"There's no way they are going to be a better team than us by the end of the season," the ever-confident Drew Doughty declared after the Golden Knights once again ran roughshod over the Kings. Just last month, Vegas jumped out to a 3-0 first period lead against Los Angeles, in route to a 4-2 win.
It's bulletin board material, for sure. Doughty is throwing down the gauntlet for the Knights -- and his own team.
Last night though, it was the Golden Knights who answered the bell in a convincing 3-2 overtime victory.
Vegas now owns a three-point lead in the Pacific over LA.
When a scorer has far more goals than assists, they call it a "Cy Young" -- for example, Brandon Pirri had 22 goals and two assists for Florida in 2014-15. On the flip side, Brendan Leipsic was working on what can be called the "Anthony Young" -- after the late Mets pitcher who went 1-16 in 1993 -- with zero goals and 11 assists through 27 games.
That is, until last night.
Eakin forecheck bothers Gravel, Brown can't get out, then Eakin passes between his legs to Tuch. 2 Kings go at Tuch, forgetting Leipsic pic.twitter.com/lmiwxch0IC
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) December 29, 2017
Look at this play from LA's perspective. You're Kevin Gravel, and Cody Eakin is screaming down at you near the corner.
You're Dustin Brown, and Leipsic is flying by at the half wall, dissuading you from lugging the puck up and choosing your breakout.
Now you're looking at Brayden McNabb at the blueline, who pitches it back in to Eakin deep.
From that point on, Los Angeles was sunk.
Of his blind between-the-legs pass to Alex Tuch, Eakin revealed, "I saw him following up. I tried to surprise the D a little bit."
Tuch jams, Marian Gaborik and Kurtis MacDermid go toward one man, leaving Leipsic for the slam dunk. This gave the Knights a 2-1 lead.
Pluses
"The second period was our best period all year," noted Gerard Gallant. "We really dominated and took control of the game."
#VegasBorn simply rolled #GoKingsGo in 2nd. Transition game got untracked, forechecking was demolishing. #VGK 20-6 5v5 Corsi, 12-4 scoring chances, 6-1 high-danger. I tracked VGK 3-1 transition chances
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) December 29, 2017
But as they say, good offense comes from good defense. And the Knights defended well, especially the middle of the ice.
It takes superb defensive discipline and awareness to pull this off. But the results were suffocating. How is Brown supposed to go forward here?
Clogging the middle isn't only a neutral zone thing. In general, teams want to move the puck across the so-called royal road (that's the middle of the ice) in the offensive zone to force the opposing goaltender to go side to side. A moving goalie is often more vulnerable.
But once again, strong defensive discipline (read positioning) and awareness becomes offense for the Golden Knights.
Going back to the forecheck, William Karlsson was a giant in that department last night.
Karlsson recalled, matter of factly, "He was twisting and turning. I was trying to anticipate the pass. I read it."
NBD, that's just the 2016 Norris Trophy winner.
Karlsson also came up big on the forecheck on Jonathan Marchessault's tying goal.
Another winning shift by one of the best lines in hockey, Jonathan Marchessault-William Karlsson-Reilly Smith #VegasBorn pic.twitter.com/FCmam445df
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) December 29, 2017
This keeps the Golden Knights' cycle going. The result of a long cycle is often a defensive breakdown. Here, as Miller is about to fire away, Marchessault and Karlsson have created a 2-on-1 down low. It's not Adrian Kempe's fault; Alex Iafallo should be helping.
However, despite the Knights' superior middle frame, the Kings managed to reach OT. But long-time LA nemesis Perron got one over on Quick. For Perron, it certainly was personal:
Full David Perron quotes about beating LA. My other favorite: "Guys get on their team and they start hating me, they don't even know why. You can ask [McNabb] about it." pic.twitter.com/jLFZd0kfTY
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) December 29, 2017
Resembling the Anaheim game, Vegas did not come out on fire, as Los Angeles dominated the first 15 minutes of the game. Marc-Andre Fleury certainly bailed his boys out.
Since the four-goal power play outburst against the Lightning, the Golden Knights' man advantage hasn't been as sharp. I pointed out some breakout issues against the Capitals; last night, the Kings gifted a 5v3 for 1:20, but Vegas was unable to present much danger. This will bear further examination if issues persist.
The Knights return to action on New Year's Eve against the Maple Leafs. ***
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