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Vegas Golden Knights show their class to win Game 5 and advance

By Andrew Steele-Davis |
The Vegas Golden Knights celebrate their victory over the Chicago Blackhawks in Game Five of the Western Conference First Round.
The Vegas Golden Knights celebrate their victory over the Chicago Blackhawks in Game Five of the Western Conference First Round.
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The Vegas Golden Knights celebrate their victory over the Chicago Blackhawks in Game Five of the Western Conference First Round.
The Vegas Golden Knights celebrate their victory over the Chicago Blackhawks in Game Five of the Western Conference First Round. /

Mission complete for the Vegas Golden Knights.

It wasn’t quite a sweep but the Vegas Golden Knights eliminated the Chicago Blackhawks in five after emerging as 4-3 winners in Game 5 on Tuesday.

Robin Lehner made 23 saves from 26 shots while the Golden Knights saw a number of their big hitters step up to the plate and deliver when it mattered most.

Chicago came out swinging and drew first blood, however, with Jonathan Toews jamming home a loose puck on the doorstep before Alex DeBrincat put home a dish from Dylan Strome.

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Max Pacioretty chose the right time to record his first goal of the series, though, ripping home a loose puck at the end of the first period.

Mark Stone then made it a tied game with just 57 seconds played in the second period, although Patrick Kane came up big to give Chicago the lead once again.

The Blackhawks soon ran out of gas however, and that’s when the Golden Knights really took over and took charge.

Alec Martinez unleashed a lethal snipe from a Reilly Smith dish before Alex Tuch grabbed his own rebound to record the game-winner early in the third.

Vegas became the first team to advance through to the Second Round of the Stanley Cup, and they now get a few days rest before hitting the ice again.

Let’s break down the series-clinching Game 5 period-by-period…

First Period

Robin Lehner got the start for the Golden Knights, his fourth start of the series, while Tomas Nosek remained out of the lineup.

Corey Crawford, the star of the show in Game 4, made a big blocker save on Nicolas Roy before the Blackhawks landed the first blow of the night.

Vegas did a bad job of clearing the zone and they were punished as Jonathan Toews jammed home a rebound in front of the net.

It was then a two-nothing game after Connor Murphy spun his way around Nicolas Roy before giving the puck to Dylan Strome, who dished a pass to Alex DeBrincat who tapped the puck home.

But Max Pacioretty chose the right time to record his first goal of the series, ripping home a rebound at 19:29 to change the dynamic of the game.

Second Period

Max Pacioretty’s goal late in the first clearly sent a jolt of energy through the Golden Knights and it paid off early in the middle frame.

At :57 the top line of Max Pacioretty, William Karlsson and Mark Stone played a game of tic-tac-toe with Karlsson firing a shot at Corey Crawford.

Karlsson picked up his own rebound and quickly found Stone who was able to beat Crawford with a one-timer to make it a tied game.

But Chicago were not going away and they jumped out to a lead again thanks to Patrick Kane, who went to the backhand and slipped the puck under the pads of Robin Lehner at 4:02.

This game was wild and it continued as the Golden Knights hit back once again to make it a tied game heading into the final period.

On the power play, Reilly Smith executed a beautiful cross-ice pass to Alec Martinez who fired home a deadly snipe.

Robin Lehner made the save of the night to deny Connor Murphy who was allowed to walk in the slot, while he also swallowed up a juicy rebound late in the period.

Third Period

It didn’t take long for the Golden Knights to light the lamp in the final period and it proved to be the game-winner.

Taking a pass from Jonathan Marchessault, Tuch took the puck to the net and had the presence to follow up his own rebound and jam the puck past Corey Crawford.

Tuch did light the lamp again but it was chalked off for goalie interference, although it didn’t matter as the Golden Knights took care of business to became the first team to advance to the Second Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Let’s go over some notes & stats from Game 5…

Alec Martinez #23 of the Vegas Golden Knights (C) celebrates his power-play goal at 7:28 of the second period against the Chicago Blackhawks and is joined by William Karlsson #71 (L) and Nate Schmidt #88 (R) in Game Five of the Western Conference First Round.
Alec Martinez #23 of the Vegas Golden Knights (C) celebrates his power-play goal at 7:28 of the second period against the Chicago Blackhawks and is joined by William Karlsson #71 (L) and Nate Schmidt #88 (R) in Game Five of the Western Conference First Round. /

Notes & Stats

Here are some key stats from the game:

  • SOG – CHI: 26 – VGK: 39
  • FO% – CHI: 55% – VGK: 45%
  • PP – CHI: 0/1 – VGK: 1/1
  • PIM – CHI: 2 – VGK: 2
  • HITS – CHI: 34 – VGK: 39
  • BLKS – CHI: 19 – VGK: 18
  • GVA – CHI: 19 – VGK: 18

Here was the Official Scoring Summary from Game 5:

  • Jonathan Toews (5) – Kubalik (4), Saad (3) – 10:32 / 1st
  • Alex DeBrincat (2) – Strome (1), Murphy (4) – 18:19 / 1st
  • Max Pacioretty (1) – McNabb (2), Karlsson (3) – 19:29 / 1st
  • Mark Stone (4) – Karlsson (4), Pacioretty (1) – :57 / 2nd
  • Patrick Kane (2) – Caggiula (2) – 4:02 / 2nd
  • Alec Martinez (1) – PPG – Smith (5), Schmidt (4) – 7:28 / 2nd
  • Alex Tuch (4) – Marchessault (5), Theodore (3) – 1:34 / 3rd
Mark Stone #61 of the Vegas Golden Knights scores at 57 seconds of the second period against Corey Crawford #50 of the Chicago Blackhawks in Game Five of the Western Conference First Round.
Mark Stone #61 of the Vegas Golden Knights scores at 57 seconds of the second period against Corey Crawford #50 of the Chicago Blackhawks in Game Five of the Western Conference First Round. /

Let’s quickly go over some notes from Game 5:

  • The Vegas Golden Knights became the first team to advance through to the Second Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs after beating the Chicago Blackhawks in five games.
  • In doing so, the Golden Knights advanced to the Second Round of the postseason for the second time in three years, becoming just the third franchise in NHL history to earn at least one series win in two of its first three NHL seasons, joining the New York Rangers (1927-29) and the St. Louis Blues (1968-70). Over to you, Seattle Kraken.
  • The Golden Knights were the dominant team in this series and, although there are kinks to be ironed out, they always looked in control.
  • They resemble the LA Kings team of 2014 or the Blackhawks dynasty in that they can play a real heavy style of hockey, while having the firepower to just blow away teams.
  • In a nutshell, this Golden Knights team can do it all and I think it will be between Vegas and the Colorado Avalanche to come out of the West. Both teams are absolute wagons.
  • It was only Corey Crawford that prevented the Golden Knights from sweeping this series, with the Chicago goalie rolling back the clock in Game 4. If it wasn’t for him, we probably wouldn’t have needed a Game 5.
  • Robin Lehner made his fourth start of the series and he was solid, stopping 23 of the 26 shots he faced. He appears to be the No.1 starter in the eyes of Head Coach Peter DeBoer.
  • Max Pacioretty recorded his first points of the postseason, coming alive in Game with a goal and an assist. This was a big game for the veteran who has endured a slow start to the Playoffs, and Vegas will need him to be firing on all cylinders for Round 2.
  • William Karlsson also had a big night after recording a multi-point game with two assists, including a beautiful helper on Mark Stone’s goal in the second period.
  • That top line of Pacioretty, Karlsson and Stone was lights out in Game 5 and combined for five points, with Stone recording his 4th goal of the postseason.
  • Alec Martinez was an incredible pickup by the Golden Knights prior to the Trade Deadline, and his wealth of postseason experience was always going to be huge. And so it proved in Game 5 as Martinez beat Corey Crawford with a snipe to make it a tied game in the second period, while the veteran also logged 23:53 minutes of total ice time.
  • Brayden McNabb tallied his second assist of the Playoffs, while Reilly Smith (5), Nate Schmidt (4), Jonathan Marchessault (5) and Shea Theodore (3) also impacted the box score.
  • The encouraging sign is that the Golden Knights are getting contributions from their stars, as well as up and down the lineup which is a key ingredient for postseason success.
  • Quick note on Chicago; they sold off Robin Lehner at the Trade Deadline and were not expected to be here but I liked a lot of their game in this series. They have some exciting young pieces, including rookies Kirby Dach and Dominik Kubilak, and they have a foundation they can build upon now.
  • Vegas again lost the face-off battle (55%-45%), although they outhit the Blackhawks by a margin of 39-34.
  • The Golden Knights also went 1/1 on the power play, although they went 1/10 in the series overall. That will need to change if Vegas wants to get out of the West.
  • Shea Theodore led all Vegas Golden Knights skaters in total ice time with 24:43, with a +1 rating and seven shots on goal.
  • The Official Three Stars of the Night were: 1. Max Pacioretty 2. Alex Tuch 3. Alec Martinez

Let’s look at our Three Stars of the Game…

Alec Martinez #23 of the Vegas Golden Knights (R) celebrates his power-play goal at 7:28 of the second period against the Chicago Blackhawks and is joined by William Karlsson #71 (L) in Game Five of the Western Conference First Round.
Alec Martinez #23 of the Vegas Golden Knights (R) celebrates his power-play goal at 7:28 of the second period against the Chicago Blackhawks and is joined by William Karlsson #71 (L) in Game Five of the Western Conference First Round. /

Three Stars of the Game

Let’s take a look at our Three Stars of Game 5…

  1. Max Pacioretty endured a slow start to the Stanley Cup Playoffs after injury put a wrench in the works, although he came alive in Game 5. The veteran got Vegas on the board with a crucial goal at the end of the first period, while he recorded a secondary helper on Mark Stone’s goal that made it a tied game in the second period. This was a huge game for Pacioretty who will now have time to get fully back up to speed before Round 2 begins.
  2. William Karlsson was a monster on that explosive top line between Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone. The center finished Game 5 with two points, including a beautiful dish on Mark Stone’s goal and a secondary helper on Pacioretty’s first goal of the postseason. Karlsson finished with a +2 rating, three shots on goal, two hits and three blocked shots in 16:47 minutes of total ice time.
  3. Alec Martinez has been outstanding for the Golden Knights since being acquired from the LA Kings prior to the Trade Deadline, and the veteran has really revitalized his career. A two-time Stanley Cup Champion, Martinez brings a wealth of experience with him and he’s the perfect foil for Shea Theodore. But we saw in Game 5 that Martinez can also provide offensive after beating Corey Crawford with an absolute snipe in the second period. Martinez finished the game with a +1 rating, two shots on goal, one hit and three blocked shots in 23:53 minutes of total ice time.

What’s Next

The Vegas Golden Knights were the first team to advance through to the Second Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Next. Sights and Sounds from Game 5. dark

They could now have up to a week off before Round 2 starts, but it will give them a chance to allow certain players to heal before getting down to business again.

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