Series Preview: Golden Knights vs. Blackhawks

For the first time in their three-year history, the Vegas Golden Knights occupy the top seed in the Western Conference, and they'll take on the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Playoffs First Round with Game 1 set for Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. PT in Edmonton.

SEASON SERIES
Vegas and Chicago met three times during the 2019-20 regular season. In the first matchup on Oct. 22 at the United Center, the Golden Knights outlasted the Blackhawks, 2-1, in a shootout. Less than a month later on Nov. 13, Chicago earned their first win over Vegas in franchise history, 5-3, at T-Mobile Arena. On Dec. 10, the Golden Knights improved their season series record to 2-1-0 with a 5-1 win against the Blackhawks at home. Vegas is 8-1-0 in their history against Chicago.

HEAD-TO-HEAD STATS
The Blackhawks were outscored 10-7 in their three meetings with the Golden Knights during the shortened season. 23-year-old center Dylan Strome led the team in scoring with four points (1 G, 3 A) in three games, while William Karlsson led the Golden Knights with three (2 G, 1 A). On the man advantage, Vegas earned two goals while Chicago scored one on the power play during the season series.

ROUND ROBIN
Vegas emerged as the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference after posting a 3-0-0 record through their three round robin games. The Colorado Avalanche used a 2-0-1 record to snag the second seed while Dallas (1-2-0) and St. Louis (0-2-1) round out the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds, respectively. In the Eastern Conference, the Philadelphia Flyers won all three of their games to take the top seed. The Tampa Bay Lightning took the No. 2 seed, the Washington Capitals landed No. 3 and the Boston Bruins finished fourth.

ABOUT THE OPPONENT
After defeating the Edmonton Oilers in four games during the NHL's Qualifying Round, the Blackhawks meet the Golden Knights in the first round of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs. When the regular season came to a halt, Chicago found themselves at the bottom of the Central Division and 12th overall in the Western Conference. Captained by Jonathan Toews, the Blackhawks were sellers at the trade deadline when they dealt away defenseman Erik Gustafsson to the Calgary Flames and goaltender Robin Lehner to the Golden Knights. Corey Crawford has since led the goaltending efforts, most recently posting a 3-1 record after starting in net all four games against the Oilers. Heading into Game 1 with Vegas, Toews leads Chicago in playoff points with seven (4 G, 3 A), but rookie forward Dominik Kubalik follows closely behind with six (3 G, 3 A). The Blackhawks are led by Jeremy Colliton, the youngest head coach in the league at 35, and make their first postseason appearance since the 2016-17 season.

PLAYOFF HISTORY
The Vegas Golden Knights have qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in all three seasons of their existence since joining the NHL in 2017-18. Vegas reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2018 after skating through the Los Angeles Kings, San Jose Sharks and Winnipeg Jets to become Western Conference Champions. In 2019, the Golden Knights suffered a defeat in overtime of Game 7 of their First Round series against San Jose.

The 2020 playoffs mark the first time that Vegas enters the First Round as the No. 1 seed in the west. In 2018, the Golden Knights finished first in the Pacific Division and third overall in the conference. Vegas ranked third in the Pacific and seventh in the Western Conference entering the 2019 postseason.

With 30 points (6G, 24A) in 30 playoff games, Reilly Smith is the leading playoff scorer in Golden Knights history. Jonathan Marchessault has scored a franchise-best 14 playoff goals and ranks one point behind Smith on the all-time team scoring list (29 points). Marc-Andre Fleury has won franchise-best 17 playoff games since arriving in Vegas with a .919 save percentage and a 2.42 goals-against average.

KEYS TO THE SERIES
August Momentum: Chicago and Vegas each enter the series with three wins since the postseason began. The Blackhawks had to earn a best-of-five series victory against the Edmonton Oilers while Vegas went 3-0-0 in round robin play. Both teams have some momentum as the series opens.

Goaltending Duel: Vegas looked to Fleury and Lehner in the round robin games and found success with both goaltenders. Crawford was a workhorse for Chicago in the qualifying round and is expected to be between the pipes for the Blackhawks against the Golden Knights.

Offensive Efficiency: Both teams proved that they can score goals during the Stanley Cup Qualifiers. Vegas put up 15 goals in its three preliminary games and Chicago scored 16 times against the Oilers. As the playoffs progress, stingy defense will become more important so both teams will look to their top offensive weapons for offense at key times.