Stanley Cup Playoffs 2019: Sharks vs. Golden Knights preview and prediction
Vegas Golden Knights
Year number two of the Vegas Golden Knights will look to finish the job that they could not last season. This iteration of the Vegas Golden Knights is actually better on paper than the team that won the Pacific division last year before going all the way to the Stanley Cup Final, but they’re going to need that and every ounce of magic that they can to repeat last years success.
The Golden Knights finished third in the Pacific division with 93 points, technically their worst regular season in history.
Vegas is no longer counting magic to take them far this postseason, and they’ve loaded with an even stronger team that’s built for sustainable success. The offseason acquisitions of Max Pacioretty and Paul Stastny was an immeditate improvement from the departures of James Neal and David Perron, and their overall offense showed it.
However it was the blockbuster addition of budding superstar Mark Stone at the trade deadline has pushed Vegas over the top into being true Stanley Cup contenders, and they have proven that every step of the way since the trade deadline with a top six to be reckoned with. Since the trade deadline, Vegas went on a heater for an 10-1-1 run, before limping to the finish with a 1-5-2 stretch with Fleury sidelined with a lower body injury.
The real strength of Vegas lies with their goaltender, Marc Andre Fleury. Fleury is the backbone of this Vegas roster, and if he regresses, the whole thing might fall apart. He posted another potential Vezina candidacy season .913 save percentage and eight shutouts. Fleury was the biggest reason Vegas went to the Finals last season, and also the reason why they lost once he took a step back in said Final.
Their vaunted first line of Jonathan Marchesault, William Karlsson, and Reilly Smith re-found their scoring touch from last year, and are heating up at the right time alongside all the new found acquisitions that make up Vegas’s depth now. Their defense may lack star power, but it is deep, and with Fleury in net, they have what it takes to go far.
X-Factor
Max Pacioretty has been hot and cold with the Golden Knights this season since being acquired from the Montreal Canadiens in the offseason. In 66 games this season, Pacioretty posted 22 goals and 18 assists for 40 points. Good, but Vegas was hoping for a lot more when they signed him to a $28M extension for the next four seasons. If Pacioretty can back to the 60-70 point pace that he was on a few years ago in Montreal, it’ll add yet another layer to Vegas’s already deep offense.
Prediction
This is the premier series to watch in the first round, simply because the only thing we know for sure is that it’s going to be a bloodbath. These teams do not like each other one bit, and it will get nasty right from puck drop in Game 1. Whoever does emerge from this series when the dust settles will not be doing so unscathed.
This series is the very definition of a coin flip. Either one of these teams can make a strong case for being Stanley Cup favorites, and it’s a shame that one of them will have to be gone in the first round. All of the pressure is on San Jose to win now however, while Vegas has plenty of years of competition after this.
There are several factors that go into this series. Now that the Sharks are fully healthy, they might look completely different than what we’ve seen over the last several weeks and overwhelm Vegas with their offense. On the other hand, Vegas has beaten the brakes off San Jose multiple times in their short history, and will win any shootout if the Sharks try to go toe to toe.
With how many goals are likely to scored, this series may just come down to getting a save or two when you need it most, and that’s where the biggest mismatch of this series lies. Fleury has no questions about him heading into this series, while the Sharks pray for divine intervention with Jones.
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Expect goals, and lots of them. It’s hair splittingly close, but I think Vegas will come up big when it matter most. There is too much doubt about the Sharks ability heading into this postseason, while Vegas has looked poised for another run. Their play style of coming at you in waves has worked well against the Sharks in the past, and will eventually overwhelm them in what will be the best series of this first round.
Golden Knights over Sharks in seven games
The series will begin with game one, taking place on Wednesday, Apr.10, at the SAP Center in San Jose at 10:30 pm ET.