This is it: Golden Knights begin first round series with Mammoth
Derek Hegna
Host · Writer
Today has been the day the Vegas Golden Knights have circled on their calendars.
On Sunday, two of the three youngest NHL teams square off when the Golden Knights kick off their playoff run against the Utah Mammoth.
Venue: T-Mobile Arena, Paradise, NV
Date: Sunday, April 19
Time: 7:00 pm PST
How To Watch: ESPN+, SCRIPPS
Radio: 1340 AM, 94.7 FM
The storyline for the series is quite simple to boil down: a young upstart with exciting talent across the lineup taking on a group of battle-tested veterans who know what it takes to win the Stanley Cup. In a season with a fair number of trials and tribulations, the Golden Knights still earned their fifth Pacific Division title in their nine-year history. In their eight postseason trips so far, Vegas has failed to get out of the first round only twice, so history is on their side in that regard against a Mammoth team that is relatively lacking in playoff experience (their last visit to the playoffs was as the Arizona Coyotes in the 2020 COVID bubble.)
With everything now on the line every game, here is how the Golden Knights can get started on the right foot in the playoffs.
Notice the pattern
In the three games that officially started the playoffs yesterday, only the Minnesota Wild’s 6-1 trouncing of the Dallas Stars broke from the standard script.
The Carolina Hurricanes and Ottawa Senators, followed by the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers, featured tight checking and quality goaltending as the differences. Whether it was nerves or the standard playoff hockey experience, that is the kind of game the Golden Knights need to prepare for against the Mammoth. Shot suppression and forechecking have always been a part of their identity, and it will have to be more than ever now.
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On Friday, fans got a glimpse of what John Tortorella is doing as he tinkers with the lineup.
Mitch Marner is now back on the wing with Jack Eichel and Mark Stone, putting three of the Golden Knights’ biggest offensive threats all on the same line. Ivan Barbashev, who typically is on the left wing with Eichel and Stone, will be with Pavel Dorofeyev and Brett Howden to begin the playoffs, while William Karlsson’s pending inclusion at some point in the playoffs could throw a wrench into the middle six. Despite winning seven of eight games since Tortorella took over for Bruce Cassidy behind the Vegas bench, the veteran head coach is still looking to make changes now and have time to iron out the kinks instead of having to scramble for answers later.
Hart of a champion
The biggest storyline of all for the Golden Knights heading into the playoffs is whether Carter Hart can continue his torrid pace.
Since returning the lineup on April 2, Hart has played like a goaltender possessed, producing a 1.67 goals against average and .925 save percentage in the six games he has played. That stretch has earned him the right to start Game One, but the postseason brings a whole new dimension of pressure. With expectations riding heavily on Hart’s shoulders, his performance from this point forward will be what defines the Golden Knights in the weeks ahead.
