Who should the Montreal Canadiens Hope to Play in the Semifinals?
Montreal Canadiens vs. Vegas Golden Knights
Despite their brief history, the Vegas Golden Knights have been constructed into one of the league’s most dominant forces. They have already reached the playoff semifinals in two of their three seasons thus far, including a trip to the Stanley Cup finals in 2018, where they fell to the Washington Capitals in five games.
Similar to the Canadiens, the Golden Knights rely on their future hall-of-fame goaltender, fierce top-four defence unit, and tenacious depth to impose their will on opponents each year. It wouldn’t be irrational to think of Vegas as the Montreal Canadiens on steroids.
The Golden Knights have been built on a strong even-strength play – another strong suit of the Canadiens. However, with the rise of the Canadiens’ special units, they could have the edge in close games as Vegas has seen themselves ranked in the bottom third of all playoff teams thus far, with either a man up or a man down.
Despite their lack of special teams prowess, Vegas has done to the Avalanche what Montreal did to the Leafs and Jets through five games – stifling the Av’s superstars and frustrating the team’s key players.
In doing so, the Golden Knights have dominated the Avalanche at even strength, something no other team has been able to do over the past two seasons. If it weren’t for the Av’s potent powerplay unit, the series could have been already captured by the Golden Knights, who own a 3-2 series lead heading back to Vegas for Game 6.
The Golden Knights seem to have the perfect combination of size, speed, and skill – ultimately giving them the edge in their series with Colorado thus far. To add to their on-ice performance, the Golden Knights play in the hostile T-Mobile arena, which is currently playing host to around 18,000 fans in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Playing in the North division all year, the Canadiens have yet to deal with more than 550 fans while playing away from home. This transition could prove difficult for the Canadiens who will need to lean on a strong start out the gates if they want to take down either of the Western division powerhouses that await them in Round 3.
Despite it being a home-ice advantage for the Golden Knights, however, a rowdy building in Vegas could be extra motivation for the Canadiens as they could potentially enjoy a packed building for the first time in over a year.
Although the fans will provide additional energy, the Canadiens will ultimately need to focus on their play above all if they are going to have a chance to take down the mighty Golden Knights.