That said -- Vegas might well still be in the Stanley Cup Final with less gaudy numbers from Fleury. In that case, maybe Los Angeles goes six. Maybe San Jose goes seven. Maybe they're playing in Winnipeg tonight for Game Seven.
Point is: The Knights are in the Stanley Cup Final for reasons other than Flower.
For example, team defense:
Despite a massive advantage in zone time, the Jets failed to match the Golden Knights in scoring chances and slot shots. Great in-zone defence and spectacular goaltending from Marc-Andre Fleury has Vegas off to the Stanley Cup Final.#VegasBorn#WPGWhiteoutpic.twitter.com/Acq9BrUpoV
This was on full display last Sunday, when Vegas blacked out Winnipeg with a smothering third period.
During a final frame where the Jets desperately needed a goal, the Golden Knights even managed to outchance the home team.
So while Gerard Gallant didn't think it was the best defensive period they've played this year -- he was still pleased as punch with it:
I thought the San Jose [third period in Game Six] was as good a hockey defensively as we've played all year.
I thought the one in Winnipeg was very good -- not quite as good as the San Jose one -- for close-out games, I thought our team did an unbelievable job in both those games.
So what went right in that third period? And why should this matter to their Stanley Cup Final opponent Washington?
This appeared like an outnumbered attack in the making -- Shea Theodore chases a longshot pinch on Joel Armia.
However, look at Erik Haula, who has had eyes on this play from the beginning. Brandon Tanev joins Armia, but Haula is waiting, covering for Theodore.
Haula's read -- especially as the high defensive forward -- is textbook. Theodore's pinch, not so much.
• Protecting the House
5v5 shot attempts and high-danger attempts favored Winnipeg in the Western Conference Final, according to indispensable sites like Natural Stat Trick. This has lent credence to the notion that the Jets actually outplayed the Golden Knights, save in goal. George McPhee didn't do much to quell this, when he remarked after the series, "I don't know that we outplayed them."
Recognizing this, let's focus on The Point's, um, point, from earlier in this article: "The Jets failed to match the Golden Knights in scoring chances and slot shots. Great in-zone defence...has Vegas off to the Stanley Cup Final."
"Great in-zone defence" means protecting the house.
Most dangerous scoring chances come from inside the house. So Vegas, while ceding offensive zone possession time to Winnipeg, generally succeeded in keeping them to the perimeter.
"It's about five guys," noted Tomas Nosek about protecting the house. "Not just one guy."
Nate Schmidt can't keep the speedy, shifty Kyle Connor from gaining the zone. No problem, as he's at least prevented Connor from attacking through the middle. Connor glides toward the wall, where Schmidt hands him off to Cody Eakin. Eakin can't keep up with Connor too, but keeps him along the wall. Now Brayden McNabb has a chance to challenge Connor in the corner, a tight space where the big defender has more of an advantage.
McNabb has switched off Blake Wheeler to Connor. Schmidt now watches Wheeler. Eakin takes Mark Scheifele from Schmidt.
Since Connor can't skate into the house, he tosses a pass inside it. However, Schmidt gets a stick on the puck.
McNabb influences Wheeler's wide shot attempt. Ryan Carpenter, with an assist from Schmidt, beats a pinching Joe Morrow to the loose puck. Danger averted.
• Re-loading on the Forecheck
Erik Haula observed, about what makes the Vegas forecheck click, "You have to play tight. Takes more than just the first guy getting in there quick. You need the second and third guy."
Before we get to the Game Five, third period example, here's one from earlier in the series to illustrate:
The F1 (Alex Tuch) goes in hard first, then (F2) Erik Haula takes a turn. Tuch takes Haula's place, in effect becoming the F2. Hence, the term "re-loading."
Now the high third forward, James Neal, steps up on the puck.
Jonathan Marchessault goes in hard on Tyler Myers, smoking him out from behind the net. Reilly Smith swoops in and Marchessault takes his place. Now the third forward, William Karlsson, steps up. Marchessault also joins the fray. Winnipeg gets it out...barely.
"If one guy gets beat, the next guy is on top of the other guy. If that goes past him, another guy is on top of that," observed Tuch. "It causes teams to be frustrated. It causes teams to chip the puck out and turn the puck over."
Mathieu Perreault hands it off, but Jack Roslovic is about to turn it over.
While the re-loading forecheck doesn't directly cause the turnover, it certainly contributed to The Peg's inability to get off the ground on this shift.
Look at Smith cagily take away the middle of the ice and the Bryan Little option. This pretty much forces Roslovic into a one-on-one with Karlsson, which the rookie soundly loses.
But back to the re-load.
Tuch touched on some of the keys of a successful re-loading forecheck, "Relentlessness is one thing. I think being on time, timing. Just skating really hard. When we skate hard, as a five-man unit on the forecheck, you see it.
"It leads to a lot of our offense."
• Defending Fast
Gerard Gallant has reminded us, on many occasions, that playing fast isn't just about scoring, it's about defending fast too. Here's Smith, who gives a retrieving Jacob Trouba no time. Great hustle, skating, and read.
This would lead to 40 solid seconds of Golden Knights forechecking/cycling, a Smith chance, and a partial line change.
To echo Tuch, the old adage is good defense leads to good offense.
• Staying on Top of the Puck
Naturally, you always want to keep the puck in front of you defensively -- if it's behind you, you have to turn back and retrieve and brace for the opposition's forecheck -- or in the worst case, you're chasing the puck, because it's an odd-man rush going the other way.
Here, Winnipeg has zero speed, a lot due to Vegas -- see David Perron influencing the Wheeler pass up the middle to the potential speed in Dustin Byfuglien, then Karlsson stepping up with authority to prevent Byfuglien from hitting his stride with the puck.
Just as impressive is how each Jet cannot get going because there's a Golden Knight in his face.
This is also a fantastic example of a tight, five-man connected defense -- everybody is coordinated and involved: Ryan Carpenter forechecking Myers, Nate Schmidt on top of Wheeler, Perron trying to take away the middle, Karlsson stepping up on Byfuglien then Wheeler, Carpenter forcing a hurried chip from Josh Morrissey, then McNabb claiming the loose change.
So what does all this matter to the Capitals?
Simply this: The Golden Knights' success doesn't depend on Fleury. I believe the Jets forward corps to be the most complete in hockey -- and the Vegas team defense competed, at worst, about evenly with them. And I don't think Washington is better than Winnipeg.
Of course, these clips that I've broken down here -- any team could play like that for a period. But the Knights have played this way for most of the regular season and for all of the playoffs. Read my recaps from Game One against LA and Game Six against San Jose if you don't believe me.
They also lead all playoff squads in 5v5 Score & Venue-Adjusted Scoring Chances For % -- their 54.58 is comfortably ahead of the Caps' 52.75. So once again, if you think it's all Fleury -- you're wrong.
Anyway, I'll have a number of Stanley Cup Final preview articles on the way over the next few days for what's going to be a narrative-rich series.
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