Now a veteran of more than 50 NHL playoff games, Jack Eichel does not think the approach should be any different the deeper he and the Vegas Golden Knights venture into the postseason.“We know we need to be better, and you want to continue to elevate your game both individually and as a team the further you go,” Eichel said. “That’s our goal.”Easier said than done. Big boy hockey has arrived in the third round, with three of the top five favorites still playing in the conference finals. Vegas faces league-best Colorado in the West, while unbeaten beast-of-the-East Carolina gets Montreal after the Canadiens beat Buffalo in overtime of Game 7 on Monday night. Western Conference final: Colorado vs. VegasGame 1: Wednesday, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN)Favorite: Colorado (2-5)The Avalanche won the Presidents’ Trophy for the best regular season and spent 156 consecutive days atop the NHL standings since Nov. 1, the longest run in four decades. They swept Los Angeles in the first round and beat Minnesota in five games, rallying to put the Wild away in overtime after falling behind 3-0 on the road.
Now, the difficulty level rachets up.“I would expect Colorado’s stiffest challenge is going to come here in this next series because Vegas has been around the block,” former player and coach-turned-TNT analyst Ed Olczyk said. “They’ve got an experienced coach. They’re getting goaltending that they didn’t get for a lot of the regular season.”
