One of the best lines in hockey was at it again on Friday night against Chicago, as Jonathan Marchessault-William Karlsson-Reilly Smith each notched a +4 and a goal apiece in a 5-4 Vegas victory.
Much has been made about the Golden Knights' transition prowess, but just as important to their success is how well they defend opposition transition.
A more aggressive forecheck may create a turnover, but also might put the defense behind the eightball -- if two forecheckers go after one attacker, that means there's an outnumbered situation somewhere on the ice.
Only Nosek is on the wrong side of the puck (he needs to be, as the forechecker). William Carrier and Ryan Carpenter are staying stride for stride with their men. Nate Schmidt is in great position to pick up a streaking Brandon Saad.
In fact, Carpenter almost intercepts Oesterle's stretch pass. That, of course, is the ideal result for Vegas, but you can't always count on that.
In short, every Knight is with their man.
Great pass by Oesterle! He hits Vinnie Hinostroza in stride. Brayden McNabb, however, is in position to angle Hinostroza off his attack lane. Schmidt recognizes the danger posed by Jonathan Toews. Carpenter sees Saad.
Solid team defense is all about trust and awareness and hustle. Schmidt is the focal point here. He's confident that McNabb has Hinostroza. Schmidt knows that despite Carpenter's hustle, he's still behind the speedy Saad; however, the fourth-line center is stride for stride with Toews. So the two Knights switch.
Schmidt is still watching Hinostroza, but he's well aware of the backdoor man (Saad). Carpenter has Toews.
Pluses
What more can be said about Marchessault-Karlsson-Smith? Besides their combined three goals and four assists, they also dominated possession. Marchessault, for example, led all skaters with a 69.57 Corsi For %, 85.71 Scoring Chances For %, and 85.71 High-Danger Corsi For % (according to Natural Stat Trick).
They are a three-zone terror, which is perhaps exemplified best by Smith's game-winner:
David Perron did not have a great game (a little more on that later), but this is a magnificent play.
Minuses
Vegas puck management left a lot to be desired. McNabb had chances to get the puck out of the zone on Hinostroza and Schmaltz's goals.
As for Perron, he was slow to pick up Toews on the 3-on-2 strike which gave the Blackhawks a brief 4-3 lead.
The Knights haven't been clearly outhustled a lot this season, but there's an example of it.
Tonight, Vegas welcomes the New York Rangers to T-Mobile Arena. Marc-Andre Fleury answers the bell, while Pierre-à‰douard Bellemare returns to the line-up, replacing Carpenter. Luca Sbisa, who appears to have been hurt in a dust-up with John Hayden, sits in favor of Brad Hunt.
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