After a nailbiter of a series against the St. Louis Blues, the Vancouver Canucks have come out on top and are off to the second round.
Matching up against the Vegas Golden Knights will be no small feat. Since Vegas came into the league three years ago, the two teams have played 10 times.
Vancouver has gone 2-7-1 in those games allowing 4.5 GA/gm and scoring only 2.6 GF/gm. The Golden Knights made quick work of the Chicago Blackhawks in the opening series stomping them out of the post-season in five games.
Led offensively by Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone, Vegas is a deep club and arguably one of the best in the league. That added into the fact they’ve historically had Vancouver’s number means it’s going to be a tough series for the Canucks.
With that being said, Vancouver is running on all cylinders right now after an impressive series win over the defending Stanley Cup Champions.
The offensive firepower of Elias Pettersson, J.T. Miller and Quinn Hughes has been on full display with each scoring a point per game + in these playoffs. Bo Horvat and Brock Boeser have each scored eight points while a long list of other contributors are scoring timely goals for the Canucks.
Tonight’s game one will be crucial for the series and if Vancouver has hopes of winning this series, this evening is a great time to set the tempo for what should be an entertaining time.
TV/Radio/Puck drop
SN / SN 650 / 7:30 p.m.
Odds
The odds for tonight’s game are: VAN +160/ VGK -180 courtesy of OddsShark.com
Lineups
Lineups courtesy of dailyfaceoff.com
With how Travis Green has had his lines in a blender, this is an early look at what we may see to kick things off. Who knows what will happen when the puck drops.
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 J.T. MILLER Rating: 78.5#7 LW |  ELIAS PETTERSSON Rating: 77.7#14 C |  BROCK BOESER Rating: 74.1#41 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 76.78#10 FL1 |
 TANNER PEARSON Rating: 73.7#38 LW |  BO HORVAT Rating: 74.8#34 C |  LOUI ERIKSSON Rating: 69.7#123 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 72.73#25 FL2 |
 ANTOINE ROUSSEL Rating: 71.0#97 LW |  ADAM GAUDETTE Rating: 70.2#130 C |  BRANDON SUTTER Rating: 70.1#131 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 70.44#26 FL3 |
 TYLER MOTTE Rating: 68.8#144 LW |  JAY BEAGLE Rating: 68.4#163 C |  JAKE VIRTANEN Rating: 72.0#78 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 69.73#22 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 ALEXANDER EDLER Rating: 74.3#26 LD |  TROY STECHER Rating: 71.9#63 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 73.11#23 DL1 |
 QUINN HUGHES Rating: 75.2#15 LD |  CHRIS TANEV Rating: 71.0#90 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 73.12#16 DL2 |
 OSCAR FANTENBERG Rating: 70.9#100 LD |  JORDIE BENN Rating: 70.9#101 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 70.90#26 DL3 |
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 MAX PACIORETTY Rating: 81.1#2 LW |  WILLIAM KARLSSON Rating: 76.6#23 C |  MARK STONE Rating: 79.8#5 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 79.18#4 FL1 |
 JONATHAN MARCHESSAULT Rating: 75.5#22 LW |  PAUL STASTNY Rating: 74.8#36 C |  REILLY SMITH Rating: 76.8#17 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 75.71#3 FL2 |
 NICK COUSINS Rating: 71.9#91 LW |  NICOLAS ROY Rating: 72.9#59 C |  ALEX TUCH Rating: 73.4#49 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 72.71#6 FL3 |
 WILL CARRIER Rating: 70.3#116 LW |  CHANDLER STEPHENSON Rating: 71.5#101 C |  RYAN REAVES Rating: 70.5#106 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 70.75#12 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 BRAYDEN MCNABB Rating: 73.1#55 LD |  NATE SCHMIDT Rating: 75.5#18 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 74.31#16 DL1 |
 ALEC MARTINEZ Rating: 73.3#50 LD |  SHEA THEODORE Rating: 78.2#5 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 75.73#2 DL2 |
 NICK HOLDEN Rating: 74.4#24 LD |  ZACH WHITECLOUD Rating: 73.5#35 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 73.95#3 DL3 |
The numbers
5v5 playoff numbers c/o Natural Stat Trick | Vancouver Canucks | Vegas Golden Knights |
CF% | 45.69 | 59.53 |
GF% | 64.52 | 59.46 |
xGF% | 45.70 | 62.82 |
PDO | 105.2 | 99.7 |
PP% | 26.2 | 19.1 |
PK% | 81 | 86.4 |
