Jonathan Marchessault said the first 10 minutes of Game Four were "definitely" the team's best of the Stanley Cup Final.
Despite falling behind 3-0 in the first period and 3-1 in the series, he's right.
These are the things that Vegas did in the first 10 minutes that can propel a comeback:
Quick on the Puck
Being quick on the puck has obvious merits, including forcing turnovers.
At the beginning of this clip, Deryk Engelland steps up on a Dmitry Orlov pass to Jakub Vrana. Reilly Smith claims and enters the zone cleanly as a result. Turnovers, of course, feed the counterattack because they put the defense on their heels.
At 00:14, Smith catches Nicklas Backstrom from behind. William Karlsson closes in on the the wounded animal. Then Marchessault feeds the puck in deep again.
Defend Fast
Vegas likes to play fast offensively, but at their best, they're also defending fast.
Nate Schmidt sticks away Evgeny Kuznetsov's backhand pass to Tom Wilson. This was a rare instance of the Golden Knights keeping Kuznetsov down.
This is also an example of Vegas protecting Marc-Andre Fleury from passes into the slot, which they had done so adeptly in the previous three rounds; less side-to-side movement means fewer holes for the aggressive Fleury.
Beat Washington's Forecheck
Much has been made about the Caps' 1-1-3 neutral zone trap, but depending on the situation, they actually forecheck very aggressively.
However, Colin Miller beats that forecheck by using his speed and a Cody Eakin pick to get past Brett Connolly, then taking a hit to make the play as he one-hands it past Lars Eller.
Three Capitals are now on the wrong side of the puck; instead of contending with the 1-1-3 or some variation of it, Tomas Tatar and Ryan Carpenter have a more manageable two-on-two against the defensemen.
To counter a team that defends the neutral zone as well as Washington does, coming up the ice together, as opposed to stretching it out, can be effective.
Going for stretch passes can mean long distances between the puck carrier who's breaking out and the forward up the ice -- a tight neutral zone defensive scheme will often snuff out such gambits.
Coming up the ice together as four or five-man units can lead to short, easier passes, as we see here:
The Golden Knights did this well -- soft dump, forecheck recovery -- for much of the opening frame.
The opposite of the soft dump is the hard rim, which gives the Caps more time to recover.
Make Plays
This is pretty obvious. But besides the good work that led to Erik Haula and James Neal's posts, Vegas was making brilliant plays all over the ice in the first 10 minutes.
Gorgeous dump by Smith, timed with Karlsson entering the zone in stride. Karlsson recovers easily, finds the seam to a hard-charging Smith, then a close call.
This tilt in the ice was brought to you by Karlsson reading Brett Connolly's desire to hit the trailing Andre Burakovsky:
Gerard Gallant has talked about Game Four, despite the lopsided result, as a step in the right direction.
These repeatable things are what he means.
Nate Schmidt spoke about "speed and discipline" being the foundation of the Golden Knights' success. He wasn't talking just about staying out of the penalty box.
"Have discipline with the puck. Have discipline after the whistle. Even with your mental mindset," said Schmidt. "When we move our feet, we play well."
This speed and discipline are on full display here.
The big question is, can Vegas do this for most of the next three contests and get some key stops from Fleury?
At this point of the season, I'd be a fool to count them out.
For 101 games, this team has shocked the world. What's three more?
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"There's too many guys staring at the puck carrier, and we're leaving the back side open too much," said Gerard Gallant of his team's defensive performance in the Stanley Cup Final so far.
But I digress: How do the Golden Knights minimize their puck-watching tonight?
"Do what we did all year. Just be with your man. Keep focusing on your man," said Tomas Nosek. "Let Marc-Andre Fleury do his job. Take the backdoor plays out."
That sounds easy enough -- Vegas wouldn't have made it so far without locking the backdoor most nights.
In the post-season, however, the Knights haven't contended with playmaking centers of Kuznetsov and Nicklas Backstrom's ilk -- that is, except for Anze Kopitar, who didn't have a sniper like Ovechkin riding shotgun.
Nosek admitted that Washington's playmaking prowess up the middle has been a challenge. It's easy to be mesmerized by a Kuznetsov or Backstrom with the puck.
"It's on us, we are trying to do too much. It's both."
At least the Knights know what they need to do tonight. Both Luca Sbisa and Brayden McNabb said exactly the same thing about stopping the puck watching.
"As a defenseman, you've got to have your head on a swivel. They've got guys, they find the open guys," said Sbisa. "Flower is the best goalie in the league. He's going to stop the first shot. Take those other options away."
"Just got to keep your head on a swivel. Usually, they're looking for the guy without the puck," said McNabb. "If we can just get them to shoot, we're confident that Flower will make that save. Head on the swivel, pick up extra guys."
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