It is the turn of the Vegas Golden Knights to take part in the NHL Player Gaming Challenge today, and we’re predicting a big win for Alex Tuch and Ryan Reaves.
In order to fill the void left by no live hockey, the NHL invented the NHL Player Gaming Challenge which will see the Vegas Golden Knights and the rest of the league compete against each other on NHL 20.
The tournament has been going on for a few weeks now with mixed results. These aren’t live contests, rather pre-recorded and edited versions and it isn’t the most captivating TV.
Granted, the most entertaining game so far has been the Seattle franchise against the Edmonton Oilers, with Seattle Seahawks Tight-End Luke Wilson proving to be comedy gold.
Is this technically the beginning of a rivalry between @NHLSeattle_ & @EdmontonOilers? Luke Willson (@LWillson_82) from the @seahawks puts his hockey upbringing to use against Darnell Nurse (@drtwofive) & Caleb Jones (@Jones4Caleb)! #HockeyAtHome https://t.co/oaLWFaeYBb
— NHL (@NHL) May 16, 2020
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However, outside of that the Gaming Challenge hasn’t been that compelling, especially for Golden Knights fans.
Until now.
Because, finally, Ryan Reaves and Alex Tuch will take over the controls for Vegas today as they take on Vancouver Canucks duo Thatcher Demko and Adam Gaudette.
The contest between the two Pacific Division rivals will be streamed on the NHL’s Twitch, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube channels.
Now, I’ll admit that I haven’t watched any of the Gaming Challenge games yet, but I will tune in today given that the Golden Knights are involved.
And I’m predicting a big win for the Tuch and Reaves duo.
Of course, I don’t know anything about the gaming background of Gaudette or his skills on NHL 20, but I do know that both Tuch and Demo were once ranked 12th in the entire world on the NHL video game series.
According to SinBin, Tuch and Demko, along with Austin Cangelosi who plays his hockey for the Nurnberg Ice Tigers in the DEL, dominated NHL 16 when they played together for the Boston College Eagles.
While they also spearheaded the Eagles to the Frozen Four in real life, Tuch, Demko and Cangelosi were also busy dominating the gaming world.
They climbed to 12th in the world in online play on the popular video game, so that should stand both Tuch and Demko in good stead ahead of today’s challenge.
But, while Demko is clearly an established video gamer, I’m still predicting a significant win for Tuch and Reaves.
Why?
Well Tuch will also lead the way with his gaming skills and his inside knowledge of how Demko navigates the video game, while Reaves will come in as the secret weapon.
While Tuch and Demko will bring finesse to the table, Reaves can play the role of agitator in the gaming world as he does in real life.
He can really get under the skin of both Demko and Gaudette, thus allowing Tuch to take over with his superior gaming skills.
Another edition of the NHL Player Gaming Challenge as @ZachHyman of the @MapleLeafs takes on James van Riemsdyk (@JVReemer21) of the @NHLFlyers.
— NHL (@NHL) May 21, 2020
Check it out at 5p ET on our Twitch, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, presented by @Honda! #HockeyAtHome pic.twitter.com/JEresPwbvj
It will be a perfect combination and it will lead the Golden Knights to their first victory in the NHL Player Gaming Challenge.
While many fans won’t care about watching a video game being played out, today’s event does offer Golden Knights fans the opportunity to hear from Tuch and Reaves.
While I’m sure there will be plenty of chirps flying about given that Reaves is involved, it will also be interesting to hear from both Tuch and Reaves on what they have been doing during the hiatus, how they have been keeping in shape and their thoughts on hockey coming back this year.
If we can get some interesting nuggets from two key players on this team then it will make today’s game that much better.
Again, the NHL Player Gaming Challenge contest on NHL 20 between Alex Tuch and Ryan Reaves Vs. Thatcher Demko and Adam Gaudette will be streamed on the NHL’s Twitch, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook channels.