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.
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.