Golden Knights’ sweep of Avalanche was stunning, but not a fluke
The Vegas Golden Knights are heading back to the Stanley Cup Final.
The team’s path to this point has been something else. From firing head coach Bruce Cassidy with just eight games to go in the regular season and rallying to finish atop the Pacific Division standings to playing for the team’s second championship in four years, the Golden Knights have had quite the turnaround.
Then, the team entered the Stanley Cup Playoffs with loads of momentum. Despite early-series struggles against the Utah Mammoth and Anaheim Ducks, Vegas was able to make it back to the Western Conference Final, only to face the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche. Yet, the grizzled Golden Knights were undeterred, taking care of Nathan MacKinnon and company in four games.
Sure, there were times when the Avs looked like the better team, but Vegas’ overall structure led to Colorado’s top players faltering at the worst time of the season, with the Golden Knights now playing for Lord Stanley for the third time in their young history.
On Wednesday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremchuk and Carter Hutton discussed how the Golden Knights beating the Avalanche in short order might be considered surprising, but certainly not a fluke.
Tyler Yaremchuk: This wasn’t—I don’t want to call as much as it’s stunning—this series wasn’t a fluke. This wasn’t the Vegas Golden Knights winning a bunch of games in overtime when they get outshot 35-17 or some shit like that. This is a Vegas team who—they get full marks, man. They took the boots to Colorado. Bednar even kind of said it after the series. He was like, “We just ran into a buzzsaw.”
Carter Hutton: Playing well at the right time. They lacked that goaltending during the year and the commitment to defensive-side structure. The blocked shots, the commitment to the smaller details, and then you get a hot goaltending. It just really tied this whole thing together for me.
You can watch the full segment and entire episode here…