Vegas awake, set for Game 2
Gerard Gallant and the Vegas Golden Knights still think Tom Wilson’s thirdperiod hit on Jonathan Marchessault in the Stanley Cup Final opener was too late and a bit dirty.
The coach also believes it sparked his team’s comeback victory in that Game 1 thriller.
So while he wasn’t happy to hear Wilson will face no discipline from the NHL, Gallant is hoping his team will remember the hit — and more importantly, how they played right after it — when they attempt to take a 2-0 series lead on the Washington Capitals tonight.
“The good thing about the hit is it really woke our team up,” Gallant said. “I think it was a 4-4 game?”
Indeed, two novice Stanley Cup finalists were deep into an entertainingly ramshackle opener, but Vegas took charge after that collision left Marchessault sprawled on the ice. Vegas quickly got Tomas Nosek’s go-ahead goal , eventually won 6-4 and surged one game closer to an improbable championship.
The focused aggression necessary to be a successful postseason team is a delicate concoction. The Golden Knights and Caps both had it during the conference playoffs, but they both admit it got away from them in Game 1.
“I think both teams can be better,” Washington coach Barry Trotz said. “It was a pretty sloppy game.”
Both teams intend to channel their nervous energy more constructively. Both coaches stressed the importance of discipline, completing assignments and not allowing the frenetic Vegas crowd to overwhelm their emotions.
“There’s obviously nerves,” Washington’s Jay Beagle said. “I’m not surprised at anything anymore, but in the Stanley Cup Final, usually it’s 2-1 or 1-0, not (6-4).”
The mistakes that worry coaches also lead to exciting hockey, and the opener was thoroughly entertaining. The teams combined for a Final-record four lead changes in the highest-scoring opener in eight years for this final round.
Wilson, who served a three-game suspension in the second round for breaking the jaw of Pittsburgh’s Zach Aston-Reese, and the Capitals insist the hit that leveled Vegas’ top playoff scorer was clean.
“It’s within the rules,” Wilson said. “It’s a clean hit.”
The NHL Department of Player Safety agreed when it decided not to discipline Wilson.