It will be a back-to-back for the Vegas Golden Knights this weekend.
Game 3 of the Western Conference Round matchup between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Vancouver Canucks will take place on Saturday, while Game 4 will follow a day later.
These changes are part of a revised schedule after games were postponed on both Thursday and Friday by the NHL due to social injustice issues.
After the Milwaukee Bucks boycotted their Playoff game on Wednesday, swiftly followed by the two other NBA games and a handful of contests in MLB, the National Hockey League did the same on Thursday.
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Those actions were taken to send a message in the wake of the shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin over the weekend.
Golden Knights forward Ryan Reaves was at the heart of the message of solidarity sent out by the NHL on Thursday, and you can read his heartfelt thoughts here.
Now, in a bid to make up the games lost on Thursday and Friday, the NHL has announced the new Schedule for Round 2 this weekend.
The Golden Knights will faceoff against the Canucks on Saturday with puck drop at 6:45 p.m. PT, while Game 4 will take place on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. PT.
Here’s the full revised schedule for Round 2 between the Golden Knights and the Vancouver Canucks:
- Game 3 – Saturday, August 29 – 6:45 p.m. PT (NBCSN, CBC, SN)
- Game 4 – Sunday, August 30 – 7:30 p.m. PT (NBCSN, CBC, SN)
- Game 5 – Tuesday, September 1 – 6:45 p.m. PT (NBCSN, CBC, SN)
- Game 6* – TBD
- Game 7* – TBD
*If necessary.
The Golden Knights will be the road team in Games 3 & 4, while they will switch back to being the home team in Game 5 on Tuesday.
There has been an interesting wrinkle or caveat added to this series, which is tied at 1-1, now Games 3 & 4 will be a back-to-back.
With the series tied this weekend will act as a huge momentum swing for whoever is able to assert their dominance.
Vegas won Game 1 5-0 but the Canucks struck back in Game 2 with a 5-2 win, so we should be in for a mouthwatering feast of hockey this weekend.
It also makes things interesting in the goaltending department for the Vegas Golden Knights.
After all, Robin Lehner has been the undisputed starter throughout the postseason for Vegas, although he allowed five goals from 26 shots in Game 2 against the Canucks.
Lehner and Marc-Andre Fleury split the back-to-back the Golden Knights contested in the series against the Chicago Blackhawks, and that should be the case this weekend.
However, whether Lehner gets Game 3 after having an extra couple of days to recharge the batteries or whether Fleury gets the nod remains to be seen.
Games 6 & 7, if they are necessary and they will be if I’m a betting man, will also be a back-to-back so Golden Knights Head Coach Peter DeBoer will need to construct a careful plan when it comes to his two elite goaltenders.
It will be nice to have hockey back regardless, though, and Saturday will mark the start of a crucial couple of days for the Golden Knights who will look to take over this series and book their place in the Western Conference Finals.