Game 6 is an important contest for both teams. Vegas wins, they go on to their second conference finals in three years. Vancouver wins, it goes to the all important win or go home.
Here’s how the projected lines for the Vegas Golden Knights and Vancouver Canucks play out tonight
Vegas Golden Knights Lines and Defencive Pairings
Max Pacioretty — William Karlsson — Mark Stone
Jonathan Marchessault — Paul Stastny — Reilly Smith
Nick Cousins — Nicolas Roy — Alex Tuch
William Carrier — Chandler Stephenson — Ryan Reaves
Alec Martinez — Shea Theodore
Brayden McNabb — Nate Schmidt
Nick Holden — Zach Whitecloud
Robin Lehner
Marc-Andre Fleury
Scratched: Patrick Brown, Dylan Coghlan, Oscar Dansk, Reid Duke, Deryk Engelland, Nicolas Hague, Keegan Kolesar, Peyton Krebs, Jon Merrill, Gage Quinney
Unfit to play: Tomas Nosek
Vancouver Canucks Lines and Defencive Pairings
J.T. Miller — Elias Pettersson — Brock Boeser
Tanner Pearson — Bo Horvat — Tyler Toffoli
Antoine Roussel — Adam Gaudette — Brandon Sutter
Tyler Motte — Jay Beagle — Jake Virtanen
Alexander Edler — Troy Stecher
Quinn Hughes — Christopher Tanev
Oscar Fantenberg — Tyler Myers
Thatcher Demko
Louis Domingue
Scratched: Olli Juolevi, Justin Bailey, Jalen Chatfield, Tyler Graovac, Brogan Rafferty, Loui Eriksson, Jordie Benn, Jake Kielly
Unfit to play: Micheal Ferland, Josh Leivo, Jacob Markstrom, Michael DiPietro
1st Period Analysis and Summary
Vancouver was getting the shots off early and often early on and that proved to work as the Canucks would strike first.
Jake Virtanen got his second goal of the postseason at 2:50 with Tyler Motte earning his first assist of the postseason.
Vegas goes to the penalty kill early with Max Pacioretty going to the penalty box on a holding call at 3:28.
Vancouver is called for their own penalty when Bo Horvat is called for Holding at 10:01.
Vancouver ends the first period on a delayed hooking penalty hooking by Oscar Fantenberg with the Canucks up 1-0.
| VAN Goal | Jake Virtanen (2) | Assisted by | Tyler Motte (1) | 2:50 | |
| VGK Penalty | Max Pacioretty | for | Holding | 2 min minor | 3:28 |
| VAN Penalty | Bo Horvat | for | Holding | 2 min minor | 10:01 |
| VAN Penalty | Oscar Fantenberg | for | Hooking | 2 min minor | 20:00 |
1st Period Stats
| Vegas Golden Knights | Vancouver Canucks | |
| Faceoffs | 10 for 20 | 10 for 20 |
| Power Play | 0 for 2 (VGK starts 2nd period on PP) | 0 for 1 |
| Shots | 9 | 8 |
| Hits | 19 | 10 |
2nd Period Analysis and Summary
Puck possession on both sides was key for both squads as the period began would remain a constant focal point for the first seven minutes of game play.
The Golden Knights went on their second penalty kill when William Carrier goes to the box for Holding the stick at 8:26. Vancouver went on their third penalty kill when Alexander Edler is shown the box for a Delay of game penalty for hitting the puck over the glass at 11:54. Vancouver went on their fourth penalty kill when Tyler Myers was called for Tripping at 15:03.
In order for Vancouver to win this contest, they need to remain out of the box. For the Golden Knights, they are going to have to create chaos in front of the Canucks net. Just before the penalty ends, a Golden Knights shot would ring right off the crossbar and a second after the penalty ends, Tyler Myers, has a breakaway but Robin Lehner would the save.
The second period comes to an end with the Vancouver still ahead 1-0.
| VGK Penalty | William Carrier | for | Holding the stick | 2 min minor | 8:26 |
| VAN Penalty | Alexander Edler | for | Delay of Game-Puck over Glass | 2 min minot | 11:54 |
| VAN Penalty | Tyler Myers | for | Tripping | 2 min minot | 15:03 |
2nd Period Stats
| Vegas Golden Knights | Vancouver Canucks | |
| Faceoffs | 15 for 39 | 24 for 39 |
| Power Play | 0 for 4 | 0 for 2 |
| Shots | 26 | 15 |
| Hits | 27 | 19 |
3rd Period Analysis and Summary
J.T. Miller strikes 1:03 in the third and gives the Canucks the 2-0 advantage. The goal is Miller’s sixth in the postseason.
Vegas goes on the penalty kill when Paul Stastny is called for Hooking at 1:34.
Vancouver has another breakaway attempt but the shot is blocked by Lehner midway through the period and Vegas does their best to maintain puck control until matching penalties are doled out for roughing at 7:52. Nick Cousins and Troy Stecher are the two in the penalty box.
24 seconds later, Quinn Hughes scores to give Vancouver the commanding 3-0 lead.
Troy Stecher heads back to the box after he is whistled for a tripping call although in replays it can be shown that the penalty should be issued to J.T. Miller. Upon review, J.T. Miller is now in fact the one issued the penalty.
With less the six minutes in regulation, Vegas brings out the extra attacker to get some life for the Golden Knights as Robin Lehner is pulled.
At 15:22, Bo Horvat scores his 10th goal in the postseason as Vancouver extends the lead to 4-0. Robin Lehner is now back in net for the Golden Knights.
Vegas’ Brayden McNabb hits Vancouver’s Jake Virtanen hard into the boards and Virtanen looks to be alright but took a bit to get up. Vegas goes on the penalty kill when Nick Cousins is called for Cross checking at 19:23, which is served by William Carrier. Cousins would also be dealt a 10-minute game misconduct, ending his night early.
Vancouver on the power play with 37 seconds remaining shuts out Vegas and forces a win or go home scenario later on tonight.
| VAN Goal | J.T. Miller (2) | Assisted by | Quinn Hughes (14) | 1:03 | |
| VGK Penalty | Hooking | 2 min minor | 1:34 | ||
| VAN Penalty | Roughing | 2 min minor | 7:52 | ||
| VGK Penalty | Roughing | 2 min minor | 7:52 | ||
| VAN Goal | Quinn Hughes (2) | Assisted by | J.T. Miller (12) | Christopher Tanev (6) | 8:16 |
| VAN Penalty | Interference | 2 min minor | 10:09 | ||
| VAN Goal | Bo Horvat (10) | Assisted by | Tanner Pearson (4) | Brandon Sutter (5) | 15:22 |
| VGK Penalty | Nick Cousins for | Cross-checking | (served by William Carrier) | 2 min minor | 19:23 |
| VGK Penalty | Nick Cousins | for | Misconduct | 10 min | 19:23 |
3rd Period Stats
| Vegas Golden Knights | Vancouver Canucks | |
| Faceoffs | 23 for 57 | 34 for 57 |
| Power Play | 0 for 5 | 0 for 4 |
| Shots | 48 | 23 |
| Hits | 43 | 26 |
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