On Friday, a Dustin Byfuglien whiffed puck sits right where a hard-charging Reilly Smith can skate into it, partial break, bar down, Vegas goes up 3-1 in the Western Conference Final. This afternoon, Ryan Reaves -- who hasn't scored in three-and-a-half months -- deflects home the game-winner.
The expansion Golden Knights are going to the Stanley Cup Final.
Winning Play
In the first two games, fueled by a rocking, expectant Bell MTS Place, the Jets soared at the drop of the puck.
In the first period of Game One, they bombed Marc-Andre Fleury with three goals. 5:40 into Game Two, they had fired off six scoring chances.
So naturally, the Golden Knights would race out to a 7-1 shots advantage and a 1-0 lead in Game Five.
"The biggest thing in our game tonight was the first eight minutes of the hockey game," stressed Gerard Gallant. "When you're coming on the road, you're playing against a great team like Winnipeg, I thought those first minutes were huge for our confidence."
Vegas's vigorous start clearly shook the crowd's confidence.
Only a one-goal lead, but 9 minutes in, Bell MTS sounds like a morgue. Incredible start for #VegasBorn, includes 7-2 shot edge to start
On "Hockey Night in Canada," Jim Hughson noted, "Once again, Vegas has been able to silence this boisterous crowd."
His partner Craig Simpson agreed, "Not much energy in here."
With that in mind, let's look at the eight minutes that silenced the loudest fans in hockey -- and perhaps its most dangerous team.
From the beginning, the Knights are on top of the Jets defensively. They lose the faceoff, but Smith forces Josh Morrissey to make a quick decision with the puck. It looks like Kyle Connor bobbles along the wall, so Nate Schmidt pinches aggressively. William Karlsson, doing his job to cover for Schmidt, comes from behind to switch back.
After a puck battle, Connor wins it back to Mark Scheifele, who misses a slashing Blake Wheeler. Karlsson was bearing down on the centerman. Brayden McNabb accepts the deposit and doesn't miss his breakout, lasering a pinpoint pass between Connor and Jacob Trouba. Marchessault pedals into the zone and fires from the top of the circles into Connor Hellebuyck.
This set the stage for a much-sharper Vegas squad to take over.
Smith knows exactly what Jack Roslovic wants to do from behind the net, not flashing his stick until Roslovic shows his hand. He then completes a nifty, surprising bounce pass to Marchessault to reset.
The Jets are able to force an icing, but right off the draw, McNabb is in good position to influence another behind-the-net feed, this time from Connor. Marchessault moves it ahead, but Smith laps Joe Morrow in deep. Dustin Byfuglien picks up, but Erik Haula flies in like a valkyrie. A hellacious Golden Knights forecheck eventually forces a Jets icing.
Cody Eakin looks up, sees David Perron streaking up, and completes a perfect bounce stretch pass. Vegas's No. 57 goes to work on Winnipeg's No. 57 for their first scoring chance of the contest.
The fourth line gets it deep and Tomas Nosek draws a slash from Byfuglien. While the ensuing Knights' power play wasn't particularly dangerous, what's important is the end of it, and the Jets' inability to make a full change.
Bryan Little tries to rim it hard to relieve pressure, but Alex Tuch hustles for the keep-in and sends it right back. This forces Jacob Trouba and Josh Morrissey to stay out. The puck comes out, but far enough for only the Winnipeg forwards to change.
Deryk Engelland hits Tuch for a stretch pass, which the winger tips in, taking advantage of the change. Connor Hellebuyck plays it to Morrissey, who is now clocking over a minute on this shift. A hard-charging Ryan Carpenter gets a piece of a possibly-fatigued Morrissey's pass, possibly with his skate, which Tuch gathers into his wheelhouse.
The Golden Knights weren't done. Here's 200 feet of quality hockey from the fourth line against Winnipeg's top trio.
All-out hustle from Nosek, who forces an attacking Joe Morrow into a nest of Knights, then turns Dmitry Kulikov on the other side of the ice, setting up Pierre-Edouard Bellemare.
Rinse, repeat. This shift has it all and culminates in a Marchessault post.
These eight minutes represented some of the best of Vegas hockey:
• Every Vegas Line Was Rolling
"Each line on the ice showed a way. On the bench, everyone was conscientious of what was going on, what we had to do to be a little more successful," Bellemare indicated. "We just kept rolling, rolling. The coach gave us the trust. And it paid off."
• Precision Feeds Transition
There were missed passes here, but also a number of pinpoint ones to spring the attack, particularly McNabb to Marchessault, Eakin to Perron, and Engelland to Tuch.
• Counterattack Off Turnovers
Nosek mugging Kulikov would set up Bellemare, while Smith's forecheck would lead directly to Marchessault's post.
• Forecheck, Forecheck, Forecheck
Carpenter on Morrissey, Nosek on Kulikov jump to mind.
• Staying on Top Defensively
The opening shift and Nosek's work on Morrow are great examples of that.
• Protecting the House
Smith's read on Roslovic's pass is both a great defensive read and an example of how dedicated the Knights are to defending the slot area.
As Gallant has pointed out many times, playing fast isn't just about scoring, it's also about defending fast.
After a one-sided Game One loss, a defiant Marchessault said, "It definitely gets loud out there. It's fun for the home team -- but I think it's fun for us too. To shut that crowd down would be great."
"The Golden Misfits" did just that, with a burst of brilliance which frankly, isn't surprising anymore.
Pluses
I wrote about VGK's smothering third period here:
#VegasBorn is doing a lot more right than just Fleury.
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