Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said heading into Game 4 of his team’s first-round series with the Minnesota Wild that changing the forward lines is always on his mind when things aren’t working.
He didn’t want to do it before puck drop Saturday because he thought it could seem like a panic move. But he ultimately switched things up once the game was underway and the Knights’ season was on the line.
Cassidy’s changes led to a 4-3 overtime victory that tied the series 2-2. He’s sticking with what worked heading into Tuesday’s Game 5 at T-Mobile Arena.
William Karlsson will remain at first-line left wing next to center Jack Eichel and right wing Pavel Dorofeyev. Captain Mark Stone will play with center Tomas Hertl and left wing Brandon Saad.
The third line will be left wing Ivan Barbashev, center Nicolas Roy and right wing Reilly Smith, who were on the ice for the Knights’ overtime winner Saturday. Left wing Tanner Pearson, center Brett Howden and right wing Keegan Kolesar will make up the fourth line.
“Sometimes when you change lines, it just gets people’s attentions and off they go and play,” Cassidy said. “I think every coach in the league does it at certain times if they don’t like what they see.”
Timely changes
The Knights needed something to get them going at five-on-five in Game 4.
They were outscored 2-0 at five-on-five in Game 3. The Wild got the first two five-on-five goals in Game 4 as well, but the Knights tied things at 2-2 in the third period with their second power-play goal.
Cassidy moved things around to make sure his team didn’t fall into a 3-1 series hole. He landed on the combinations the Knights will take into Game 5. The team started getting to the middle of the ice and put pressure around Filip Gustavsson’s crease.
That led to Hertl’s third-period goal that gave the Knights a 3-2 lead and Barbashev’s overtime winner.
“Sometimes you just need a spark. You just need a little change,” Stone said. “We weren’t really producing at five-on-five as a whole in that game. Then we change things up, and sure enough we start to take over the game a little bit toward the second half of the game.”
New-look top line
Cassidy said he would normally go back to the lines he started Game 4 with, then talk to his players. He went to his players first this time before deciding to stick with his changes or not.
He knew it was critical to get things right this late in a series.
“Now it’s about winning one game on Tuesday,” Cassidy said. “So, let’s talk about that because we finished well with it.”
Cassidy said one reason for the shakeup was to limit Minnesota left wing Kirill Kaprizov and right wing Matt Boldy, who combined for 13 points the first three games of the series.
Kaprizov had one assist in Game 4, while Boldy was held without a point for the first time.
Eichel and Karlsson, the Knights’ best defensive centers, will be tasked with slowing the duo down in Game 5 when the Knights get last change.
“I think (the changes) worked well, obviously. We won the game,” Eichel said. “We generated some good looks and had some opportunities and continued to get better. In that sense, you want to keep rolling with it.”
Eichel and Karlsson have played together on the penalty kill before, which should help them build chemistry at even strength. The Knights had a 19-7 edge in shot attempts in Game 4 with the two of them on the ice together at five-on-five, according to the website Natural Stat Trick.
“Just using our speed, trying to attack when we have the opportunity, reading off each other. Both of us are natural-born centermen,” Eichel said. “He’s such a great skater. He can create a lot of stuff through the neutral zone by himself. I think using that speed to our advantage will be good.”
Other contributors
Kaprizov and Boldy aren’t the only players the Knights need to be mindful of.
Left wing Marcus Foligno has scored in three straight games. Fourth-line center Marco Rossi has a goal in two straight. The Knights need to make sure their changes pay dividends at the top and bottom of their lineup.
“Who knows? They may change their whole lines and might affect what we do,” Cassidy said. “That’s the chess match of playoff hockey.”
Contact Danny Webster at [email protected]. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.
UP NEXT
Who: Wild at Golden Knights
What: Game 5, first round (series tied 2-2)
When: 6:30 p.m. Tuesday
Where: T-Mobile Arena
TV: KMCC-34
Radio: KKGK (1340 AM/98.9 FM)
Line: Knights -220; total 5½
— — — —
SERIES SCHEDULE
(Series tied 2-2)
All games on KMCC-34 and KKGK (1340 AM, 98.9 FM)
Game 1: Golden Knights 4, Wild 2
Game 2: Wild 5, Golden Knights 2
Game 3: Wild 5, Golden Knights 2
Game 4: Golden Knights 4, Wild 3 (OT)
Game 5: 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at T-Mobile Arena
Game 6: TBD Thursday at Xcel Energy Center
*Game 7: TBD May 3 at T-Mobile Arena
*if necessary
