2021 Stanley Cup Semifinals Game 2
Montreal Canadiens @ Vegas Golden Knights
VGK leads 1-0
How to watch
Start time: 9:00 PM EDT / 6:00 PM PDT
In Canada: CBC, Sportsnet (English), TVA Sports (French)
In the U.S.: NBCSN
Streaming: NHL.tv/NHL Live, Sportsnet Now
After a good start, the Canadiens slowly lost control of Game 1 to the Golden Knights, specifically their defence corps which was using creativity in the offensive zone to rack up goals on the scoreboard. Just protecting the slot won’t be enough to slow down the home team, so the Habs need to alter their approach.
There might be help arriving for them, but we won’t know if that’s the case until the warmup begins 30 minutes before the game. There are four players, chief among them Jeff Petry, who are all options to play, but it’s still possible that the Canadiens have to run the same lineup as Game 1.
If that’s the case, they need more contributions from everyone not on Nick Suzuki’s line. The forwards are going to be critical in preventing plays at the top of their own zone and getting things headed back toward Marc-Andre Fleury. They also need to stick to the breakout plan that proved completely dominant against the Winnipeg Jets, with forwards closely supporting their defence when possession is regained, and not resorting to stretch passes as they did in the second half of Game 1.
Those are all simple changes to make, and if the Canadiens execute them they will have a fair shot at claiming home-ice advantage in the series with a split at T-Mobile Arena.
Looks like #Vegas will record the #hottest temperature ever during an @NHL game. 🥵
(Previous record: 42°) #GoHabsGo @CanadiensMTL pic.twitter.com/gxGTETWnso— Lori Graham (@LGrahamCTV) June 16, 2021
Montreal Canadiens projected lineup
Forwards
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| Artturi Lehkonen | Phillip Danault | Brendan Gallagher |
| Tyler Toffoli | Nick Suzuki | Cole Caufield |
| Paul Byron | Jesperi Kotkaniemi | Josh Anderson |
| Joel Armia | Eric Staal | Corey Perry |
Defencemen
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| Joel Edmundson | Jeff Petry |
| Ben Chiarot | Shea Weber |
| Erik Gustafsson | Jon Merrill |
Goaltenders
| Starter | Backup |
|---|---|
| Carey Price | Jake Allen |
Scratches
F: Alex Belzile, Laurent Dauphin, Michael Frolik, Tomas Tatar, Lukas Vejdemo, Jesse Ylönen
D: Cale Fleury, Brett Kulak, Xavier Ouellet, Alexander Romanov
G: Charlie Lindgren, Michael McNiven, Cayden Primeau
Injured/Ill
F: Jonathan Drouin (leave of absence), Jake Evans (concussion)
Vegas Golden Knights projected lineup
Forwards
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| Max Pacioretty | Nicolas Roy | Mark Stone |
| Jonathan Marchessault | William Karlsson | Reilly Smith |
| Dylan Sikura | Mattias Janmark | Alex Tuch |
| William Carrier | Keegan Kolesar | Ryan Reaves |
Defencemen
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| Alec Martinez | Alex Pietrangelo |
| Brayden McNabb | Shea Theodore |
| Nick Holden | Zach Whitecloud |
Goaltenders
| Starter | Backup |
|---|---|
| Marc-Andre Fleury | Robin Lehner |
