Vegas won its second-round opener against Vancouver by scoring five goals. The Canucks returned the five-goal favor in Game 2.
The tone is set for a high-scoring series, and good luck figuring out who's got the edge heading into Game 3 on Thursday (9:45 p.m. EDT, NBC Sports Network).
“Getting ready for the next game is all a part of playoff hockey,” Vancouver coach Travis Green said. “Sometimes you're going to play a hell of a game you're going to lose and you've got to go out and do it again. Sometimes you're going to play not close to good enough hockey to win and you've got to raise your game.”
Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Carter Hart (79) makes a blocker save during the second period of an NHL Stanley Cup Eastern Conference playoff hockey game against the New York Islanders in Toronto, Ontario, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020. (Cole BurstonThe Canadian Press via AP)
Vegas went into Game 1 with a goalie controversy of sorts when Marc-Andre Fleury's agent posted an illustration of the goalie with a sword in his back on social media. Robin Lehner shook off the distraction and stopped 26 shots in the Golden Knights' 5-0 victory.
The Canucks flipped the ice in Game 2, revving up their offense for a 5-2 win. Jacob Markstrom bounced back to stop 38 shots after being pulled in Game 1, Bo Horvat scored twice and the Canucks skated freely through the Golden Knights most of the night.
"We definitely gave them a lot of room," Vegas center Jonathan Marchessault said. “They're skilled players and they were coming into the zone like it was nothing. It's too easy. We make life easy out there for them, so it's on us to go back to how structured we were in the first game."
Game 3 in the Edmonton bubble will hinge on which team can make the biggest adjustment and slow the other down.
Of course, after two five-goal games, it could end up 1-0.
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