Golden Knights confident same effort will prevail in Game 7
The Golden Knights’ plan for Game 7: Play like they did in Game 6.
The Knights lost 2-1 in double overtime Sunday to extend their first-round playoff series against the Sharks, but the team wants to bring that same effort to Tuesday’s deciding game.
“Game 7, that’s fun,” center Cody Eakin said. “We’ll be playing the same way. In a game like that, you need one good bounce.”
It’s hard to blame the Knights for sticking to their game plan even after a loss. Their forecheck was working — as evidenced by their 59-29 edge in shots on goal and 111-63 advantage in shot attempts at even strength — they took a series-low two penalties, they won 56 percent of the faceoffs and they outhit the Sharks 80-39.
Despite the loss, coach Gerard Gallant struggled to come up with a single aspect of the game he didn’t like.
“Nothing,” he said. “(Except) the final score.”
The Knights, of course, can’t bottle that performance and take it with them to the SAP Center, but they’ve played well in that arena before. They’re 5-3-2 all-time in San Jose (3-3 in the playoffs) and they and the Sharks each scored 32 goals total in those matchups.
The Knights also eliminated the Sharks in Game 6 last year at SAP Center 3-0 to advance to the Western Conference Final.
“We like our game on the road, for sure,” defenseman Brayden McNabb said. “We’ve got to keep it simple. We’ve got to make sure we have a good start and go from there. We played an awesome game, we’ve just got to carry it over.”
Tuesday will be the first Game 7 in franchise history for the Knights, but they’re confident they can handle the pressure of those uncharted waters.
“We’ve got to go to Game 7 and get it done over there,” forward Jonathan Marchessault said. “We’re a confident group. We’re a great hockey team. We just have to keep going and stick with it. If we keep playing the right way like we did tonight I think we’ll get rewarded.”
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Contact reporter Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.
