This has to be considered an all-time Stanley Cup Final, and there are still two or three games of the sheer chaos left to go.
On Thursday, the Vegas Golden Knights dive headfirst back into the pandemonium as they return to Raleigh to face the Carolina Hurricanes in a pivotal Game Five.
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Venue: Lenovo Center, Raleigh, NC
Date: Thursday, June 11
Time: 5:00 pm PST
How To Watch: ABC
Radio: 1340 AM, 94.7 FM
The Hurricanes got revenge on the Golden Knights in Game Four, calming down the stress in the third period thanks to Jordan Staal’s incredible backhand game-winner. It has followed with the back-and-forth nature of this series, where neither John Tortorella or Rod Brind’Amour have been able to predict or truly take the reins in this series to tilt the momentum one way or the other. With the Stanley Cup Final now effectively a best-of-three series, the need for heroes to emerge has never been more critical.
Here is how the Golden Knights can ensure that they could be the ones seizing the day when the Stanley Cup returns to Las Vegas for Game Six.
Carolina roller coaster ride
Both coaches have gone at length saying that they have never seen a playoff series come down to the wire in this particular fashion.
No lead is safe at any point, and two teams primarily known for their defense have instead decided to turn into the hockey equivalents of Diego Sanchez and Clay Guida and beat the tar out of each other through endless goals. At this point, the teams have made some unspoken pact to throw any and all predictions of this series out the window, and all anyone can do is just hang on for dear life. With momentum being more of an abstract concept, whoever finally manages to tame the wilds and get this series under control will likely be the one who wins, so the Golden Knights have no choice but to see if they can commandeer the ship to safer waters.
Rise, my friends!
Tortorella has downplayed concerns about both Jack Eichel and Carter Hart, but the statistics still paint a concerning picture all the same.
Eichel has turned into a non-factor in this Final, with only two assists and a -4 through four games where he has mostly had to deal with the Staal line. Hart has equally struggled with allowing at least four goals in each of the first four games, a far cry from the goaltender who put the Golden Knights on his back against the Anaheim Ducks and Colorado Avalanche. If Vegas hopes to come back home with a chance to win it all, it is going to take at least one of these players to put the struggles behind them and push their team over the top.
“It's been ok,” Eichel said about his recent stretch. “You always want to be better. You are always going to be your harshest critic and I'm definitely mine. I always believe I can play better and contribute more."
Practice what you preach
Tortorella has often called the NHL a find-a-way league, and that has never been more important than it is now.
Even before the third period dagger, the Golden Knights found a way to overcome a horrid first period to tie the game at three heading into the final frame of Game Four. Now, the challenge is to dig deep for 60 minutes to maintain some type of advantage and flip everything on the Hurricanes to get the series lead for the third time. There is no clear way to accomplish this, as this series has shown far too many times already, but the Golden Knights need to be the team that pushes to make the last play.
Bonus: Show solidarity
Even Tortorella had no choice but to watch the insanity that was Game Four of the NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs.
“I wanted to go to bed, but when they cut it down to 15, you knew something stupid was gonna happen. It’s basically been the same stupid stuff that’s happened in our series,” admitted Tortorella, who could not help but draw parallels between the two championship series.
The Golden Knights themselves are no stranger to comeback victories, and adopting a similar spirit to the Knicks would serve them well. Whether it’s four goals or 29 points down, no team involved at the end is willing to back down, and the Golden Knights have to make that resilience a part of their mentality.