Are you ready?
I SAID, "ARE. YOU. READY??"
"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of ALL ages. Kelly McCrimmon proudly brings to you, the Pacific Division champions of the WOOOOOORLD, your Vegas Golden Knights!"
It's time for the Stanley Cup playoffs and Vegas Golden Knights fans are excited. Add in the excitement of WrestleMania 41 (bonus if you know the WWE reference) and Las Vegas is once again the sports hotspot.
Of course, only one of these events is sticking around for a year. You can bet McCrimmon doesn't want the Stanley Cup playoffs to be a mere one-off. He's built this roster to compete for the Stanley Cup for years to come. That means a bolstered power play thanks to Tomas Hertl (14 goals) and the emergence of an elite Jack Eichel (94 points). All of this will make opponents... Rest. In. Peace.
The Golden Knights will kick off their Stanley Cup journey with Game 1 against the Minnesota Wild on Sunday. T-Mobile Arena will be the place to be for a week. WWE and a hockey series between Vegas and Minnesota. What more could you ask for?
With the playoff festivities kicking off on Sunday, it's time to deliver the predictions. These picks are as hard-hitting as a John Cena Attitude Adjustment, pinning the opponent for the three-count. What do the experts at Vegas Hockey Knight think about the upcoming series? Will the Golden Knights have their hands full with the Wild? Or will they give Minnesota a Stone Cold Stunner? Let's break down the series and see where it'll lead.
BREAK IT DOWN!
Brian Ault: Golden Knights in 6
On paper, the Vegas Golden Knights are clearly the better team on both sides of the ice. They're deeper offensively, and far more experienced defensively than the Minnesota Wild. We saw this play out in the three wins this season where they outscored the Wild in the third 7-1.
Two things make me hesitate to think, along with the rest of the hockey world, that this will be an easy five-game series. The first is the fact that they drove Vegas in the first round to a seventh game four years ago after going down 3-1 in that series. The other is Filip Gustavsson.
Gustavsson was third in the NHL this season in save percentage, goals allowed, and total saves. Even with his off-and-on play to end the year, that's a combination that is more than capable of stealing a game or two in this series. Ultimately, if this series is even a tenth of what we saw back on Dec. 15th in Minneapolis, it's gonna be one of the more supremely entertaining first-round series this year.
Jacob Walters: Golden Knights in 5
This series could hinge on how much of an impact Kirill Kaprizov, Marco Rossi, and Joel Eriksson Ek have. These are three players that could put a dent in the Vegas Golden Knights in the first round. Plus, you have Filip Gustavsson, who's a solid goaltender for the Minnesota Wild...
...And that's about it for the compliments. The Wild are as good on special teams as John Fisher is at making fans happy. There also isn't much forward depth for Minnesota. They must rely on those three players plus Matt Boldy to score goals. It's as painful as watching the Vikings trying to reach the Super Bowl.
This should be a series the Golden Knights win easily. They have the firepower, the head coach, and the system necessary to defeat the Wild with ease. Plus, everybody is healthy heading into the series, which is a promising sign for Las Vegans. You have a fully-functioning power play again and your penalty kill is constantly improving. This has the makings of a squash match for Vegas.
