The room. You always hear about the room.
About guys in it with a Stanley Cup championship. About the leadership group. About the maturity.
The room.
It’s something the Vegas Golden Knights must now rely on more than ever.
The Knights on Sunday face elimination from this Stanley Cup Final, trailing Carolina 3-2 in the best-of-seven series that will continue with Game 6 at T-Mobile Arena.
And if there was ever a moment, a time, for Vegas to lean into that which delivered it to this place, it’s now.
“It’s weird,” defenseman Jeremy Lauzon said. “It’s like an energy of those guys who have been here. They make plays that change games and boost the confidence of the group. That’s very important to have.
“There are guys here who have won the Cup and lost in the Final. They know the feelings of it all. For a player like me, I’m just trying to let them lead the way and try to win Game 6 by playing our best.”
Instilling confidence
The room. You always hear about how John Tortorella changed it once assuming his coaching duties with eight games remaining in the regular season.
How he made the Knights believers in themselves. How he instilled a level of confidence that was absent before his arrival. This is the moment. This is the time to exhibit such traits.
They talk about a mindset for Game 6. About attacking from the outset against a Carolina team that, well, likes to attack from the outset. About getting off to an early start and remaining calm as the eventual ups and downs arrive. About staying even-keeled no matter what is at stake. And it’s only everything right now.
There are plenty of guys who have played massive games in their careers, in their lifetimes. So, you lean on that experience as well. You do what you need to do to get yourself ready to play.
The room. It would be hard for another team to match its veteran leadership. Sure. There will be more emotion, more nerves Sunday, but that’s expected. That’s normal.
“I can tell you there hasn’t been a sense of panic this entire season,” forward Reilly Smith said. “There probably would have been in other locker rooms when you’re playing catch-up in a lot of games or losing a lot of games in a row. But there has never been a sense of panic and there isn’t now.
“We believe we can play with any team no matter what type of game it is. (Game 6) is just like any other game in the playoffs. When you get down to it, it’s really the same.”
Both teams have played some really good hockey throughout the series, but my guess would be each believes they haven’t yet put together a full 60 minutes.
There have been too many swings back and forth for that, too many changes of direction on the scoreboard, too many breakdowns.
Don’t think
Lauzon, however, makes a good point: You usually make more mistakes when you’re not being aggressive, when you’re thinking too much and not competing on instinct.
The Knights on Sunday need to play with the latter and be more disciplined at the same time. Carolina is winning the special teams battle to date.
Unless you can guarantee the Vegas penalty kill will return to its previous stature as a lock-down unit, it might be best to stay out of the box.
“Our focus is only on Game 6,” forward Ivan Barbashev said. “For us to get to a Game 7, we just have to play our game and come to the rink ready to go. The game will sort itself out, but our group right now is pretty confident.
“We have experience, a group that is older than most teams. We’ve done this all season long. Just stay with it. We’ve had some tough stretches this season and I think that will help us (Sunday).”
The room. They’ve talked about these different things for an entire season. This is the moment, the time, the place, for it to matter most.
The room.
Ed Graney, a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for sports column writing, can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com. Follow @edgraney on X.
