LAS VEGAS – We are closing in on a decade since the Golden Knights played their first-ever games, in the fall of 2017, and still one can see plenty of Nevada hockey fans coming to games wearing the number 29 sweater of current Wild goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, from his time with Vegas.
After Tuesday’s morning skate at T-Mobile Arena, Jon Merrill joked that not as many Nevada hockey fans still wear his jersey from the 140 games the Wild defenseman played for Vegas around that same era. After watching the first four playoff games from the press box, Merrill was back in the Wild lineup for Game 5, after coach John Hynes opted for his experience over the rookie promise of Zeev Buium.
Merrill, 33, admitted it was heartbreaking to come out of the lineup at the start of the playoffs after logging 70 regular season games, but said that he was excited to be back on the ice and to be part of the Wild’s plan to re-capture home ice advantage.
“We play to win and not to lose. Go after them, stay aggressive,” Merrill said. “That’s been the difference in the series is our aggressiveness on the forecheck. So we’ll come out swinging tonight.”
Hynes made it clear that Buium’s healthy scratch for Game 5 was an acknowledgement of the Wild’s needs in Game 5 and not any kind of long-term change, but admitted that there has been a learning curve from the speed of the college game to the NHL pace, most notably in terms of opportunities to shoot the puck.
“I think there’s been times, maybe when he could trigger and is maybe used to having just a little bit more time and space than he does, where you’ve got to almost trigger right away when there’s a lane there,” Hynes said. “I think there’s other times where the shot lanes haven’t been there and to his credit, he hasn’t just shot the puck to shoot the puck.”
Familiarity breeds faceoffs
According to one NHL numbers-crunching website, the Wild were 28th out of the league’s 32 teams in faceoff win percentage, at 47.11 percent, during the regular season. Since starting with possession of the puck is a vital first step toward scoring goals, that’s a key number that can spell success in the regular season and in the playoffs.
While they had still lost more faceoffs than they had won in the first four postseason games, the Wild’s numbers are improving, and Hynes credited part of that to the fact that you’re playing the same team each night, and getting to know their faceoff men.
“I think it’s really digging in and understanding the importance of it,” Hynes said. “Sometimes it’s easier too when you’re not playing this center and that center and this center. … For the most part, there’s four guys you’re going against in a series.”
Hynes said the extra time against the same four Vegas centers over the course of a series allows Wild centers to study tendencies and learn what tactics might work best against a particular player.
Control your weapons
Penalties have become more of a factor in this series over the course of the first four games. Vegas was the least-penalized team in NHL history during the regular season, and officials for the most part let both teams play in the first few games.
The Wild got a big power play goal in Game 3, and they had an overtime power play in Game 4. The Knights tied the game late in a four-minute power play in Game 4, after Buium caught Vegas forward Mark Stone in the face with a high stick. Hynes said that penalties are going to happen, but the Wild can help themselves in the final two or three games of this series by keeping themselves under control.
“I think we want to retain the competitive nature that we played with. I think there’s some penalties – you know, we have some high sticks. We’ve got to control our sticks more. Obviously we had a too many men, so I think there’s some things in our control that we need to be a little bit aware of and better, and normally we are.”
Related Articles
During Wild’s injury woes, Matt Boldy blocked out the noise
Wild’s Marcus Foligno has been at his best in the playoffs
Even after tough loss, Hynes’ confidence in Wild remains unshakable
Buium’s penalty part of the learning curve for Wild rookie
John Shipley: Wild’s penalty kill has been a series killer for too long
Leave a Reply