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)
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)
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)
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)
A lot of smart things happened here: Karlsson recognizes open lane and fills it; Theodore jumps up, knowing Smith is covering.
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) January 20, 2018
Another working theory for Karlsson's success: He carries the One Ring, which as we know, grants him powers of invisibility pic.twitter.com/sapfZGlJXR
Rolling Lines
Every line plays the same and they keep it pretty simple. (Sidney Crosby)
Counterattack
We fed their transition a little bit [with our mistakes]. (Mike Sullivan)
The Late Man
They always have four guys up in the rush. (Victor Hedman)
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)
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)
They’re hungry and they’re working hard. (Gallant)
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)
• 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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