Morning Skate Report: August 18, 2020

The Vegas Golden Knights look to close out the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 5 of their Stanley Cup Playoffs First Round series at 7:30 p.m. PT Tuesday at Rogers Place in Edmonton.

NOTES
The Golden Knights lead the best-of-seven series, 3-1. With a win, Vegas would advance to the Stanley Cup Playoffs Second Round and face the lowest remaining seed in the Western Conference at the end of the first round.

Vegas is designated as the home team for Game 5.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
TV: AT&T SportsNet
Radio: FOX Sports 98.9/1340 | Deportes Vegas 1460
#FortressAtHome: Facebook, YouTube and Twitch

LAST TIME OUT
The Golden Knights outshot the Blackhawks, 49-25, on Sunday evening at Rogers Place, but Chicago survived with a 3-1 win to earn their first win of the series. Corey Crawford made 48 saves to steer the ship for Chicago as they avoided what would've been their first sweep since 2017. Shea Theodore scored the lone goal for the Golden Knights while Drake Caggiula, Matthew Highmore and Alex DeBrincat scored for Chicago.

SERIES LEADERS
Reilly Smith's five points (3G, 2A) are still the most of any skater in the series while Jonathan Marchessault and Patrick Kane have each recorded four assists for their respective teams.

AROUND THE NHL
Results prior to Saturday morning's action.

Vegas Golden Knights vs. Chicago Blackhawks (Vegas leads, 3-1)
Colorado Avalanche vs. Arizona Coyotes (Colorado leads, 3-1)
Dallas Stars vs. Calgary Flames (Series tied, 2-2)
St. Louis Blues vs. Vancouver Canucks (Series tied, 2-2)
Philadelphia Flyers vs. Montreal Canadiens (Philadelphia leads, 2-1)
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (Tampa Bay leads, 3-1)
Washington Capitals vs. New York Islanders (New York leads, 3-0)
Boston Bruins vs. Carolina Hurricanes (Boston leads, 3-1)

VALLEY HEALTH SYSTEM SCRATCHES
Paul Stastny and Tomas Nosek were ruled unfit to play for Sunday's game. Stay tuned for lineup updates prior to puck drop Tuesday night.

KEYS TO THE GAME
Power Play: Vegas is still yet to score a power-play goal against the Blackhawks in this series on nine power plays. Connecting on the man advantage in Game 5 will be a focus for the Golden Knights.

Solve Crawford: Crawford was spectacular in Game 4 as he stopped 48 of 49 shots for Chicago. While the volume of chances leaves little to be desired for the Golden Knights, they will look to change up some of the looks they'll get at the net in Game 5.