By Andrew Steele-Davis

CALGARY, ALBERTA - OCTOBER 05: Sean Monahan #23, Johnny Gaudreau #13 and teammates of the Calgary Flames celebrate a goal against the Vancouver Canucks at Scotiabank Saddledome on October 05, 2019 in Calgary, Canada. (Photo by Gerry Thomas/NHLI via Getty Images)
CALGARY, ALBERTA - OCTOBER 05: Sean Monahan #23, Johnny Gaudreau #13 and teammates of the Calgary Flames celebrate a goal against the Vancouver Canucks at Scotiabank Saddledome on October 05, 2019 in Calgary, Canada. (Photo by Gerry Thomas/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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It is the first of two Pacific Division showdowns this weekend for the Vegas Golden Knights who host the Calgary Flames at T-Mobile Arena tonight – 7:00 p.m. PT.

Returning to winning ways will be key for the Vegas Golden Knights after they dropped their last two games following a superb start to the 2019-20 NHL regular season, which saw them beat their bitter rivals the San Jose Sharks twice in two games.

However, after losing to the Boston Bruins and the Arizona Coyotes in the week, the Golden Knights will look to get back on track tonight, before hitting the road to take on the LA Kings on Sunday.

The Calgary Flames have looked pretty good so far in 2019-20, carving out a 2-1-1 record and their efforts have been spearheaded by the likes of Johnny Gaudreau, Matthew Tkachuk and Mark Giordano.

Ahead of faceoff tonight, we have picked out three keys to the game for the Vegas Golden Knights…

GLENDALE, ARIZONA – OCTOBER 10: Shea Theodore #27 of the Vegas Golden Knights skates the puck up ice against the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena on October 10, 2019 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/NHLI via Getty Images)
GLENDALE, ARIZONA – OCTOBER 10: Shea Theodore #27 of the Vegas Golden Knights skates the puck up ice against the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena on October 10, 2019 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/NHLI via Getty Images) /

1. Intensity from the start

In the opening two games against the San Jose Sharks, the Golden Knights played with a real edge and a bucketload of snarl on their way to winning both games, outscoring their opponents 9-2 in the process.

However, they lacked intensity at times in the 4-3 loss to the Boston Bruins and they lacked any real tempo to their game in the 4-1 defeat at the hands of the Arizona Coyotes.

In-fact, it was a very lacklustre effort from the Knights against the Coyotes and a poor first period ultimately cost them the game and the two points in what was a Pacific Division matchup.

Suffice to say, the Golden Knights are going to have to come out of the gate swinging tonight against what is a very, very good Flames team. Vegas will need to play with a tonne of urgency from the first drop of the puck, start fast and if they can take the lead and build on it then that could lay the foundations for what would be an important win.

CALGARY, AB – OCTOBER 05: Calgary Flames Left Wing Johnny Gaudreau (13) skates with the puck during the first period of an NHL game where the Calgary Flames hosted the Vancouver Canucks on October 5, 2019, at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, AB. (Photo by Brett Holmes/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CALGARY, AB – OCTOBER 05: Calgary Flames Left Wing Johnny Gaudreau (13) skates with the puck during the first period of an NHL game where the Calgary Flames hosted the Vancouver Canucks on October 5, 2019, at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, AB. (Photo by Brett Holmes/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

2. Shut down Gaudreau and company

The Flames are a high-scoring team so it goes without saying that the Golden Knights are going to have to shutdown Calgary’s main offensive threats.

Johnny Gaudreau is one of the most naturally-skilled and gifted hockey players on the planet, and it is no surprise that he leads the Flames in points so far this year with six (two goals, four assists).

Matthew Tkachuk is right behind him with two goals and three assists for five points, while Elias Lindholm, Sean Monahan and Mark Giordano are all sitting on three points.

Calgary boast a plethora of big hitters in their forward unit but they can also count on a tonne of secondary scoring, with 11 players in total having registered at least a point so far in 2019-20.

However, the key for the Vegas Golden Knights tonight will be to focus on shutting down Gaudreau and the rest of his dynamic top line.

If they can put the shackles on Gaudreau and company then that should provide the platform for Vegas to go and produce some offense of their own and put themselves in the best possible position to win the game.

GLENDALE, ARIZONA – OCTOBER 10: Goaltender Darcy Kuemper #35 of the Arizona Coyotes makes a save on a shot as Cody Glass #9 of the Vegas Golden Knights skates in during the second period of the NHL game at Gila River Arena on October 10, 2019 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
GLENDALE, ARIZONA – OCTOBER 10: Goaltender Darcy Kuemper #35 of the Arizona Coyotes makes a save on a shot as Cody Glass #9 of the Vegas Golden Knights skates in during the second period of the NHL game at Gila River Arena on October 10, 2019 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

3. Spark secondary scoring into life

We have covered this a lot over the last few days but it is of paramount importance that the Vegas Golden Knights get some secondary scoring going tonight against the Calgary Flames. They can’t rely on their top six to carry the load every single night.

The bottom six were nonexistent in the last two games against the Boston Bruins and the Arizona Coyotes, while Brandon Pirri and Valentin Zykov in particular were poor and failed to offer any sort of offensive punch.

However, there will be lineup changes tonight with Cody Eakin set to make his season debut after recovering from an upper body injury suffered in the preseason. Eakin will slot in as the third line center which will allow Paul Stastny to be bumped back up to the second line.

As a result, rookie phenom Cody Glass – who has three points (one goal, two assists) – will slot in on the wing on the third line, likely replacing Pirri who will be a healthy scratch.

Next. Vegas vs. Flames pregame primer. dark

Glass impressed on the wing during the preseason and the Golden Knights will be hoping that a new-look third line can mesh and help provide some much-needed secondary scoring.

If the third line can click and the fourth line can also come up big when needed, then the Vegas Golden Knights will have a better chance of improving to 3-2-0 tonight.

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