WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Vegas didn't have a lot to brag about in Game Three, but their penalty kill was solid.
Washington's power play didn't score in four tries and wasn't particularly dangerous, save a sole Alex Ovechkin blast that Marc-Andre Fleury's glove snared.
To guard against Ovechkin and the Capitals' other weapons, the Golden Knights seem to using a more passive box.
#VegasBorn's reaction to Ovie Spot on PP has been a tighter box than usual. Normally, they play Wedge +1, 2 forwards alternating in their pursuit of puck, 3 other PK'ers in triangle. That's been much rarer when Ovechkin is on the ice
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) June 3, 2018
Here's an example from the Western Conference Final:
Notice how Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Ryan Carpenter alternate in the aggressor role.
Here's another, lengthier example; Reilly Smith and William Karlsson alternate up top.
It looks like I ran the copy machine on the Washington examples, right? The similarities are striking: Passive pursuit up top, extra attention paid to Ovechkin at the left dot. There's no aggressor in this PK posture. They're trying to keep Washington to the perimeter; they're trying to close the seams.
Nate Schmidt admitted that indeed, the Golden Knights are playing a tighter box against the Capitals, "It's an acknowledgement to probably the best power play in the league the last four years, how good they've been. I've been a part of that group -- I watched it, never actually a part of the group -- but watched it happen over the years. They're a special group, you have to honor what they have."
At the end of the same power play, look what happens when Matt Niskanen replaces Ovechkin on the man advantage.
Reilly Smith resumes the aggressor role.
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Tomas Tatar is drawing in tonight, probably for David Perron.
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