Chicago Blackhawks (32-30-8, seventh in the Central Division during the regular season) vs. Vegas Golden Knights (39-24-8, first in the Pacific Division during the regular season)
Edmonton, Alberta; Thursday, 5:30 p.m. EDT
WESTERN CONFERENCE FIRST ROUND: Vegas and Chicago begin series
BOTTOM LINE: The Vegas Golden Knights face the Chicago Blackhawks in game one of the Western Conference first round. The teams meet Thursday for the fourth time this season. Vegas went 2-1 against Chicago during the regular season.
The Golden Knights are 23-14-3 in Western Conference games. Vegas leads the Western Conference shooting 34.5 shots per game while averaging 3.2 goals.
The Blackhawks are 19-20-6 in conference games. Chicago has surrendered 37 power-play goals, stopping 82.1% of opponent opportunities.
TOP PERFORMERS: Max Pacioretty leads the Golden Knights with 32 goals and has 66 points. Shea Theodore has six goals and two assists over the last 10 games for Vegas.
Calvin de Haan leads the Blackhawks with a plus-10 in 29 games this season. Jonathan Toews has six goals and seven assists over the last 10 games for Chicago.
DURING THE PLAYOFFS: Golden Knights: Averaging 5.0 goals, 7.3 assists, 4.0 penalties and 8.0 penalty minutes while giving up 3.3 goals per game with an .873 save percentage.
Blackhawks: Averaging 4.0 goals, 7.2 assists, 4.5 penalties and 9.8 penalty minutes while giving up 3.8 goals per game with an .891 save percentage.
INJURIES: Golden Knights: None listed.
Blackhawks: None listed.
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
The Associated Press
