Tonight could be a big night in St. Louis for the Vegas Golden Knights. With a win over the Blues, the Golden Knights could officially clinch their second straight playoff berth, in their second season of existence. While it is not official as of yet the Golden Knights are a lock to make their second consecutive postseason.
David Perron (57), Cody Eakin (21), USA Today Sports
Standing in their way this evening are the Blues (40-27-8, 3rd Central) and their young phenom in goal, Jordan Binnington. It is truly remarkable what the 25-year-old netminder has accomplished this season, for the resurgent Blues. Coming into the year with very limited NHL time, Binnington has surprisingly been a catalyst of their turnaround from an ice-cold start to the 2018-19 season. Prior to his current breakout season, Binnington had only faced four shots at the NHL level, back in 2015-16. This season, he boasts 20-4-1 record with a 1.84 goals against average and .929 save percentage.
At times this season, the Golden Knights have been thwarted by hot goaltending. Binnington has started and won the last three games for the Blues. Over that stretch, they beat the Edmonton Oilers (7-2), Detroit Red Wings (5-2), and the NHL-leading Tampa Bay Lightning (4-3). This evening, the Golden Knights will be up against another hot goaltender and a team they have yet to beat in regulation time, since their inception.
It's no secret that adding Mark Stone has been huge and sparked a resurgence for the Golden Knights. Despite Saturday's loss to the Red Wings, the Golden Knights are 10-2-0 since the trade-deadline acquisition. Riding a high wave of momentum, they will look to push play against the Blues. At even strength, the Golden Knights' Corsi For sits at 54.2%, as they generate shots at a much higher rate than they allow. It is their team identity to play fast and forecheck often, in order to loosen up the opposition.
With a goaltender of Binnington's caliber in net, they will need to continue to get to the high danger areas, as they have of late. Two of the team's three best High Danger Chances For (HDCF) totals have come this month, against the Canucks and Oilers. In order to beat Binnington and the Blues, the Golden Knights would be smart to focus on traffic in front of the net and below-the-goal puck movement. Max Pacioretty and Marc-Andre Fleury are not expected to be back in the lineup for this one.
On the contrary, in the home locker room, there is good news on the injury front. The Blues will have defenseman Carl Gunnarsson back from his upper-body injury. Gunnarsson has been out since early February. In other Blues news/notes, former Golden Knights assistant captain David Perron just had a career-best 17-game point streak snapped, Saturday against the Lightning. Perron ranks fourth on the Blues with 41 points this season (20 goals, 21 assists).
With Malcolm Subban expected in goal, the Golden Knights will be looking to avenge Saturday's loss to the Red Wings. In that contest, the team looked uncharacteristically flat and were unable to solve Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard. Subban held his own, making 27 saves on 29 shots before Anthony Mantha's overtime winner (and 2nd goal of the game). While filling in for Fleury (LBI/newborn), Subban had led his team to three straight wins, prior to Saturday's set back. In my last piece, I pondered the idea of a VGK playoff run with Subban in goal (link).
With a chance to clinch the playoffs, tonight's game against the Blues is certain to be a good one. Both teams have been playing at a high level, with above-average goaltending. Aside from a costly turnover in OT on Saturday, Reilly Smith has been a man on a mission for the Knights. With four goals and five assists in the last four games, Smith has been stellar for the club. Will the Golden Knights reign supreme with the hot Smith, Stone, and Subban or will their old buddy Perron, take another game from his former team? Puck drop is at 5pm Pacific and you won't want to miss it.
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