Not a fairy tale. Everything works.
with 3-2 win Against the Florida Panthers in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals at FLA Live Arena on Saturday, the Golden Knights went 3-1 in the best-of-7 series.
They’d come home on Sunday, and spend the rest of the day, taking care of everything that just happened at the dawn of the cup—family trips, ticket orders, party plans.
Hassan. They have to, because they’re still practicing on Monday, to refocus before trying to win in front of their fans in Game 5 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; TNT, truTV, CBC, SN, TVAS).
“If that means discussing certain things with family members about the Stanley Cup or whatever you want to talk about, I think that’s fine,” said coach Bruce Cassidy. “I mean, that’s what we play for. I don’t think there are any taboos about it.
“You can’t bring that to the rink on Monday in training or on Tuesday when it’s time to play. But tomorrow is the day when you can let yourself go a little bit and think about how hard it is to get here and what it takes to complete the job. I think it should be included.” That too, “Isn’t it? They worked hard to get here. »
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The Golden Knights have reason to be confident. They dominated most of the Series, and only one team in NHL history has ever lost a Cup Final after losing 3-1 in a series: the Detroit Red Wings against the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1942.
Had it not been for the end of game three—in which the team allowed a late-in-the-table tie-breaker, winning goal early in overtime and lost 3-2—the Golden Knights would have already lifted the trophy.
Vegas took a 3-0 lead in the fourth game. Florida got a decoy goal to make it 3-1, got another to make it 3-2, and fought to the end, but the better team won.
“I think the full 60 minutes we played at a faster pace than them,” said the forward. Riley Smith He said. “I think we created a lot of chances. They still put the big balls in and keep the game close, but you know, I think it’s four games in a row where we’ve outplayed them.”
The Golden Knights are 8-3 at home in the Stanley Cup playoffs, including 2-0 in this series.
“We played well at home here in the qualifiers, so you should be happy to go home with a score of 3-1.” Alex Pietrangelo He said.
It would be ridiculous to write off the Panthers, of course.
They were nine points short of a playoff game in late December, and rallied to earn their second wild card in the Eastern Conference. They came back from a 3-1 series deficit in the first round to defeat the Boston Bruins, after the Bruins set the NHL records for wins (65) and points (135) in the regular season. They then beat the Maple Leafs in five games in the second round and swept the Carolina Hurricanes in the Conference Final.
But it seemed unlikely that the Golden Knights would take the leopards lightly. They are experienced, mature and on a mission.
Forward said, “I feel confident.” Chandler StephensonWho won the Cup with the Washington Capitals when they beat the Golden Knights in five games in 2018. “There’s a lot of guys who’ve held that position before, and I think it’s something that works for us, and everybody’s ready.”
Pietrangelo won the Cup with the St. Louis Blues in 2019, when he missed a home run against the Bruins in Game 6 and got the job done in Boston in Game 7.
“You can overthink it, I guess,” Pietrangelo said. “For us, let’s fly out tomorrow, rest, spend time with our families and get ready to go back to work.”
Goalkeeper Hill of Eden He didn’t mind admitting that he couldn’t stop thinking about the cup.
“That’s the ultimate goal in hockey, isn’t it?” Hill said. “So there’s no way to shut that down in your mind. You guessed it. But at the same time, it’s just about staying in the moment, focusing on the next game, the next shift. »
Not a fairy tale. Everything works.
“We understand the scale of the operation, but we’re going to go home and take the game like it’s our first game, so we don’t change anything,” said the captain. marking the stone He said. “I’m sure we’ll make minor adjustments to our game, but we want to continue playing our style of hockey and get ready to go on Tuesday night.”
