It seems that we're at the light at the end of the tunnel, ladies and gentlemen. The Vegas Golden Knights have a 3-2 advantage in the first round series against the Utah Mammoth. Their big opportunity comes on Friday night, thanks to two overtime (or later) victories in Games 4 and 5.
Finally! The Golden Knights have the chance to put an end to CapNNumbNutz and his motley crew of crazy bots and overzealous fans on X! What awaits the Golden Knights, should they win, is a matchup against the Anaheim Ducks.
Yes, those pesky Anaheim Ducks that swept the regular season series against Vegas. Of course, it was on the back of countless shootouts and overtime victories. But you still can't discount a hungry squad that defeated the Edmonton Oilers, especially when they're led by Joel Quenneville.
Still, let's not get too far into the weeds and focus on the now. After all, the Golden Knights need to win Game 6 so they can exact some revenge on the Ducks, too. Three things must happen for Vegas to move ahead and advance in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Can't have another Game 3, you know?
The Golden Knights power play must step up to the plate
It's an absolute tragedy that the Vegas Golden Knights haven't gotten their power play going in the series. They've only mustered three goals on the unit, which is good for a power play percentage of... 16.7%.
Obviously, that's not a good number, especially when compared to the regular season totals. Like, that's a massive drop-off from the regular season, where the unit saw Pavel Dorofeyev score 20 goals. Add Hertl's 13 power play goals and that should make things much better.
But that hasn't been the case. Still, what better time to go off on the Mammoth than a potential elimination game? The Golden Knights can take the crowd out of it and deliver a beatdown on special teams. That is, as long as the group can enter the offensive zone and stay organized.
The Golden Knights must get off to a quick start—and hold that lead—against the Mammoth
Now, this is a reference to Game 4. The Golden Knights jump out to a 3-0 lead against Utah and have some momentum. But one goal goes in. Then another goes in 29 seconds later. Then the third period comes and the Utah Mammoth have a 4-3 lead with under 15 minutes left.
It was a literal catastrophe that nearly led to disaster for the Golden Knights. In fact, Vegas was close to being eliminated in five games if it wasn't for clutch scoring. With that comes a viable solution: keep the foot on the gas pedal.
That means hogging the offensive zone time and preventing Utah from breaking out. That was a massive problem for the Golden Knights in Game 5, where Utah continually entered the defensive zone. That means that Carter Hart and the defensive structure must be strong again or face a Game 7.
More Scoro-feyev, please
Pavel Dorofeyev has finally emerged from his slumber. The Russian winger has four goals in his last two games, signaling an arrival on the playoff scene. Thank goodness, because he's also been the reason why the Golden Knights haven't been eliminated.
What John Tortorella has done more of is get him to crash the net. That was the case in Game 5, where his first two goals were high-danger chances. If the Golden Knights want to win Friday's game, that means getting him more of those chances.
The Mammoth struggled to defend these chances and left Karel Vejmelka exposed. In turn, it kept the Golden Knights in the game and eventually cratered the Mammoth defense. Dorofeyev needs a finishing blow on Friday to move Vegas on to face the Anaheim Ducks.
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