Certainly no shortage of intrigue for the Vegas Golden Knights this offseason, as another new playoff challenger awaits.
With a trip to the Western Conference Final on the line, the Golden Knights officially begin the second round against the upstart Anaheim Ducks.
Schedule
Game 1: May 4, 6:30 p.m. (T-Mobile Arena)
Game 2: May 6, 6:30 p.m. (T-Mobile Arena)
Game 3: May 8, 6:30 p.m. (Honda Center)
Game 4: May 10, 6:30 p.m. (Honda Center)
*Game 5: May 12, TBD (T-Mobile Arena)
*Game 6: May 14 TBD (Honda Center)
*Game 7: May 16, TBD (T-Mobile Arena)
* — if necessary
How they got here
The first year Vegas entered the league in 2017 coincided with the last time the Ducks made the playoffs until this year. Now, both teams are set to square off for the first time in the playoffs after impressive six-game victories.
While the Utah Mammoth put a scare into the Golden Knights in Round One, Vegas ultimately found ways to capitalize on their momentum with timely overtime wins in Games Four and Five before a 5-1 stomping in Game Six. The experience and sheer depth of the Pacific Division champions proved to be too much, as the Golden Knights got star performances at key moments in the series.
Meanwhile, the Ducks were undisputedly the team with the most impressive first round performance, knocking out the two-time defending Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers. Anaheim was able to take advantage of Edmonton’s structural weaknesses, getting positive contributions from their young core, as well as their fourth-line veterans.
This has the makings of a ‘changing of the guard’ moment, and the Ducks beating both Edmonton and Vegas in the same postseason would establish them as the top dog in the Pacific for the foreseeable future.
Keys to victory
Vegas: Special teams turned out to play a massive role in the first-round victory over Utah, but the matchup plays out a little differently this time around.
Anaheim’s power play was a nightmare for Edmonton, operating at a stellar 50 percent clip in the first round. Meanwhile, Vegas matches up with a penalty kill that allowed only one power play goal in 16 opportunities for the Mammoth. There are some similarities between Utah and Anaheim in how they like to run their offense, so the Golden Knights being able to identify and exploit them would negate a key strength of their opponent.
Anaheim: At this point, the Ducks are playing with house money, and that lack of pressure might just be their best friend at this stage.
The Golden Knights will not strike any fear in the heart of the Ducks, who were the only Pacific Division team to sweep Vegas in the regular season. They know how to apply a winning formula against the Golden Knights, but the key for head coach Joel Quenneville will be applying the necessary physicality and intangibles that teams need to be successful at this stage of the postseason. If the Ducks find that balance and stick with it, another playoff upset could be on the menu.
X-factors
Vegas: Mitch Marner’s Game Six was the type of playoff performance that dispels any preexisting narratives, but the attention has to shift to William Karlsson here.
A second-round pick of the Ducks back in 2011, Karlsson has not played for the Golden Knights since Nov. 8, ironically enough, against Anaheim. However, the original Misfit was back with the team during morning skate before Game Six, and it is expected that he will rejoin the Golden Knights’ lineup at some point in this series. Lineup changes and potential chemistry notwithstanding, how Karlsson performs in his first on-ice action in six months will be crucial for the Golden Knights’ success in this series and beyond.
Anaheim: The postseason is the time where superstars begin to emerge, and the Ducks are witnessing the birth of one in defenseman Jackson LaCombe.
A University of Minnesota product who was drafted in the second round by Anaheim in 2019, LaCombe may have taken his time on the bench during Team USA’s gold medal run at the Olympics as a challenge. He answered the bell against Edmonton, as his nine points are not only leading all defenseman in the postseason, but tied for second in the entire NHL. Even some of the Oilers’ best players like Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl struggled to find answers for Anaheim’s new dynamic defenseman, and his presence on both ends of the ice will demand nothing short of full attention from Vegas.
Series prediction
This is very much a battle between two teams who won their series in identical fashion.
Both teams scored in bunches, found ways to slow down key players, and were not afraid to come back late to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. The Ducks took all three games in the regular season against the Golden Knights, but this still feels like a slugfest waiting to happen, and it would be a shock if any of these games wind up being blowouts.
That said, the Golden Knights faced another team loaded with speed and skill in the Mammoth, so they already have some ideas on how to contain Anaheim’s.
The key here comes down to experience, particularly in Vegas’ ability to slam the door on a series when they get the chance. Game Six against Utah was the fifth straight time Vegas was able to clinch victory in that particular situation, as well as the sixth of seven consecutive Game Sixes. If the Golden Knights can find a way to put the Ducks on the back foot late in the series, they have the confidence needed to make the clock strike midnight on a potential Cinderella story in Southern California.
Golden Knights in six games.