Vegas Golden Knights: Three Keys to taking Game 4 and sweeping
These Three Keys should help the Vegas Golden Knights get the job done in Game 4.
After grinding out a tough win over the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 3 on Saturday, the Vegas Golden Knights are now in a position to sweep this series today.
It won’t be easy given that the Blackhawks will be scrapping for their lives, but the Golden Knights know what they need to do in order to become the first team to advance through to Round 2.
Are you ready for Game 4?
We are and we’ve laid out the Three Keys to the Game for the Golden Knights if they are to finish off the Blackhawks…
Key 1 – Start Fast
The Golden Knights have outscored the Blackhawks 5-1 in the first period of the three games in this series so far, but today will be a different story.
As already mentioned, Chicago is in a win-or-go-home situation now and they will be launching one mighty assault on the Vegas goal from the first drop of the puck.
Vegas will need to be ready for that and they will need to take advantage of any open ice that is left by the Blackhawks.
If the Knights can hit their opponents with an early sucker-punch then that could really take the wind out of Chicago’s sails, giving them a tough mental hurdle to come back from.
Start slow, however, and the Golden Knights could be up against it for the rest of the game if they give the Hawks any chance to build any momentum.
Key 2 – Fire up the PP
How many times have we said this during this series now?
The Golden Knights haven’t got anything going on the man advantage against the Hawks, and have failed to score a single goal on the PP.
They went 0/3 in Game 3 and, while it ultimately didn’t hurt them, it could have done in what was a close game.
Game 4 will be another tightly-contested affair given that the Blackhawks will be scrapping for their lives so, if given the chance, the Golden Knights have to strike on the power play.
With Max Pacioretty back in the lineup they have the weapons to really make teams pay on the man advantage, and they should be doing just that.
Also, Vegas won’t get away with a non-firing power play for the remainder of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, so Game 4 is the ideal time to get it going.
And, if they get an early opportunity to go on the PP in Game 4, then that would be the perfect time to finally make special teams count and potentially break the back of the Blackhawks.
Key 3 – Stay out of the damn box
The Golden Knights played a sloppy game of hockey against the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 3.
A real sloppy game.
They were careless in the neutral zone and they were completely undisciplined too.
Consider this…
The Knights took more penalties in the first two periods of Game 3 than they did in Games 1 and 2, which is just crazy.
And it also isn’t good enough.
While the Blackhawks are 1-8 on the power play in this series, they have generated chances and the more opportunities you give a team the more likely they are to take advantage eventually.
Plus, look at some of the weapons Chicago has on the man advantage.
Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Kirby Dach, Duncan Keith, Dominik Kubalik.
They will cause some damage on the PP if given too many opportunities and, with everything on the line in Game 4, they will be more motivated to go all out with an extra man.
And, let’s not forget that the Knights had the 27th ranked Penalty Kill (76.6) during the regular season, so they are playing with fire if they keep going to the box.
If the Golden Knights lose control and let themselves be sucked into playing Chicago’s game, then Game 4 could spin out of control very, very quickly and you don’t want that when you are on the cusp of advancing.
Next. VGK Vs. Hawks Game 4 Preview. dark
No, Vegas will need to be structured, they will need to be disciplined and staying out of the box could be their biggest key to winning Game 4 and sweeping the Chicago Blackhawks.