The best way to live life is by taking it one day at a time. No matter which obnoxious beast is blasting their terrible music near you or whose dog poops on your lawn, you move onto the next day.
At least, that's how it's supposed to go. Vegas Golden Knights fans tried that for the past three days. The only problem? They've watched the Minnesota Wild blitz them and jump to a 2-1 series lead. Suddenly, panic has settled in and fans are worrying.
But here's a simple reminder to breathe through your noses instead of your mouths. Anything can happen in a day's notice, whether it's a convincing Game 4 victory or a sudden injury. Just look at what happened with Logan Thompson against the Montreal Canadiens. Suddenly, an unfortunate incident has some Capitals fans worried.
Ironically, those same feelings of fear were floating around in 2021. The culprit? This same Wild team. They won two straight games en route to forcing a Game 7. The result? The Golden Knights won Game 7 and took care of the Colorado Avalanche in the next round.
Granted, they had to wait a couple more seasons before winning the Stanley Cup. But there are some things to grab from this series as well. For starters, there's no time to panic. After all, it took Mattias Janmark three goals to move Vegas to the next round. But what else can we learn from the previous first-round matchup between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Minnesota Wild?
What can we learn from the previous installment between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Minnesota Wild?
First, there's always going to be a player who takes over a series. For the Wild, it was Cam Talbot in Games 5 and 6. The netminder stopped 61 combined shots in both games before being ended single-handedly by Mattias Janmark.
Currently, you're seeing that with Matt Boldy and Kirill Kaprizov, who've combined for eight goals. The same can be said with Filip Gustavsson, who's allowed four goals in the last two games. So what can you do?
For starters, don't be your worst enemy. It was previously mentioned that the Golden Knights had this exact problem in Game 3. From being penalized for too many men to missing defensive assignments, Vegas couldn't get out of its own way. Find a way to neutralize a heavy forecheck, too. That always helps.
Also, you saw this same amount of panic during that series as it's unfolding right now. Losing two straight games in a playoff series can set anybody's hair on fire. Historically, Minnesota's always been a pain in the butt. They have an all-time record of 15-12-1 against the Wild. The Golden Knights lost five of their first six matchups, with the first victory coming in a shootout (2-1 win on October 5, 2018).
The Stanley Cup playoffs are a fun time to be a hockey fan. They play with your emotions, leading you on a roller coaster of highs and lows. Fans still have traumatic memories of the semifinal matchup with the Montreal Canadiens and it shows. The Golden Knights are deadlocked in a battle with the Wild, which is triggering those memories. But if there's anything we can learn from the 2021 series, it's that it'll be a fight.