This time, things were various. The Golden Knights exterminated their significant charge– and three more Vancouver power plays in the game.
“We understood this year that no matter what misfortune that we dealt with that right off the bat it was our video game. It was just a matter of time. Every group we deal with, theres going to be difficulty: a hot goalie or a five-minute significant or something like that.”
The Golden Knights dealt with difficulty and conquered it. “We didnt have any guests tonight. We had 20 guys out there dedicated to advance,” DeBoer said.
The Knights and Stars open their conference finals on Sunday in Edmonton, Alberta.
The Vegas Golden Knights conquered their postseason baggage and among the most popular goaltenders in the playoffs to win Game 7 versus the Vancouver Canucks on Friday night, advancing to the Western Conference finals against the Dallas Stars.
” I need a beverage after the last three video games before I think about Dallas. Well talk tomorrow,” said coach Pete DeBoer, after his teams 3-0 success over the Canucks. Its the 2nd time in the three-year presence of the franchise that the Knights are in the conference finals.
It nearly didnt occur since of one challenger: Thatcher Demko, the Canucks backup goaltender who took over from an “unsuited to play” Jacob Markstrom in Game 5 with his team down 3-1 in the series. Demko dealt with 125 shots in the last 3 games of the series and stopped 123 of them, with Vegas defenseman Shea Theodores goals in Games 5 and 7 being the only pucks that got previous him.
” Thats as tough an adversity as we can deal with. That goalie was just amazing. It was difficult to get one previous him,” said Vegas forward Jonathan Marchessault.
Demko made 33 saves in Game 7 after shutting out the Golden Knights in Game 6 just 24 hours previously. Theodores power-play objective at 13:52 of the third period was the video game winner, with empty-net objectives from Alex Tuch and Paul Stastny padding the rating.
” Anytime you see a young player have success, youre happy of them,” stated Vancouver coach Travis Green of Demko, the 24-year-old San Diego native. “Ive been with him for a while and Im happy for Demko to raise his game to this level.”
Vegas goalie Robin Lehner was brilliant, too, conserving all 18 shots he dealt with.
” There was times it seemed like we could have played six hours and not scored on them,” DeBoer stated. “What he did, and the lightning they might put in a bottle in the last 3 games with him and how he played … what Im proudest of is how our group persevered. You can fall into the trap of unfaithful to try and push for more offense when you struck a hot goalie like that. Our belief system in what we were doing, sticking with it, thats the thing Im proudest of.”
The mental obstacle wasnt just what Demko was performing in goal; Vegas likewise had to fight the mental devils from last postseasons disastrous Game 7 loss to the San Jose Sharks.
The familiarity was almost too much to process. Last postseason versus the Sharks, the Golden Knights blew a 3-1 series result in force a Game 7. Like versus Vancouver, they had the better play versus the Sharks in Game 7. The turning point in last seasons Game 7 was a significant penalty on previous Golden Knights center Cody Eakin that resulted in 4 power-play goals for the Sharks. Against Vancouver on Friday night, Vegas forward Ryan Reaves took a major penalty for a check to the head of Canucks forward Tyler Motte in the 2nd period.
” Five-minute significant? Charge killing in a Game 7?” chuckled DeBoer, who coached that Sharks group last postseason before being worked with by the Knights in January.
” I require a drink after the last three video games prior to I believe about Dallas. “What he did, and the lightning they might put in a bottle in the last three video games with him and how he played … what Im proudest of is how our group stuck with it. Last postseason against the Sharks, the Golden Knights blew a 3-1 series lead to require a Game 7. Like versus Vancouver, they had the better play against the Sharks in Game 7. The turning point in last seasons Game 7 was a major charge on previous Golden Knights center Cody Eakin that led to 4 power-play objectives for the Sharks.
