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In Their Own Words...Why Are the Golden Knights So Good?

January 30, 2018, 10:56 AM ET [7 Comments]
Sheng Peng
Vegas Golden Knights Blogger •Vegas Golden Knights Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT


There's no Vegas Flu. It's no Lady Luck.

The Golden Knights are simply good.

Now some things won't last -- William Karlsson's shooting and Marc-Andre Fleury's save percentages, for example -- but the Golden Knights will keep winning.

If you don't believe it, check out a game, and watch for these plays. When Vegas is on, these actions repeat themselves over and over again.

So in their words -- and those of their opponents -- why are the Golden Knights so good?

Defend Fast

Just talking to [Assistant Coach Ryan McGill] about how he wants [the defensemen] to play. One of our things is, if you have a good stick, good feet, don't worry about it. If you can poke it out, we're [attacking]. We're keeping our momentum.

Let our speed and skating dictate the way that we want to play. (Nate Schmidt)

[McGill] is more focused on attacking the puck, rather than trying to go for the hit and the pin. A lot of times, that translates to offense because if you could knock that puck off loose a lot faster in the d-zone, you're quicker on the rush, and you're already in the offensive zone, as opposed to containing and playing d-zone. (Shea Theodore)

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Look at Colin Miller (6) go.

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Nate Schmidt (88) defends Sidney Crosby (87) but remains in attack mode.



Schmidt and Luca Sbisa (47) combine to jumpstart transition.

Active D

Some of our defensemen back there have great ability to move the puck and move their feet and they’re a great part of our offense options. (Gerard Gallant)

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Schmidt never stops moving his feet from defensive zone to o-zone.

Stretch the Zone

Our transitions are a big part of our hockey game. We moved the puck, we moved the puck quick through our forwards. (Gallant)

They stretch the zone. (John Tortorella)

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Jonathan Marchessault (81) hits William Karlsson (71) with the long bomb.
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Schmidt connects with Brendan Leipsic (13).
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Deryk Engelland (5) stretches to Marchessault, who taps to Reilly Smith (19). Smith sees the streaking Karlsson.

Filling Lanes

They always have someone going through the middle of the ice. (Butch Goring)

They play three lanes, play hard and play with speed. (Hedman)



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Rolling Lines

Every line plays the same and they keep it pretty simple. (Sidney Crosby)

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Pierre-Édouard Bellemare (41) springs Oscar Lindberg (24).



It's one thing for Marchessault-Karlsson-Smith to play fast. It's another thing for a Bellemare-led line to play in much the same way. The Knights have been described as coming at you in waves, and this is one of the reasons why: Rolling four lines.

Counterattack

We fed their transition a little bit [with our mistakes]. (Mike Sullivan)



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A Tom Wilson (41) gaffe leads to Tomas Nosek (92) pouncing on the puck, leading the rush, and finding Lindberg.

The Late Man

They always have four guys up in the rush. (Victor Hedman)

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Schmidt forces the turnover, then Erik Haula (56) leads the rush. Schmidt, Haula, and James Neal (18) fill the lanes. The trailer is David Perron (57), who fires away.

Changing the Angle of Attack

They’re the fastest team we’ve played all year, quickness on pucks, quickness on attack, so it’s a hard game for a goalie. There’s a constant changing of angles. (Ken Hitchcock)



The puck is coming from three angles here: Smith at the half-wall, Karlsson deflection from the circle, and Marchessault gunning it from the middle of the slot.

Forecheck

Usually when we’re playing well we’re supporting the puck, getting those pucks, we’re first on the pucks and we’re forechecking. (Gallant)






When we play a real good game and we forecheck, we’re a quick team. We try and cause lots of turnovers in the offensive zone. (Gallant)

They are just absolutely a dog and a bone on that puck. (Matt Murray)

Their forecheck is really tough to break, we had a really tough time getting out of our zone tonight. They are great at getting above the puck, and you know even when we made a clean pass up to the wings or the center there just wasn’t a whole lot of space to make play. (Blake Wheeler)

Not a lot of time, not a lot of space. (Joel Quenneville)


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Karlsson eats up Drew Doughty (8).

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Karlsson and Marchessault are all over the Kings.



Hustle

They’re hungry and they’re working hard. (Gallant)

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Brad Hunt's (77) hustle led to a long stretch of Vegas possession and a 3:31 Zach Werenski (8) shift.

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Haula's hustle led to a Tampa Bay penalty. On the ensuing power play, Vegas scored.

Five-Man Connection

We always talk about five-man connection; it’s a big word for our team. When you play five men in the d-zone, you play five men in the neutral zone and you play five men offensively, you’re going to have a chance to win most nights. (Gallant)

It's these elements and more which have helped Golden Knight after Golden Knight to career seasons:

• Marchessault is on pace for a career-high 51 assists and 81 points; his previous highs were 21 assists and 51 points
• Karlsson is on pace for a career-high 46 goals; his previous high was nine
• Smith is on pace for a career-high 62 points; his previous high was 50 in 2015-16
• Haula is on pace for a career-high 30 goals and 62 points; his previous highs were 15 goals and 34 points
• Perron is on pace for a career-high 54 assists; his previous high was 35 in 2008-09
• Schmidt is on pace for a career-high 36 points; his previous high was 17
• Deryk Engelland is on pace for a career-high 28 points; his previous high was 17 in 2011-12
• Youngsters Miller, Theodore, and Alex Tuch have all emerged as solid contributors. Blueliners Miller and Theodore are scoring at a half-point a game clip, while Tuch is on pace to chip in 16 goals

Is all of this sustainable? Of course not.

But Gallant's aggressive philosophy, skilled players who fit this constant attack mode, and complete buy-in from the talent have given the Golden Knights a well-deserved Western Conference lead.

I don't know if they'll be there in the end, but they're not going away soon.

***

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