Watching the New York Knicks lose all their momentum to the San Antonio Spurs in Game 4 is absolutely painful. It's akin to seeing the Vegas Golden Knights blow a 4-0 lead to take the game into double overtime. Luckily, Vegas won that game and the series is tied. But can you imagine if that happened to the Golden Knights?
SIKE! The Knicks won Game 4 miraculously. What a win for New York. Still, that raises an interesting point.
Right now, the Stanley Cup Final is dead even at two games apiece. The Golden Knights and the Hurricanes have had thrilling victories during the Stanley Cup Final, leaving fans in shock and awe. Just look at how well the ratings have panned out to see how cinematic the two teams have been so far.
But that Knicks desperation comeback should worry Golden Knights fans to the core. What happens if they blow Game 5 and let the Canes back in like they were the Knicks? We've seen what happens to the Golden Knights in the third period during the Stanley Cup Final. There's no telling how bad it could get in a key spot.
So, two things must happen for the Golden Knights to avoid this fate. These two things must happen for the Golden Knights to steal Game 5 and bring the potential clincher to T-Mobile Arena on Sunday. Here's how the Golden Knights can make it happen.
The Vegas Golden Knights must figure out how to neutralize the Carolina Hurricanes press
Look, I know that shots on goal doesn't exactly matter in this series. The Golden Knights have done a great job of finding high-danger chances and exploiting that to the maximum against the Carolina Hurricanes. But why not exploit that further and continue to attack the Hurricanes?
That means figuring out Carolina's press, starting with taking care of the puck. One thing that bugs me about the Golden Knights is that they make too many cute passes on designed plays. That leads to turnovers, which is a feast for opportunistic teams like the Hurricanes.
In fact, that has been a problem for the Golden Knights long before John Tortorella became head coach. Vegas had the eighth-highest giveaways per game during the regular season with 16.12. Take care of the puck and don't be careless with the puck. Otherwise, you'll find yourself in hot water for the remainder of the series.
The Golden Knights must watch for a few players on the Carolina Hurricanes
Obviously, there's the Jordan Staal-sized elephant in the room for the Golden Knights. The Hurricanes' captain has five goals during the Stanley Cup Final, scoring in every game. You want to neutralize him as much as possible before he takes over the series.
But you want to put immense pressure on the goaltending. Again, that goes back to figuring out the press and making Carolina's netminder uncomfortable. For Vegas, they must be patient with Brandon Bussi since he's aggressive in the net. If it's Andersen, they must get him alone on those high-danger chances and maximize Mitch Marner's line output.
You also want to attack the lower lines and win the grind battle. The Golden Knights must get physical and wear down the Hurricanes early in the game. That way, they can take over the later parts of the game, i.e., Game 3 during the overtime sessions.
