Graney: Knights show they have depth to win another Stanley Cup
It’s here, a Stanley Cup playoff that the Golden Knights can do some serious damage.
Not a bad start at all.
The Knights opened this best-of-seven series with a 4-2 victory over the Minnesota Wild before 18,016 on Sunday night at T-Mobile Arena.
The Knights are the betting favorite to lift the Stanley Cup at the Westgate SuperBook and certainly have the talent to do so.
There is a deep run in this team.
A very deep one if things fall right.
“You start the year to be in this position,” Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. “That’s the reward. It’s human nature to be amped up, but you want to temper it and be mindful of the type of player you are.
“Don’t run around and be someone you’re not because it’s the playoffs. Don’t be chasing hits if you’re someone who normally doesn’t hit. Just be the best version of yourself.”
Hitting it
It was playoff hockey from the beginning, meaning hits were aplenty. Amazing that it was just 1-1 after the first period given how many good chances each side had.
It was all sorts of physical. Guys setting the tone for a series.
Got so rough at times, a linesman was taken out inadvertently in the second period and helped from the ice.
“Two big teams playing and willing to put their bodies on the line and like to hit,” Minnesota defenseman Zach Bogosian said of the matchup. “It’s important to establish a level of competitiveness (to begin the series) in that sense.
“They’ve obviously built a foundation for what they’ve accomplished here. They’re a good team. They’re not just a bunch of 18- and 19-year-olds just getting their NHL careers going.”
One good part for Las Vegas as the series moves forward: The Knights remained relatively healthy this season, at least far more than previous years. Fewer players have entered the postseason recovering from serious injuries.
It’s a big deal if things come down to grinding out wins over a best-of-seven series.
Of which there won’t be any easy ones.
“All hands on deck,” Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon said. “The Western Conference has been strong all year. From early on, I thought it was the better of the two conferences.
“With all due respect to the other side, the (West) has six teams with over 100 points. A handful of teams in the West could be Stanley Cup champions. It’s that deep.”
And the stick of Pavel Dorofeyev has been that lethal.
He scored 35 goals this season — Dorofeyev was playing in only his second playoff game Sunday — and gave the Knights a 2-1 advantage off his power-play score with less than seven minutes remaining in the second period.
A one-time blast off a feed from Shea Theodore.
There was then more of that depth scoring that proved to be so important in the Knights winning the Pacific Division. Brett Howden, he of a career-high 23 goals this season, gave the Knights a 3-1 lead they wouldn’t relinquish via his score with 17:32 to play.
Howden added an empty-net power-play goal as the final horn sounded.
Learn from winning
One game down in the series. Looks as if things might be closer than some imagined against the Wild.
But Cassidy’s team is that betting favorite for a reason. And he knows how he wants his side — which set an NHL record this season for fewest penalties taken over 82 games — to compete.
“Play with your hands and work above the puck and be competitive on pucks and work your ass off to keep it out of the net, whatever that entails,” Cassidy said. “Put things behind you in a hurry. It’s not going to be perfect. Just play your game and let it come to you. Learn from it and move on.”
That’s what the Knights will do from Game 1.
Always better to learn from a victory.
Ed Graney, a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for sports column writing, can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com. He can be heard on “The Press Box,” ESPN Radio 100.9 FM and 1100 AM, from 7 to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday. Follow @edgraney on X.
