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Vegas Golden Knights grind it out in Game 3 to move to within one of a sweep

ByAndrew Steele-Davis|
Patrick Brown #38 and the Vegas Golden Knights celebrate his goal against the Chicago Blackhawks at 15:23 of the second period in Game Three of the Western Conference First Round. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images)
Patrick Brown #38 and the Vegas Golden Knights celebrate his goal against the Chicago Blackhawks at 15:23 of the second period in Game Three of the Western Conference First Round. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images)
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Max Pacioretty #67 of the Vegas Golden Knights skates against Adam Boqvist #27 of the Chicago Blackhawks during the third period in Game Three of the Western Conference First Round.
Max Pacioretty #67 of the Vegas Golden Knights skates against Adam Boqvist #27 of the Chicago Blackhawks during the third period in Game Three of the Western Conference First Round. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images)

Notes and Stats

Here are some key stats from the game:

  • SOG – VGK: 26 – CHI: 27
  • FO% – VGK: 59% – CHI: 42%
  • PP –  VGK: 0/3 – CHI: 0/4
  • PIM – VGK: 8 – CHI: 6
  • HITS – VGK: 32 – CHI: 28
  • BLKS – VGK: 15 – CHI: 17
  • GVA – VGK: 12 – CHI: 14

Here was the Official Scoring Summary from Game 3:

  • William Karlsson (2) – SHG – Stone (4) – 4:12 / 1st
  • Patrick Brown (1) – Tuch (1), Schmidt (3) – 15:23 / 2nd
  • Olli Maatta (3) – Caggiula (1), Kane (7) – 6:21 / 3rd
The Vegas Golden Knights celebrate a 2-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks in Game Three
The Vegas Golden Knights celebrate a 2-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks in Game Three of the Western Conference First Round during the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images)

Let’s go over some notes from Game 3:

  • The Vegas Golden Knights now lead 3-0 in the series and they could complete a sweep should they beat the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 4 on Sunday.
  • Marc-Andre Fleury got his first start of this series and he was sensational, stopping 26 of the 27 shots he faced and coming up huge when his team needed him the most.
  • With his win Fleury is now tied with Ken Dryden for 80 postseason seasons and is now eight behind Ed Belfour and Billy Smith for 4th all time.
  • This wasn’t a perfect game from the Golden Knights who were slopping in the neutral zone, while they were undisciplined after taking as many penalties through the first two periods of Game 3 as they did in Games 1 & 2.
  • Vegas can’t afford to be that sloppy in Game 4 given that Chicago will be a desperate hockey team scrapping for their postseason lives.
  • Max Pacioretty returned after missing Game 2 and was a -1 rating in 15:16 of ice time in Game 3.
  • Both Paul Stastny and Tomas Nosek were declared “Unfit to Play” for Game 3, although Stastny is considered an option for Game 4.
  • Patrick Brown, who replaced Nosek in the lineup, has played in two games for Vegas this year and he’s scored in both after knocking home a rebound past Corey Crawford. Talk about next man up.
  • William Karlsson has been busy in the shots department this series but hadn’t lit the lamp until Game 3, when he moved to his backhand to beat Corey Crawford with a shorthanded goal.
  • Mark Stone (4), Alex Tuch (1) and Nate Schmidt (3) all picked up assists in this game.
  • Expect Robin Lehner to get the start in Game 4 with Vegas Head Coach Peter DeBoer confirming that both goalies would go in this back-to-back.
  • Vegas was outshot in this game but they did fare better in the faceoff circle finally (59%-42%), while they outhit the Blackhawks by a margin of 32-28.
  • However, the Golden Knights went 0-3 on the power play and they have yet to score on the man advantage in this series. That will have to change at some point.
  • Brayden McNabb led all Vegas Golden Knights skaters with 22:16 of total ice time.
  • The Official Three Stars of the Game were: 1. Marc-Andre Fleury 2. Patrick Brown 3. Corey Crawford.

What’s Next

The Vegas Golden Knights could sweep this series if they beat the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 4 on Sunday (3:30 p.m. PT).

It won’t be easy, though, given that the Chicago Blackhawks will be scrapping for lives, but the Golden Knights would give themselves some rest if they are able to finish the job later today.

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