The Blackhawks had their work cut out for them in the qualifying game against the Edmonton Oilers. It was all about including the two best players in the world in Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid, both of whom were not so much of a factor on equal strength as we were used to seeing in a competitive series that lasted four games.
But the Blackhawks are on the verge of witnessing another beast in the Vegas Golden Knights, which shut down the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. The two teams will square in a first-of-seven series in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Blackhawks watched the final of the Golden Knights’ round robin on Saturday from their suite at Rogers Place, and got a close look at their next opponent. And they know they are a challenge.
“They’re a good team,” said Kirby Dach. “They are deep forward, they have good defense, of course great goaltending. They play the game fast, they are smart, they are a disciplined team. We just know we have to keep increasing our game to compete and hope the series, but we have a long way to go. It’s going to be a battle. We have to be ready every night because we know they’ll bring it. “
The Golden Knights went 3-0 in round-robin play, beating the no. 1 offensive team (Colorado) and no. 1 defensive team (Dallas) in the West, and defended Stanley Cup champions (St. Louis) by a combined score of 15-10. And they did not even see their best.
But when they are at their best, the Golden Knights are seemingly unusual.
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The Golden Knights listed this season as no. 1 in attempts to make equal strength of the slot for (25.4 per game) and equal strength shots on the net of the slot (15.1), according to Sportlogiq. They also row no. 1 in attempts to equalize the lock against (18.8).
The Golden Knights are just as good of an offensive team as they are defensively on equal strength and can come to you in waves.
“They seem to use all four lines a little bit more than Edmonton did,” Connor Murphy said. “Edmonton had their top two or three forwards who carried a lot of offense and played a lot of minutes and seemed to have a lot of possession in their hands. It will definitely defend differently against that team game and that simple pressure and speed that they have. They play that playoff-style game too. That will be something we’ll see these next few days, and adjust or roll with.
To put it bluntly, the Golden Knights have arguably the best reigning duo in the playoffs with Marc-Andre Fleury and former Chicago no less Robin Lehner. It remains unclear who will start with Game 1, but there can be no wrong choice.
Put it all together and you have a Golden Knights team that does not have many holes on their roster.
“They are an excellent team,” said head coach Jeremy Colliton. “Very good defensive, knee-deep defensive, but they’ve also done a lot on the other side. We know we have to raise our level. It will be a big challenge, but we are excited about it.”
