Golden Knights resume Canucks series with back-to-back games
The revised schedule for the Golden Knights’ Western Conference semifinal series leaves coach Pete DeBoer with a compelling choice Saturday.
Who starts in net for Game 3 against the Vancouver Canucks?
Following a two-day stoppage by NHL players to protest systemic racism and police brutality, the best-of-seven series resumes at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, with a back-to-back Saturday and Sunday.
That puts the focus back on the crease, where DeBoer must decide whether to continue with Robin Lehner as the starter or turn to Marc-Andre Fleury with the series tied at 1.
When a series is tied, the winner of Game 3 has gone on to win the series 67.1 percent of the time, including a 3-1 mark this postseason.
“You know what? We’ve got a plan with our goaltenders. We’re not going to get into what it is,” DeBoer said Wednesday. “Nothing’s changed in my mind that both guys are going to play as we move forward here.”
Lehner started the past four games for the Knights, including a 5-2 loss in Game 2 when he stopped 22 of 26 shots. He blanked the Canucks in Game 1 with a 26-save effort for his first career postseason shutout.
Lehner is 6-2 with a 2.34 goals-against average and .909 save percentage in the playoffs.
Fleury last appeared in a game Aug. 15 when he turned away 26 shots in a 4-1 victory over Chicago.
That start came on the front end of a back-to-back with the Knights owning a 2-0 series advantage over the Blackhawks, which might offer some insight into what DeBoer is thinking.
But that also was before Fleury’s agent tweeted, and later deleted, a photo of his client being stabbed in the back by a sword with DeBoer’s last name inscribed on the blade.
The schedule calls for a back-to-back in Game 6 and 7, if necessary, meaning the Knights and Canucks would play five games in seven days if the series goes the distance.
“Numbers don’t lie. They’re two of the best goalies in the NHL,” forward Mark Stone said. “Any team would want to have either one of our goalies. I think there’s probably 20, 30 teams that would sign up to have one of those two. That’s where the confidence comes from.”
The Canucks’ game plan backfired in Game 1, but Vancouver used its speed and skill to frustrate the Knights on Tuesday.
The Knights fell behind 2-0 and gave up two goals 1:43 apart in the second and third periods. Bo Horvat scored his league-leading eighth goal, while Elias Pettersson and Tyler Toffoli had three points each.
“Their skill players, they were coming in our zone like it was nothing. It was too easy for them,” left wing Jonathan Marchessault said. “They played a good game and we played a bad one. It’s 1-1 and we need to move on with what we were successful in the first game and repeat that.”
Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.