# 1 Golden Knights vs. # 5 Canucks
9:45 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS
The best of 7 series is a tie, 1-1
The Vegas Golden Knights and Vancouver Canucks will take the lead in the second round of the Western Conference when they play their third game on Thursday at Edmonton’s Rogers Place.
The game was postponed from Thursday after the players of the eight remaining teams decided not to play in protest against systemic racism and police brutality.
“When you’re in the league, you are a tough competitor on the ice,” said Canucks manager Travis Green. “That’s the respect the players have for the game. They understand how it is played on the ice. They also understand that when you get off the ice you are all players in a great sport.
“Everyone loves to play hockey and to be in the NHL and I don’t expect that to change a bit tonight. I expect the intensity to increase as the game progresses.”
Teams that win Game 3 after a Stanley Cup playoff series is tied 1-1 will win a best-of-7 series by 218-107 (67.1 percent), including 3-1 this postseason.
“We’re ready to go, we look forward to playing again,” said Golden Knights Mark Stone said. “We want to win the Stanley Cup, they want to win the Stanley Cup. I think a lot of us have a lot of friends, not just on our own teams across the league, but when it comes to getting on the ice it is a.” completely different breed. “
Here are 3 keys to game 3:
1. Goalkeeping decisions
Golden Knights coach Peter DeBoer has not announced a starting goalkeeper for Game 3.
“You will know tonight,” he said.
Robin Lehner (6-2-0, 2.34 goals against average, 0.909 percent less, one shutout) started the last four games, including a 5-2 loss to the Canucks in Game 2 on Tuesday. Marc-Andre Fleury is 2-0-0 with 2.50 goals against the average and a saving of 0.886 percent in two postseason starts.
Jacob Markstrom is expected to start for the Canucks. He is 8-4 with 2.64 goals against the average, a saving of 0.925 percent and a shutout in 12 postseason starts.
2. Bypassing the blocks
The Golden Knights are confident that they can develop a strategy to get even more shots through against Markstrom. Vegas had 93 shot attempts in Game 2, including 40 shots on goal, but blocked 40 shots. Markstrom made 38 parades.
“We have to keep wearing them down, keep shooting and find ways to get pucks through and get traffic forward,” said Mark Stone, Golden Knights striker. “The faster you move the puck, the faster you move.”
3. Dominant draws
Vancouver captain Bo Horvat leads the postseason with 177 face-off wins and 298 allusions (59.4 percent).
He is 39 against 54 (72.2 percent) against the Golden Knights. The Canucks were 40 to 63 (63 percent) in Game 1 and 43 to 65 (66 percent) in Game 2, after finishing second in the regular season in the NHL with 54.0 percent behind Philadelphia Flyer (54, 6 percent).
Vegas ranks last among the eight remaining teams (44.5 percent).
Golden Knights projected line-up
Max Pacioretty – – William Karlsson – Mark Stone
Reilly Smith – – Paul Stastny – – Jonathan Marchessault
Nick cousins – – Nicolas Roy – – Alex cloth
William Carrier – – Chandler Stephenson – – Ryan reacts
Shea Theodore – – Alec Martinez
Brayden McNabb – – Nate Schmidt
Zach Whitecloud – – Nick Holden
Robin Lehner
Marc-Andre Fleury
Scratched: Dylan Coghlan, Oscar Dansk, Reid Duke, Deryk Engelland, Nicolas Hague, Keegan Kolesar, Peyton Cancer, Jon Merrill, Gage Quinney, Patrick Brown
Not suitable for playing: Tomas Nosek
Canucks projected lineup
Tanner Pearson – – Elias Pettersson – – Tyler Toffoli
JT Miller – Bo Horvat – Brock Boeser
Antoine Roussel – – Adam Gaudette – – Brandon Sutter
Tyler Moth – – Jay Beagle – – Jake Virtanen
Alexander Edler – – Troy engraver
Quinn Hughes – – Christopher Tanev
Oscar Fantenberg – – Jordie Benn
Jacob Markstrom
Thatcher Demko
Scratched: Olli Juolevi, Justin Bailey, Jalen Chatfield, Louis Domingue, Tyler Graovac, Brogan Rafferty, Loui Eriksson
Not suitable for playing: Michael Ferland, Josh Leivo, Tyler Myers
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