Vegas Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy paused for a moment when asked what message he would share with his players after they landed in Minnesota.
The Golden Knights won Game 1 of their best-of-seven Western Conference quarterfinals series against the Minnesota Wild on Sunday. But then they fell short in Game 2 on Tuesday, setting up a critical third game as the series shifts north to Saint Paul on Thursday night.
Cassidy said the key was to keep the focus as narrow as possible heading into Game 3.
“We’re not going to talk about history and all that stuff,” Cassidy said. “It’s 1-1. These guys have been in enough playoff series to know that it’s a best-of-five now (and) Minnesota has home-ice advantage. That’s what’s in front of us.
“But we’re much more worried about Game 3 than worried about the whole series right now. How do we get back in the winner’s circle?”
Meanwhile, Minnesota is hoping to stay in the winner’s circle.
The Wild will look to top forwards Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy to lead the way once again. Kaprizov has two goals and three assists in the series while Boldy has a team-high three goals to go with one assist.
Only one other player on the Wild has more than one point in the series. That is forward Ryan Hartman, who has picked up a pair of assists.
Minnesota coach John Hynes praised his players, but hinted that he still might make changes.
“We know how we need to play to be a successful team,” Hynes said. “Now, we’ve got to stay consistent with that and build on that. That’s the important thing. We want to continue to get better and better as the series goes on. …
“We may look at some different things, possibly. I think sometimes as a series goes on, you might look at say your 5-6 (defensive) pair, is there something you want to adapt or change there? Or do you want to keep it the same? Do you make a lineup change? Do you insert a player and give a player a break? It’s all those things that you consider as it goes through.”
Vegas is led by center Tomas Hertl, who has two goals and one assist in the series’ first two contests. Four Golden Knights players have two points apiece, including forward Brett Howden with two goals and defenseman Noah Hanifin with one goal and one assist.
If the Golden Knights protect the puck better, Cassidy said, they should be in good shape.
“It’s a game of mistakes, so you’ll never be perfect,” Cassidy said. “But we have to be better in certain areas with the decisions we make with the puck. That should be the first thing that will get us back on track. …
“There’s always going to be a few things, but we’re not blowing everything up and saying hey we’ve got to change the way we play. We’ve just got to take care of the puck, for starters.”
Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill is 1-1 with a 3.03 goals-against average and an .833 save percentage in the first two games. Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson has the same 1-1 record and has posted a 2.52 GAA and a .914 save percentage.
–Field Level Media
