By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
Not tonight for the Vegas Golden Knights.
They dominated the Vancouver Canucks in Game 5 of the Best-of-7 Western Conference semifinals in zone time and shots.
But not on the scoreboard as Vancouver stayed alive in the series by winning, 2-1, and cut the VGK series lead to three games to two.
VGK defenseman Shea Theodore had a nifty, highlight-reel puck-handling goal to give the Knights a 1-0 lead in period two, but Vancouver bounced back with an equalizer a mere 24 seconds later.
Early in the third period, the Golden Knights were outshooting Vancouver, 29-12, but trailed 2-1 after Vancouver’s Elias Pettersson re-directed a shot to put the Canucks ahead.
Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko was brilliant, making his first postseason appearance in replacement of starter Jacob Markstrom. It was reminiscent of Chicago’s Corey Crawford goalie performance against the VGK in Game 4 to keep the Blackhawks alive in the playoffs’ first round. Demko stopped 43 VGK shots. The Knights had 44 shots to Vancouver’s 17.
Game 6 of VGK vs Vancouver is Thursday. During the day today, the Golden Knights contacted fans about a deal to rent a suite at T-Mobile Arena to watch Game 6 Thursday. It turned out there would be a Game 6 after all.
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