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"I think the first day when you come back from two days off is the toughest for everybody," forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare said. "But we're going to play in the second round of the playoffs. You're not thinking about how you're feeling today. It's about preparing yourself and when the time comes to play, we're going to be ready."
While Vegas has been going about its preparation for San Jose as business as usual, some players in the locker room feel practices have reverted back to the style in training camp. The intensity has picked up, and there's more attention to detail as Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant has put an emphasis on zone coverage and high-pace drills.
"We've had some high-intensity practices that we haven't had in a long time," defenseman Nate Schmidt said. "We haven't had the opportunity to get after it, get your body more in tune for the next series. It's actually nice in that sense. Get in the training room, get some work done in there, as well. It makes it a little bit easier getting your body ready and knowing [the Sharks] are in the same position."
The San Jose Sharks completed their sweep against the Anaheim Ducks in the first round on Wednesday.
But for Schmidt, relaxing also plays a big role in getting ready, and that can mean avoiding hockey altogether away from the ice. He watched the final five minutes of Game 5 between the Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference First Round on Friday, but for the most part, tries to stay away from it.
"I'm not a big hockey watcher when I leave the rink," Schmidt said. "I love being around the rink, watching it, checking out film and checking out the other teams. But I like to decompress when I leave."
The Golden Knights will have another off day on Sunday before returning to practice Monday, and Gallant has liked where his team is at while it awaits the schedule to be announced.
"I thought the last two practices were really good," Gallant said. "That's all you can do, is make sure they're practicing hard and the guys are feeling good about themselves."
