TINA NGUYEN: Well, we are less than a week away from the Stanley Cup playoffs beginning. Welcome back. I'm Tina Nguyen alongside former Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Derek England who, by the way, I did not scare the last time we did this. Thanks for coming back and joining us.
DERYK ENGELLAND: Thanks for having me. It's always good to be back.
NGUYEN: So Vegas grabbed their 50th win last night with a 4-1 victory over Seattle. Derek, it seems like this team is finding their game at the right time. What did you take away from that win last night?
ENGELLAND: Yeah. I thought the first period was back and forth, that the Knights carried the play at the beginning. Seattle kind of got some life in the middle and then Vegas kind of took over from there on. Seattle did play the night before but you got to jump on those opportunities to get a tired team and put them out of their reach. They got the two points that they wanted and now it's one point and they clinch first overall in the conference. So the next one, in Seattle, is a big game. We can hopefully find out tomorrow night who we're playing.
NGUYEN: Health is obviously an important factor this time of the year. Jack Eichel was back out at morning skate today, Shea Theodore, Mark Stone as well. But both were wearing non-contact jerseys. How has Vegas been able to find ways to win without some of those key players?
ENGELLAND: Yeah. They got a good mixture of guys. You've got Smith and Karlsson that are leading the way and Michael was in March. The back end has been pretty solid no matter who's in there but it's been just a collective team team thing, no matter who's in the lineup, where they're playing up and down the line. Amadio playing with Smith and Karlsson has three points last night, two big goals, so everyone's contributing no matter who's in the lineup or what line they're playing on.
NGUYEN: Captain Mark Stone, his second back surgery in less than nine months. I mean, what does it do for a team to have your captain back?
ENGELLAND: Yeah. Well, you kind of saw it at the game last night. He comes out on the ice for the jersey giveaway and I don't think he realized he was on camera. And once he did, he gave a fist bump and the place erupted. So just having him out there, the energy he brings because I've never seen anyone ... You're excited when you score your first goal but he's that excited when he scores every goal and that's just contagious for the other guys on the bench and gets everyone up. It makes it exciting to score and you want to be the next guy to score and get that excited so having him out there and seeing him on the ice in practice is a huge sign for them.
NGUYEN: The first-round opponent is still up in the air for Vegas but who would Vegas want to be matched up with?
ENGELLAND: I don't know. It's tough, I think, on both both conferences. The matchups, the teams are even. The NHL has done a really good job of leaving out the the competition and if I were to pick, in a perfect world, to get out of the first round, maybe Seattle but they work hard. They skate. They're fast. But just the physicality, maybe you can get there with a little less physical team, maybe like Winnipeg or L.A., so you can get out and hopefully, get out of the first round a little bit less banged up then a more physical team.
NGUYEN: Talking about things like that, who do you think will get the nod for game one of the playoffs?
ENGELLAND: Yeah. My coaching skills are very limited. That's for them. But with Russell, how he's played and he's played the majority of the last games, it's tough to go with someone else other than him right now. I don't know the health of the other guys and stuff but right now I think if I'm the coach, it's probably best to go in and start and see how it goes.
NGUYEN: You mentioned it at the beginning but this one is coming down to the wire. Vegas will play Seattle in the Pacific Division, still up for grabs. What will be the difference maker tomorrow night?
ENGELLAND: I think you'll see a fresher Seattle team. So I think in the first period, the turnovers in the neutral zone, I think transition to their transition game. And in the second and third, I thought they really limited the turnovers and got back over top of their speed and didn't give Seattle a whole lot, four shots in the third period, and I think it was about six in the second period. So a team that's trying to get into third place, to hold them to ten shots through two periods is pretty phenomenal in any game, let alone a big game like that. So as long as they stay above their speed and limit the turnovers in the neutral zone, it'll be a good night.