You can never rest in life, especially in the NHL. The Vegas Golden Knights know this after beating the Anaheim Ducks in Game 1, 3-1. They know that they must win three more games and take care of business to advance to the Western Conference Final.
Sure, it's nice to get the juices flowing with one win. But you know that the other team can rattle off a win of their own. Heck, they can pull off four straight wins and knock you out completely. Just ask the 2017-18 Golden Knights, who saw their team lose in five games to the Washington Capitals... after winning Game 1.
That can certainly happen after the Golden Knights eked out that Game 1 win on Monday. You can thank Brett Howden, Ivan Barbashev (game winner!), and Mitch Marner for the goals and you can thank Carter Hart for the strong performance.
Still, you can also improve some things on the ice and make a few adjustments. After all, you won't get far in life if you don't do this. So, let's look at three things that the Golden Knights must do for a more decisive victory on Wednesday.
Please, for the love of Fleury, get the power play going
It's no secret that the Golden Knights have enjoyed a fruitful penalty kill. Nic Dowd taking key faceoffs and Vegas making successful exits have led to 19 of 20 penalties being killed. How awesome is that?
But one unit hasn't picked up the slack: the power play. They continue to play in an unorganized fashion and make one too many passes (think of Jackson LaCombe's missed open net chance in Game 1). That can't happen again, especially if you're in a tight game. Otherwise, the Ducks will move closer to cracking you open and stealing your momentum.
The Golden Knights need a more aggressive forecheck to start the game
John Tortorella wasn't enthused with how the Golden Knights played in Game 1. I know it seems far-fetched, considering that Vegas won the game. However, Monday's game consisted of Anaheim aggressively attacking the net.
"It's not a physical skill, it's a readiness, and we were certainly void of that."John Tortorella
The Golden Knights must establish their forecheck early and win the zone battle. The Ducks are akin to the Utah Mammoth in that they can fly up and down the ice with ease. Vegas can ill-afford to let Anaheim run ragshod all over them in Game 2, especially in the opening period.
Keep capitalizing on the Anaheim Ducks's playoff inexperience
I'm going to pick on LaCombe some more because he wasn't just the victim of a mental gaffe with a wide-open net. He was also a victim of a controversial non-icing call that led to the game-winning goal. Anaheim stopped playing, even without the blown whistle, which led to said game-winning goal.
Playoff inexperience was the name of the game for Anaheim in Game 1, where Vegas's veterans dug into their intangibles for the win. They know that the Ducks will likely make a mental error or two, whether that's not playing when the whistle hasn't been blown or a bad penalty.
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