Kings at Golden Knights
The Vegas Golden Knights set one record after another in a captivating inaugural season and the team showed it was not about to blink under the bright lights of the postseason. The Golden Knights made an early goal stand up in a 1-0 victory over Los Angeles and looks to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series Friday night against the visiting Kings, who will be without one of their elite players.
Los Angeles will try to level the series without its top defenseman after Drew Doughty was suspended one game by the NHL on Thursday for an illegal hit to the head of Vegas forward William Carrier. "I mean, he's the best defenseman in the League," Kings forward Dustin Brown said after learning of Doughty's punishment. "So it's a huge hole." The knock on the Golden Knights was how they would stand up to the tighter, physical style of the playoffs, but the Pacific Division champions prevailed in a tense duel that featured a staggering 127 hits. "It's another first for our organization, it's a big playoff game and I love the way our team responded," Vegas coach Gerard Gallant said.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, CBC, TVAS, Prime Ticket (Los Angeles), AT&T Sportsnet-Rocky Mountain (Las Vegas)
ABOUT THE KINGS: The suspension of 2016 Norris Trophy winner Doughty is a massive blow for Los Angeles, robbing the team of a player who established career highs this season with 50 assists and 60 points and who routinely plays huge minutes (28:02 in Game 1). Complicating matters for the Kings is the absence of fellow blue-liner Jake Muzzin, who has been sidelined since March 26 and skated Thursday wearing a non-contact jersey. "I have not talked to the trainers since he skated today," coach John Stevens said of Muzzin after practice. "I think every day he’s getting closer, but what that means, I’m not sure yet."
ABOUT THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS: One player on the roster with ample playoff experience is goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, and he stood tall in the series opener by turning aside 30 shots to register his 11th career postseason shutout. “He was great,” said defenseman Shea Theodore, who netted the only goal. “(Fleury) was solid all night and it’s good to have a confident guy like that in front of the net, and he’s fun to play in front of. He’s a playoff guy and has tons of experience. That’s something that will help us out throughout this playoff run.” Carrier, who delivered a game-high 10 hits before he was leveled by Doughty, is listed as day-to-day.
OVERTIME
1. Los Angeles' top-ranked penalty kill has snuffed out all 16 power-play chances by Vegas this season.
2. Theodore had two goals and eight points in 14 playoff games with Anaheim last season
3. Doughty has played at least 25:50 in all five meetings versus the Golden Knights.