Graney: Pete DeBoer won’t overreact to Game 1 rout

DENVER — It was 2018 when the Golden Knights beat San Jose 7-0 in Game 1 of a best-of-seven NHL playoff series.

The Sharks won Game 2, 4-3 in double overtime.

They then won Game 4, 4-0.

The Knights then won 5-3.

It was in a 2019 series between the teams when the Golden Knights dominated Game 4 and won 5-0.

San Jose prevailed the next game 5-2.

Yeah. Pete DeBoer has seen both sides of such a distinct truth when it comes to sports and those playoffs that define them.

He was the coach in San Jose for those back-and-forth moments and now holds the same position for the Golden Knights.

And now gets to draw on such experience for Game 2 of the West Division final against the Avalanche. The side of truth where his team got shellacked.

Things continue Wednesday at Ball Arena in the aftermath of Colorado blitzing the Knights 7-1 on Sunday.

Won’t overreact

Coaches and players on the losing end of such a result often like to say they burned the game tape and moved on. But before striking any match, the Knights sat and watched and better understood all that transpired.

“We looked at it and what didn’t work for us, and there were a lot of things that didn’t work for us,” DeBoer said. “As a group, we didn’t do enough things well enough for long enough in order to deserve to win. It’s pretty easy to recognize that. We got what we deserved. I know we’ll bounce back.”

DeBoer has coached long enough to know which buttons to push and which to avoid after such a defeat. The last thing you do now is change the message. It might be human nature for the parent whose child spends most of their time in the principal’s office to overreact. It’s not good from a coaching staff after one loss, no matter the stage.

There are too many veteran players in the Knights’ room who can now lead more than ever. Guys with Stanley Cup rings. Too many who have ridden and comprehend the roller coaster that defines most NHL playoffs.

You can also make the argument — as DeBoer did Monday — that a more disheartening loss might have been playing a solid game and still coming up short by, say, a 2-1 final. Makes sense. It’s not easy to deal with getting blown out in the moment, but could be easier to flush away than stewing over a competitive result.

“It doesn’t matter if the score is 10-0, 10-9 or 2-1,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. “We got one win, and we’re at home to defend our home ice. It’s a race to four (wins). That’s one, and it’s great, and we loved the way our team played and now our mission is to follow that up with a very similar game to the one we played.”

Teams are even

There is also this: The Knights and Avalanche split eight regular-season games, and neither controlled the other to any level of degree. The Knights outscored Colorado 18-17 in those games. Each finished with a league-best 82 points. These are not teams whose comparable skill level is anything close to a 7-1 rout.

The Knights just didn’t handle adversity well in Game 1. They got down and never pushed for long enough stretches that you thought a comeback was possible.

Things will tighten Wednesday after such a forgettable effort because, well, they always do.

“I thought the third (period), there were some moments where we started to play the way we’re capable of,” DeBoer said. “The score is the score, so obviously they’re taking their foot off the gas a little, so sometimes that’s not real, either. But it wasn’t all bad, as ridiculous as that sounds, when you look at the box score.”

He has been here before.

Won’t panic. For good reason.

Ed Graney is a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for sports column writing and can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be heard on “The Press Box,” ESPN Radio 100.9 FM and 1100 AM, from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday. Follow @edgraney on Twitter.