It's the series we've been anticipating all season and now, thankfully, we're getting it.
And it almost didn't happen.
The Vegas Golden Knights outlasted the Minnesota Wild in seven games to get here, while the Colorado Avalanche had no problem sweeping the St. Louis Blues. They'll be more rested and, in a series that is as tight on paper as this, that might be the edge they need, right?
Well, we'll see about that.
The Avs were in a similar spot going into Round 2 last season. They were coming off a five-game series win and were the more rested team, with Dallas surviving a seven-game series and arriving on short rest. Dallas won the first two games and Colorado fought back to a Game 7, but that slow start just couldn't be overcome.
"Dallas brought the intensity they had from their previous series to our series," Jared Bednar reflected this week. "They carried it over to Game 1. They were a physical group right away, they were engaged right away, it took us some time and it ended up costing us."
The fact is this should be a slugfest between two absolutely loaded rosters. In one corner you have the Golden Knights, who only know what it feels like to be a top tier contender since entering the league four years ago. They made the final in Year 1, got to the conference final last year, and are as big a threat -- if not bigger -- to win it now than ever before.
In the other corner are the Colorado Avalanche, who was by far the worst team in the league four years ago but has masterfully managed a quick rebuild. They've been the faster riser in the league and were one of the top contenders in the bubble last season, eliminated after injuries in net set them back in Round 2. They're healthy there for now, and should be all systems go against Vegas.
Should this series maybe be happening in Round 3 or 4? The caliber of teams certainly suggests so. But let's just be happy we're getting it, huh? This is must-see hockey and will fill our screens with highlights nightly.
Here's how the two teams match up.
ADVANCED STATS
Regular season 5-on-5 numbers via Natural Stat Trick
Vegas: 53.37 CF% (6th), 58.19 GF% (2nd), .922 SV% (8th), 9.58 SH% (4th)
Colorado: 58.98 CF% (1st), 59.82 GF% (1st), .917 SV% (15th), 8.87 SH% (8th)
REGULAR SEASON TEAM STATS
Vegas: 17.8 PP% (22nd), 86.8 PK% (1st), 3.39 GF/G (3rd), 2.18 GA/G (1st)
Colorado: 22.7 PP% (8th), 83.1 PK% (8th), 3.52 GF/G (1st), 2.36 GA/G (3rd)
HEAD TO HEAD RECORD
Vegas: 4-4-0
Colorado: 4-3-1
THE STORY OF HOW THEY GOT HERE
Vegas Golden Knights: What's on off-season with Vegas not making any moves? Last year their big pick up was Alex Pietrangelo. Signed off the UFA market, salary pinched Vegas to the cap and forced them to sell off Nate Schmidt and Paul Stastny on the cheap. Marc-Andre Fleury could have been had too, but no one wanted to take on his $7 million cap hit. Good thing for Vegas -- he's been a Vezina candidate this season and took back the playoff crease after playing backup in the bubble.
Because of those cap limitations, the Golden Knights had to dress a short bench a few times this regular season. Most notably they were forced to do that against Colorado in the second-last game of the season when the division title was still on the line. They only dressed 10 forwards and five defencemen for the game, lost 2-1, and so had to draw Minnesota in Round 1, who they had a tough time with all season.
And the Wild gave Vegas a go in Round 1. The Golden Knights largely dominated most of the play against Minnesota, generating nearly 55 per cent of all shots at 5-on-5, but the Wild did a better job of getting to the absolute best scoring areas in front of the net. That helped keep the opportunities a little more even than it seemed and dragged it to seven games. In that decisive game, though, the best version of Vegas showed up and they came away with a 6-2 win to move on.
The Golden Knights are arriving maybe a bit healthier in Round 2 than they were in Round 1, which is not usually the case come playoff time. Max Pacioretty missed the first six games of the series, but returned in Game 7. Three players were put on the COVID list at one time or another in Round 1, and two of them are off it now. The team also had to deal with a scare when a number of false positives came back mid-round.
The Golden Knights have three excellent scoring lines, and a fourth that is just hard to play against. Their top four on the blue line is filled with big names, and solidified again with toughness down the lineup. And it was that depth that carried them in the Game 7 win, with Zach Whitecloud and Mattias Janmark contributing four goals combined.
Colorado Avalanche: It was a breezy first round win for the Avs, who controlled over 58 per cent of the shots at 5-on-5 and the top line of Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen were over 60 per cent. They outscored the Blues 20-7 in the series and, really, the result here was never in doubt.
The win didn't come without controversy though, as Nazem Kadri received yet another playoff suspension for a dangerous hit in Game 2. He was handed an eight-game suspension and has appealed that, though no ruling has been made on that. Either way, the Avs will continue to be without their No. 2 centre to start Round 2. J.T. Compger and Tyson Jost stepped up in Kadri's absence and the Avalanche didn't miss a beat against the Blues, though Vegas is bound to provide more of a challenge to their depth.
The Avs are known for their top line, but are about so much more than that. They have one of the best D-cores in the league, too, with Devon Toews and Cale Makar forming one of the best pairs in the league.
That's funny how a lot of teams would like to acquire TOP4 defenseman, but it's not really easy in this NHL. And then here is Joe Sakic who have acquired Devon Toews for just two 2nd round picks from Lou Lamoriello, lmao. pic.twitter.com/GSGAfgK0iD
— Andy & Rono (@HockeyStatsCZ) April 3, 2021
The Avalanche have been eliminated in Game 7 of Round 2 in each of the past two seasons. We'd love for this series to also go seven games, though the Avs are counting on a different result and a breakthrough season.
Vegas Golden Knights X-Factor: Max Pacioretty
Vegas' post-season scoring woes go back to last season, when they managed to score just four times in the last three games against Vancouver and then eight times in a five-game series loss to Dallas. They scored 13 times in the first six games of their series against Minnesota this year, too, before a six-goal outburst lifted them to a Game 7 win.
At least part of their struggles on offence against Minnesota could be contributed to the fact Max Pacioretty missed the first six games. Vegas' leading goal scorer on the season left a hole in the lineup and jumbled the lines, but he scored the game-winner and earned four shots on net in his return. With all the offence Colorado can throw at teams, Vegas can't afford to struggle to score again here and Pacioretty will play a big role in that.
"Playing the first six games without him, our leading goal scorer, was a hill that our group had to climb and it was critical we got him back tonight," Vegas coach Pete DeBoer said after Game 7. "It changed, I thought, everything about our confidence to score, slotted our lines properly so we could get (Alex) Tuch and (Mattias) Janmark back together on the third line."
It has a trickle down effect. Pacioretty makes the top line better and moving Janmark down to line three increases scoring depth -- Janmark scored a hat trick in the series-deciding game.
Colorado Avalanche X-Factor: Andre Burakovsky
This could be a high-event, high-scoring series and if Vegas is going to score more than they have at points in recent series, the Avs will need the second line to come through. Without Kadri to start the series and Compher in his place, the scorers on the line have to come through anyway. Joonas Donskoi is on one side, Andre Burakovsky the other, and one or the other needs to have a series.
Burakovsky was was shut out against the Blues, something that didn't happen to him in either series Colorado played in the bubble. Burakovsky was on the ice for over 62 per cent of the 5-on-5 shots in Round 1, but only managed five of his own. A big series from him will go a long way to lifting the Avs up -- though actually getting goals through Fleury has been a challenge to all comers this season.
Burakovsky is another one of the value pick ups GM Joe Sakic has made along the way, and has been a hit since arriving. He scored six times in 12 playoff games last season and now it's time to start going again.
