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When Jacob Markström was injured in Game 4 of this quarter-final series, many thought Vancouver had done its part in the playoffs.
They were behind at 1-3 in games and the questions were many when they were forced to put in reserve Thatcher Demko, who had not played a single game during the playoffs, before the fifth game.
But Wednesday’s 2-1 win was followed last night by a 4-0 win.
None of the Las Vegas stars managed to poke holes in the hidden ice of San Diego in Southern California.
– It is completely untamed and must get into the heads of Las Vegas players. There is no way to get around it. It’s tight, leaves few laps and seems to be everywhere between the posts, analyzed Pierre McGuire from the track on the NBC Sports broadcast.
“Now we are back in the game”
Demko himself seemed unmoved by the heroic effort.
– It’s hockey. The best sport in the world and there is a reason why it is. Everything can happen from one game to another. We were mean and calculating. Now we are in the game again, Demko said with a small smile on his face.
Elias Pettersson ran out of points this time, but it was +2.
Alexander Edler had the same statistics.
Among outfielders, the talented 20-year-old running back Quinn Hughes was once again the exclamation point with a goal and an assist.
He played JT Miller for the 2-0 goal when the Gold Knights pressed for the tie and then the 3-0 goal was fired with a cannon shot from a position inside the offensive blue line from the left.
“Robin Lehner can’t be charged”
Vegas then?
Yes, Robin Lehner had a rough night, when Jake Virtanen gave the Canucks the lead in the game already after 2.50 minutes after going around the area and pushing the puck.
– Lehner cannot be blamed for this loss. Criticism should be directed at the outfielders, who fire 48 shots without being able to score a single goal. He wouldn’t change goalkeepers before Friday’s game, but he would leave Lehner in the area. He’s a pronounced first goalkeeper, so it would only be worrisome to change goalkeepers before the biggest game of the season, said former NHL player and now expert commentator Keith Jones.
He was supported on the expert panel by Anson Carter.
– Vegas has only scored one goal in the last two games. You have to create more traffic in front of Demko and work on the disk, Carter said.
Vancouver’s final goal came in an empty goal after Las Vegas, with just over five minutes to go, chose Lehner in a desperate bid for a reduction.
