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Vegas Golden Knights: Takeaways from Game 1 win against Chicago

By Andrew Steele-Davis

Corey Crawford #50 of the Chicago Blackhawks blocks a shot against the Vegas Golden Knights during the second period in Game One of the Western Conference First Round. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images)
Corey Crawford #50 of the Chicago Blackhawks blocks a shot against the Vegas Golden Knights during the second period in Game One of the Western Conference First Round. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images) /
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William Carrier #28 of the Vegas Golden Knights scores a goal Corey Crawford #50 and Matthew Highmore #36 of the Chicago Blackhawks during the second period in Game One of the Western Conference First Round.
William Carrier #28 of the Vegas Golden Knights scores a goal Corey Crawford #50 and Matthew Highmore #36 of the Chicago Blackhawks during the second period in Game One of the Western Conference First Round. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images) /

3. Let’s get physical

We all know that the intensity really cranks up in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Hits get harder, things are tighter, chances are harder to come by and the games are a real grind and a slog.

That’s why the postseason is referred to as a war of attrition.

And that’s why the Golden Knights are perfectly built for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

They have a little bit of everything but, when it comes down to the crunch, they can play a big, bruising brand of hockey.

They did just that against the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 1.

Vegas was structured, they made it a grind and their aggressive forecheck really put the shackles on Chicago’s big guns.

Chicago had racked up 16 goals in the Stanley Cup Qualifying Round but they were limited to just 20 shots on goal on Tuesday, and it didn’t help that the Knights swarmed them in the offensive zone like a bunch of murder hornets.

Vegas also laid on a beating but they did so in a real impactful way.

Jonathan Marchessault went at it with Jonathan Toews and that gave the Knights a bolt of energy, while the fourth-line of William Carrier, Nicolas Roy and Ryan Reaves really beat up on the Hawks.

dark. Next. Sights & Sounds from Game 1

That was evident at 9:39 in the second period when that line crashed their way to keeping the puck in the zone, before Carrier used his big body to crash the net and jam the puck home.

You have to play a hard and patient game in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and the Vegas Golden Knights were at their physical best in Game 1.

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