LAS VEGAS — Neither team particularly was happy following the Golden Knights’ 3-1 Game 1 victory over the Ducks.
Vegas got the win to open the second round, but realizes that is not sustainable after getting outplayed by Anaheim most of the night. On the other side, the Ducks missed a great opportunity to take the early lead in the best-of-seven playoff series.
“I think the biggest thing is we need to be honest with ourselves,” Golden Knights coach John Tortorella said. “We’ll look at some of the stuff and I think we have a better game coming up.”
That would be Game 2 in Las Vegas.
The Golden Knights would have a hard time getting away with another performance in which they were outshot 34-22 and, according to Natural Stat Trick, gave up 12 high-danger chances compared to creating six.
“I don’t think anyone in that locker room is pretty satisfied with that win,” Vegas center Mitch Marner said. “We know we can play a lot better. I don’t think we got to our (offensive) zone game at all. We gave them some good looks that (goalie) Carter (Hart) made some massive saves on. But we know we’ve got to be better. We know the series is going to get harder. That’s how it always goes.”
If not for Hart’s 33 saves, the Ducks likely would be the ones up 1-0, but Anaheim found itself in a similar spot in the opening round against Edmonton. After the Oilers won the opener 4-3, the Ducks took the next three games and eventually closed out the series in six.
Win Game 2 at Vegas and suddenly home ice advantage belongs to the Ducks.
“It’s definitely a different task at hand,” Ducks center Ryan Poehling said. “I thought we played a great game (Monday) and just using our speed throughout the series is going to kind of be what dictates how it ends up for us.”
That athleticism figured to be a big advantage for Anaheim entering the series, but the Golden Knights counter with physicality and experience. The rough play was less on display, and Tortorella said the officials made cutting down on fighting and other post-play scrums a point of emphasis this series.
If it comes down to being able to create plays in open ice, the Ducks will have the decided edge, at least if Game 1 was any indication.
“I liked how we played,” Ducks coach Joel Quenneville said. “We had a good pace to our game. I thought (Lukas Dostal) was good in net and I thought across the board we had everybody contributing. We had the energy we were looking for and there was speed and pace. We missed some great chances as well.”
Montreal Canadiens at Buffalo Sabres
The Sabres showed in their six-game series victory over Boston in the first round that they aren’t just a feel-good story. In making their first playoff appearance in 15 years, Buffalo is out to make an impact in this postseason and has the chance to knock out the NHL’s most-decorated franchise in Montreal.
“I think after this series, we kind of learned that this is just hockey,” Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin said. “The media and stuff are kind of blowing it up about playoffs and different things. But we’ve played this sport for so long.”
The Canadiens pulled off the great escape to get to this point, putting just nine shots on goal in Game 7 at Tampa Bay, but still defeated the Lightning 2-1.
“We stuck together,” Canadiens forward Josh Anderson said. “We found ways to win. I thought everyone bought into the game plan and system we were bringing each and every night.”
Now they have to do it again against a team few expected to be in this position when the season began.
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