SAN JOSE -- It appears that there will be no line-up changes tonight for the Golden Knights.
Jon Merrill, whose third period cross-checking penalty essentially led to an Evander Kane goal, and William Carrier, who played just 5:23 in Game Three, looked to be potential scratches.
It's noteworthy that Luca Sbisa will probably be held out once again. Sbisa was a regular penalty-killer and averaged 19:31 a night when healthy. He hasn't played in the post-season yet.
Otherwise, it was a pretty light Q&A with Gallant today, so I asked him about his walk from the dressing room to the bench.
The most dangerous thing for Gerard Gallant isn't Brent Burns, it's this walk from locker room in opposite corner to bench #VegasBorn pic.twitter.com/wymIDwOai6
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) May 1, 2018
SP: Tell me about that walk from the room, on the ice, to the bench.
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) May 2, 2018
Gallant: I don't like it. (laughs) Montreal is the same. Need to hold onto the boards pretty good, just in case.
SP: Which coach is most likely to fall?
GG: I just take care of myself. https://t.co/qAhN8nl0VZ
***
Down 26-11 in shots halfway into Game Three, Vegas was able to turn things around with a couple power plays and a solid 5v5 forecheck.
In particular, the James Neal-Erik Haula-Alex Tuch line went to work:
"Putting pucks in areas to get it back. We were relentless getting on their defensemen. I thought we were doing a good job with our sticks," noted Neal.
Vegas will look for a more consistent 5v5 effort like this tonight.
"We didn't spend much time in their offensive zone in the first two periods," admitted Tomas Tatar.
Gallant agreed, "They were taking the puck to us in our zone. Working us a little bit."
Of course, the best offense starts with good defense. The Sharks, however, hemmed the Knights in for significant portions of the first half of the contest.
William Karlsson, who was mostly pleased with the team's breakouts, stressed, "We have to play quick and somewhat simple."
Tatar wasn't sure if the forwards needed to go lower in the zone to be easier options for the defensemen. But he did recognize that when the Knights were able to advance up the ice, there were problems.
"We had a few turnovers at their blueline. That's not the game we want to play."
In all, there weren't a lot of counterattack opportunities for Vegas, as San Jose's puck management in the neutral zone has improved markedly since Game One. There just aren't a lot of turnovers for them to jump on. In that case, the Golden Knights have to get the puck in deep and pummel the Sharks, as the Haula line did so well in the aforementioned clip.
Meanwhile, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare was concerned about the team's battle.
"There were a few plays where our sticks were a little bit weak. Mine first.
"We have to understand it's a live-or-die play, every one of them. Because maybe a puck that I didn't put in the zone can end up costing us a faceoff in our zone, suddenly a goal.
"It's the small details."
Indeed. Despite being up 2-1 in the series, there's a lot of room for improvement for the Knights.
Here's another way to put it: A great Marc-Andre Fleury save is often the result of a Vegas breakdown. There were too many of those in Game Three.
Still can't get over this pic.twitter.com/j34ebbF98V
— y - Knights On Ice (@knightsonice) May 1, 2018
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