Keys to a Golden Knights victory against Avalanche, sponsored by Credit One

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Jason Franson / The Canadian Press via AP

St. Louis Blues goalie Jordan Binnington (50) looks on as the Vegas Golden Knights celebrate a goal during second-period NHL hockey playoff game action in Edmonton, Alberta, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2020.

Sat, Aug 8, 2020 (2 a.m.)

The Golden Knights take on the Colorado Avalanche today at noon on NBC in the final seeding game for the Western Conference playoffs.

The winner will claim the top seed and the loser grabs the No. 2 seed in what could be a Western Conference Finals preview.

Here are three Golden Knights keys to victory, sponsored by Credit One Bank.

Limit the superstar

If you can name multiple players better than Nathan MacKinnon, you might be lying to yourself. The Colorado center is one of the top players in the game, and naturally has feasted on the Golden Knights with four assists in the two meetings this season. He’s due for a point or two just about every time he takes the ice, so the Golden Knights need to ensure he doesn’t run wild and break the game open.

Lockdown defense

How do you limit MacKinnon? Put your best defensive player on him. Against Brayden McNabb at 5-on-5, Colorado’s MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog had zero points in the two games and had negative puck possession. They weren’t on the same line in Colorado’s other two round-robin games, which could complicate things, but how McNabb and Nate Schmidt handle Colorado’s stars will play a large role in today’s outcome.

Keep staying out of the box

With all the weapons the Avalanche possess, it’s almost hard to believe their power play ranked just 19th in the NHL this year. It’s shown positive signs in their two round-robin games, cashing in three times in 10 tries. And it’s not just the stars. Rookie phenom Cale Makar has a goal, as do forwards Nazem Kadri and Andre Burakovsky. Vegas though, hasn’t been in the box much, just four times in the two round-robin games. That’s a trend the Golden Knights hope to continue against what would be a dangerous Avalanche power play.

Justin Emerson can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Justin on Twitter at twitter.com/@j15emerson.

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