Vancouver won Game 6 on Thursday 4-0 to even the series after avoiding elimination with a 2-1 win in Game 5 on Tuesday, with goalie Thatcher Demko making his first two Stanley Cup Playoff starts.
"I just wanted to be ready and obviously knew the circumstance when I came in and got the call, and I just wanted to help the team win any way I could, and I feel good, ready to go, and ready to go for tomorrow," Demko said. "It's a big Game 7, and this is a game you want to play in, and as a kid you watch Game 7s ... and you're envisioning yourself in those games, so just really excited for tomorrow and I know our group will be ready."
RELATED: [Complete Golden Knights vs. Canucks series coverage]
Teams that lose Games 5 and 6 after leading a series 3-1 are 28-29 (49.1 percent) winning a best-of-7 Stanley Cup Playoff series.
"We don't have time to think about anything. This is a back-to-back," Vegas forward Max Pacioretty said. "Someone mentioned this is a unique scenario and one that we've never been in. You don't get back-to-backs in the playoffs in a regular year. It's nice that we're going to have this opportunity tomorrow. You don't want to sit around the room in the bubble and think about what went wrong to get to this point. But that being said, get some sleep, show up to the rink tomorrow energized for a Game 7. This is what you dream about, so we should be excited for the challenge."
Golden Knights coach Peter DeBoer is 4-0 in Game 7, including against Vegas as San Jose Sharks coach in the first round last season. Vegas lost the final three games in that series, including 5-4 in overtime in Game 7.
"This is a different group, different team," DeBoer said. "I think we've hit a group over there that is feeling confident and getting great goaltending, and that's going to happen on the playoff trail. You've got to find a way. This is our adversity, and we've got to stick together and come through it."
Golden Knights goalie Marc-Andre Fleury has played in seven Game 7s, the most on Vegas, including the 2009 Stanley Cup Final (a 2-1 win for the Pittsburgh Penguins against the Detroit Red Wings). He is 3-4 with a 2.25 goals-against average and .916 save percentage. Vegas goalie Robin Lehner has never played in an NHL Game 7.
Forward Paul Stastny is the next closest in Game 7 experience for the Golden Knights. He's played in five, scoring eight points (four goals, four assists).
Vancouver forward Jay Beagle has played seven Game 7s, most on the Canucks. He was 3-4 in those games with the Washington Capitals and has no points.
It will be the 12th Game 7 for the Canucks in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and the second for the Golden Knights, who did not play one in their inaugural season when they reached the 2018 Stanley Cup Final.
Vancouver, which is 6-5 in Game 7, lost its most recent, 4-0 to the Boston Bruins in the 2011 Stanley Cup Final. Travis Green of the Canucks has never coached one.
"I think, as a kid no one really talks about Game 1 or Game 2, I think everyone dreams of Game 7," Vancouver defenseman Quinn Hughes said. "And to give ourselves a chance after being down 3-1, I think we're proud of ourselves, not satisfied, but it's a good step for us. This is my first year, and some other guys haven't played in the playoffs, so for a lot of us guys it's really good experience for us, and for us to push Vegas to a Game 7, we're not satisfied, but we're all really excited and we're excited for tomorrow."
The Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche will play Game 7 of their second-round series in Edmonton, the hub city in the West, on Friday (4 p.m. ET; USA, SN, TVAS).
