Knights on Ice — The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight Creates Demko Redux

The Canucks avoided elimination once again with a 4-0 victory in Game 6 last night. Coupled with Tuesday’s 2-1 victory, Vancouver has climbed back into the series and has now forced a deciding Game 7 tonight.

Teams that win Games 5 and 6 after trailing a series 3-1 are 29-28 (50.%) in winning a best-of-7 Stanley Cup playoff series. If these past numbers hold true, Vancouver is a favorite to win the game tonight. It’s scary to think that this is even a possibility.

Thatcher Demko was the story of the game, just like he was in Game 5 when he stopped 42 of the 43 shots that he faced. Last night, he stopped all 48 shots that the VGK shot directly at him. Vancouver also blocked 21 shots. Demko has made saves on 90 of the 91 shots that Vegas has taken in the last 2 games that actually got to him.

But before we rave about how great Demko has been, let’s not forget that the VGK combined for so many missed shots that they really did look like “The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight.” There was no save that Demko made last night that had me exclaiming, OMG! How did he make that save? What I did say, more than a few times, was that Demko will need a new sweater to wear for Game 7. The Vancouver logo is smudged with about 45 black puck marks, as the Vegas shooters found a way to have most of their shots hit him square in the chest.

Demko, who made 42 saves in his first NHL postseason start in Game 5, is the first rookie goalie with a shutout in the playoffs for the Canucks. The 24-year-old made 17 saves in the second period and 22 in the third. He has made 66 consecutive saves since allowing a goal by Shea Theodore at 15:12 of the second period in Game 5.

The Golden Knights have gone 0-for-7 on the power play the past two games, including 0-for-5 last night.

The VGK have scored 1 goal in the last 2 games where they could have closed out a series. Totally unacceptable. It’s impossible to win 2 games, and almost impossible to win even one, when you score only 1 goal. In the last 7 games where they could have closed out a series, the VGK are an embarrassing 1-6. This is not the record of a team that’s supposed to be a favorite to win the Stanley Cup.

Vancouver was the team that had a lot of energy from the drop of the puck last night. The first 2 minutes of the game were all Vancouver. They were like bees swarming all over the Knights’ defensive zone.

But then things changed. Vancouver had the first 6 shots before Vegas got one to the logo on Demko’s sweater. The VGK then had 8 of the next 10 shots, but it wasn’t going to matter; Demko clearly saw most, if not all, of them. None of the VGK even attempted to take away his eyes. In fact, he didn’t have to fight to see any of the 48 shots that he faced.

Vancouver’s game plan is clear: Keep Vegas away from the front of the net. Give them all the shots they want to take from the outside. Vancouver forwards will either block the shots and or give Demko a clean view, while keeping the Vegas forwards away from the dirty area just in front of the blue paint. Vancouver is content to play rope-a-dope. They didn’t even have a shot of Lehner in the last 14 minutes of the first period.

If Vegas doesn’t create traffic in front of Demko and get into the dirty area where greasy goals are scored, their season will end just like it did last year in San Jose. This will be 2 years in a row blowing a 3-1 series lead.

Vegas cannot expect to beat Vancouver and Demko shooting from the outside. Shots from the perimeter may look good in padding the shot totals, but goaltenders at this level for the most part will not be beaten. When was the last time Vegas scored a greasy goal or one that came from just outside the blue paint? Yes, it’s the area for which you’ll pay dearly with bumps and bruises if you camp out there. Vegas has decided to play soft, almost overlooking Vancouver, which has now created this win-or-go-home scenario. Vancouver is playing with house money, while Vegas is now playing with the rent that was due on Sept 1. And the eviction notice is about to be taped to their locker-room door.

Everyone wants to know who will be in net tonight. I wish I could tell you. I believe DeBoer has put himself into a sticky situation after going with Lehner last night instead of Fleury. Since they lost Game 6, how does he justify not going back to Lehner in Game 7? He’s clearly stated he plays whoever he feels gives the team the best chance to win. Through his lineup choices, he believes Lehner is better than Fleury.

But what will be the fallout if he plays Lehner in Game 7, leaving Fleury on the bench? If he does and, God forbid, they lose Game 7, in my opinion, Marc-André Fleury will never play another game as a VGK. The damage done will be beyond repair. The only way to save this from imploding before our disbelieving eyes is to win tonight’s game and save whatever small possibility still exists of keeping Fleury in Las Vegas where he’s supposed to end his career.

My 3 Stars of the Game: Thatcher Demko (stopped all 48 shots last night and 90 of the last 91 VGK shots to get this series to a Game 7), Jake Virtanen (GWG 2:50 into the game, all that was needed), the Vancouver game plan (keeping Vegas away from the front of the net, making life for the rookie Demko easy).

Game 7 at 6 PM tonight for all of the marbles and for a few jobs. It will be broadcast on NBC Sports Network Channel 220 on Direct TV

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Virtanen game-winner

Big glove save by Lehner