What are the Vegas Golden Knights doing well?
The Vegas Golden Knights hold a 2-1 lead over the Carolina Hurricanes through the first three games of the Stanley Cup Final.
It hasn’t come easily, as the Knights erased a 2-0 deficit in their Game 1 victory before coughing up a 4-0 lead in the third period before surviving with a 5-4 double overtime win in Game 3, but there has been a lot to like out of Vegas in its third appearance in the Final in nine years.
Absolute dominance from Conn Smythe frontrunner Mitch Marner combined with solid team defense, physicality and timely depth scoring have been major factors in the Golden Knights’ ability to jump out to a lead in what has been the most thrilling Cup Final in recent memory.
On Monday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, host Tyler Yaremchuk and co-host Steve Peters discussed what has gone right for Vegas so far as they look to take full control of the Stanley Cup Final with a win in Game 4 on Tuesday night.
Tyler Yaremchuk: Let’s start with what Vegas has done well. They have a 2-1 lead, they’re going to have an opportunity tomorrow here on home ice, where they’ve been so good since John Tortorella took over, but there’s been moments in this series where they look like by far the better team. You don’t get a 4-0 lead by a fluke, Petey, so when Vegas is at their best, what are they doing that’s making life so difficult on Carolina?
Steve Peters: Yeah, and it’s funny because you go back to Games 2 and 3, they did not start well. The first periods in Games 2 and 3 were not good for the Vegas Golden Knights. It took them a while to get their legs. They need to do better on their start in Game 4, but when they are playing well, they’re getting in behind the defense of the Carolina Hurricanes. We know how well Carolina defends. We know how good they are through the neutral zone and how tight those gaps can be. When Vegas is generating, they’re getting in behind that. Whether it’s blocking shots and going the other way before Carolina gets into their structure, or we saw a lot of stretch passes in Game 3 where they were able to put the puck off the glass and get in behind for some of those foot races. That’s when Vegas is at their best, when they can get through the neutral zone and transport the puck quickly to get past that stifling Carolina Hurricane defending.
You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode below…