Pete DeBoer, as his record shows, knows a little bit about Game 7s in the NHL playoffs. He's been a head coach in five of them and has yet to lose.
On Friday night in Las Vegas, the Golden Knights coach will try to extend that run in Game 7 of a West Division first-round series against the Wild. DeBoer didn't offer any secrets to his success in such winner-take-all contests other than trusting what has gotten his team in that position.
"When you look back, just not to overreact to the situation," said DeBoer, who has one Game 7 win with both New Jersey and Vegas and three with San Jose. "It doesn't matter how you got here. You've got one game in order to advance, and you've got to find a way to make that your best game for 60 minutes. Whatever that looks like."
The Golden Knights are facing a Game 7 because they couldn't close out the Wild in their first two attempts. In Game 5 on Monday at T-Mobile Arena, Minnesota scored three first-period goals, escaped from a second period in which it was outshot 22-1 and held on in the third period until Nico Sturm's empty-net goal with 39 seconds to play secured a 4-2 victory. In Game 6 on Wednesday in St. Paul, the Wild broke open a tight defensive game with three third-period goals for a 3-0 win.
DeBoer doesn't detect a feeling of panic with his players. The Golden Knights won a Game 7 last year, defeating Vancouver 3-0 in the Edmonton bubble to reach the Western Conference final. A year earlier, the Golden Knights, then coached by Gerard Gallant, lost 5-4 in overtime in Game 7 to San Jose, which was coached by DeBoer.
"This is an experienced group regardless of Game 7s," DeBoer said. "There's a lot of playoff experience in that room. The guys in there know that every day you wake up in the playoffs and you still got an opportunity to play, it's a great day."
Vegas captain Mark Stone quickly shot down any suggestion that the Golden Knights have been stunned by the results of the past two games.
"Definitely not disbelief," he said after Game 6. "We believe in ourselves; we believe in our team. We have one game in our home rink to move on, it's that simple."
Stone led the Knights in scoring during the regular season; second-leading scorer Max Pacioretty hasn't played in this series.
DeBoer said wingers Pacioretty and Tomas Nosek, who have undisclosed injuries, will be game-time decisions.
Vegas also has two regulars — forward Ryan Reaves and defenseman Brayden McNabb — on the NHL's COVID protocol list, along with 20-year-old Peyton Krebs, who hasn't skated in the series.
To move on, DeBoer expects a tight, low-scoring game again. Sure, his Golden Knights would like to score more than the two goals combined they have in the past two games, but that's not as simple as vowing to do so.
"Sure, we want to score, but the other team has a say in that," DeBoer said. "Minnesota's one of the best defensive teams in the league. It's not that we're not opening it up. You've got to play smart enough that you're creating offense without being reckless. … You're not going to walk in and dictate for 60 minutes how the game's going to go. It's just not reality and it's not playoff hockey. Teams are too close, too good."
Though his team might not have the momentum it once had in the series, DeBoer focused on the opportunity that awaits on Friday night.
"Excited about [Friday] night," he said. "I know our group's going to be ready. We'll let it fly."
