Win a game.
The mission for the Vegas Golden Knights right now is straight forward. Find a way to win one game.
They have two tries to get it done. If they can win one, then they can worry about winning a second. But right now it’s very simple – beat the Dallas Stars once.
Vegas has already done that twice in this best-of-seven series which is now locked at 2-2 heading back to Dallas for Wednesday’s Game 5.
The Golden Knights won the first two games of the series but produced two frustrating efforts in Games 3 and 4.
A poor Vegas start in Game 3 led to a 3-2 overtime loss and a spate of second period mistakes cost the Golden Knights as they fell 4-2 in Game 4.
VGK defenseman Alec Martinez has won three Stanley Cups. Two with the LA Kings and one with the Golden Knights. No one knows what is required for success at this time of year better than him.
"There are times to step up and you have to have the mentality that no one's going to give it to you in this league. You have to go take it," Martinez said prior to Game 4 in an interview with VGK broadcaster Dan D’Uva.
After four games between these two teams it’s clear there is very little to point at in terms of an advantage for one team over the other. It’s tight. Two big, skilled and experienced teams.
The ability to focus, execute and limit mistakes will go a long way in determining the ultimate winner.
“We go into every game expecting to win. I don’t know what to tell you. I’m not going to sit here and say it’s going to go seven, I’m not that guy, sorry,” said Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy. “The games have been fairly even, I’ll say that. They could have went either way. I thought they were dominant in the first 30 minutes of Game 3. I thought we were the better team for 20-some minutes in Game 4. So, it's probably where it should be. But we want it in our favor and so do they.”
In an odd quirk of the series, the road team has won every game to date. Game 5 is scheduled for Dallas while Game 6 is set for Vegas. If needed, Game 7 would be back in Texas.
“We managed the puck a lot better (in Dallas). Gave up a lot less and I think that had a lot to do with us being able to weather the stretches of games where maybe they had their pushes,” said Cassidy. “I know in Game 3 (played in Vegas) we were self-inflicted in terms of our puck play. Game 4, maybe some discipline or puck management that came back at us.”
Cassidy has watched his team drop the last two games and lose a once commanding two-game series lead. He’s looking at a lot of options to turn things back in his team’s favor.
“Well, you think about your personnel. Do we need to make some changes? We made a change the other day and I think (Michael) Amadio came in and played well. We have some guys that have played playoff hockey, they’re not in for whatever reason. We went with a different lineup. Tactics. We’re kind of getting along here now, where there aren’t as many surprises in terms of what the other team is trying to do,” he said. “There’s always a thing or two, probably on special teams. Obviously, they are funneling more pucks to the net than they did up there. That’s something we have to be wary of. I think we were. A couple found their way in. One went off of one of their guys. I mean, I think you can overanalyze things sometimes. There’s some bounces involved in the game too. And they said that in Game 1 and 2. They felt they didn’t get the breaks. Some of that happens, so you got to be careful that you don’t overthink it.”
Cassidy does have the luxury of depth which many teams don’t have. He has excellent players such as Pavel Dorofeyev, Paul Cotter and Ben Hutton not in the lineup at this point. The coach, however, says his biggest role leading up to Game 5 will be in reminding his players of the opportunity before them.
“For me, it’s more the messaging to the players about what’s at stake. And I’m not going to get into that today with the media, but in general, I think we have to understand that these opportunities don’t present themselves all the time. We’ve put ourselves in a position to battle through a regular season. It’s 2-2. We didn’t like our game in Game 3, we liked our game yesterday, for the most part. We just had a bad stretch that cost us in the end of the second period. So, there’s a bit of messaging in there about what it takes this time of year,” said Cassidy. “Reminding the players what is required this time of year. What that team (Dallas) wants. They want what we have (a Stanley Cup), alright? So, there’s a hunger over there and we have to match that hunger.”
