Vegas Golden Knights advanced to the Western Conference finals after eliminating Vancouver Canucks in seven games. The series-deciding match took place this Friday night, with Vegas beating the rivals, 3-0.
All three goals were seen in the late part of the third period, with the game being filled with roughness and intensity, sometimes crossing the limits of unsportsmanlike conduct.
Such a situation took place three and a half minutes before the end of the middle frame with Golden Knights’ Ryan Reaves receiving a match penalty after head checking Tyler Motte. Instead of using that to their advantage, the Canucks allowed their rivals to boost morale after surviving a five-minute power-play.
During that time, the Canadian team had just one shot towards Robin Lehner’s net. The 29-year old goalie had 15 saves in this event, managing to record his third shutout of the series.
After this, Vegas became more relaxed, and the No.1 seed in the West slowly started pressuring the opponent, before eventually, Shea Theodore broke the bank with 6:08 until the end, only five seconds into the power-play.
After that, it was all a routine for the Golden Knights, who just waited for the Canucks to go all in. That happened pretty fast, with Travis Green deciding to pull out his goaltender pretty soon and attack.
In no time, Vegas scored two goals, practically solving the match and securing the advantage to the next stage. Alex Tuch with 2:06 before the end, and Paul Stastny, with six seconds to go, both added one goal to the empty net, sealing the win and finally eliminating the Vancouver who pushed one of the biggest favorites for the Stanley Cup title up to the limits.
shoot less, score more 😃 pic.twitter.com/OdnBFZXTtb
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) September 5, 2020
Canucks’ goalie Thatcher Demko had 33 saves last night, and couldn’t push his team to another win. The 24-year old was a game-changer for the Canucks after falling to 1-3 in the series. He would start Game 5 and allow just one goal in 91 shots over the next two contests. However, in this one, his teammates didn’t use a perfect chance to inflict a massive hit during that major penalty, and that is why they head back home.
Golden Knights face Dallas Stars in the conference finals, with the first game taking place this Sunday at 8 pm ET in Edmonton, Western hub city.