GAME DAY: Golden Knights open playoffs against San Jose Sharks
SAN JOSE, Calif. — The Golden Knights begin defense of their Western Conference championship Wednesday when they meet the San Jose Sharks in a best-of-seven quarterfinal series.
Opening faceoff for Game 1 at SAP Center is 7:30 p.m., and the game will be televised on AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain.
“It’s an exciting time,” Knights defenseman Brayden McNabb said. “We had a few days there to get our energy and get patched up, and now it’s finally time to go.”
The Knights defeated San Jose in six games in the conference semifinals last season en route to the Stanley Cup Final. They split the regular-season series, with the Knights going 2-1-1.
Teams that take a 1-0 lead in a best-of-seven series are 467-214 (68.5 percent) all time, according to the NHL.
Marc-Andre Fleury will start in net and leads all active goaltenders in postseason games played (135), victories (75) and shutouts (14). He is two victories from tying Mike Vernon for seventh overall.
In his career against the Sharks during the regular season, Fleury is 8-4-3 with a 2.12 goals-against average and .937 save percentage.
Tomas Nosek is expected to play left wing on the third line with center Cody Eakin and right wing Alex Tuch, though coach Gerard Gallant remained tight-lipped about his lineup.
The Knights are the seventh team to reach the postseason in each of its first two seasons, joining the Edmonton Oilers as the only team from the post-expansion era (since 1968-69) to accomplish the feat.
“Everyone this time of year is waiting for this to happen,” Knights center Paul Stastny said. “I think once the puck drops, it’s just back to playoff hockey again, and I think we’re all excited for that.”
San Jose, which struggled in March before winning its final two games, set a franchise record for most goals in a season with 289 (3.51 goals per game). The previous mark was 265 goals set in the 2005-06 season.
The Sharks feature four 30-goal scorers — Joe Pavelski (38), Tomas Hertl (35), Timo Meier (30) and Evander Kane (30) — and are the first team to reach that plateau since Detroit and Philadelphia did it in 2008-09.
Defenseman Erik Karlsson battled a groin injury throughout the second half of the season but declared himself 100 percent to open the series.
Hertl did not participate in the Sharks’ morning skate for maintenance, but coach Peter DeBoer said he will play.
Goaltender Martin Jones, who has been pulled four times in 13 career appearances against the Knights, will start.
“I know our desperation level,” DeBoer said. “You’re at that time of year. These guys are pros. They’ve been here. They know you could be home in a week. I don’t think there’s any speeches you need to make about being desperate or being hungry or being ready to compete.”
Golden Knights projected lineup
Forwards
Jonathan Marchessault-William Karlsson-Reilly Smith
Max Pacioretty-Paul Stastny-Mark Stone
Tomas Nosek-Cody Eakin-Alex Tuch
William Carrier-Pierre-Edouard Bellemare-Ryan Reaves
Defensemen
Nate Schmidt-Deryk Engelland
Brayden McNabb-Shea Theodore
Jon Merrill-Nick Holden
Goaltender
Marc-Andre Fleury
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Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.
