Cassidy Starting To Dig Deep In Search Of Tomas Hertl’s Perfect Place At 5-on-5

In the 2nd period last night, Tomas Hertl did what he’s been doing from the moment he stepped on the ice with the Golden Knights. He scored a power play goal from directly in front of the net. He’s now up to five goals and 13 points in 15 games and has become one of Vegas’ most lethal weapons… on the power play.

Four of his five goals have come when VGK have the man advantage. Also, three of his eight assists, which means seven of his 13 points, or more than half, have come in 51 minutes on the power play. Thus, he’s tallied just six even-strength points in 218 minutes over 16 games. And, four of the six even strength points came in two games at home against San Jose and Los Angeles.

So, in the 14 other games, Hertl has just two points at even strength in well over 150 minutes of action.

That’s not good enough from a player who Vegas spent multiple first-round picks and a hefty salary commitment to bring over from the Sharks. Bruce Cassidy agrees, and he’s been constantly moving pieces around the lineup to try and get even more out of Hertl. In Anaheim last night, Cassidy made maybe the most drastic move he’s made with Hertl yet, moving him to the wing alongside Nic Roy and Keegan Kolesar.

It was a little bit of trying to get Tomas out of the middle and onto the wing with a heavier type of players that he’ll complement. He doesn’t have to worry about defensive responsibilities as much. -Cassidy

At first glance, that means Hertl played on what has always been known as VGK’s 4th line. But Cassidy doesn’t view it that way, or at least he didn’t in the matchup against Anaheim.

Sometimes when you look at it people will say ‘Jeez, are you demoting a guy to the 4th line?’ And I think no, no we’re not. Nic Roy and Kolesar have been very good and consistent guys for us and the numbers prove that. It’s more of just moving Tomas around to another line that his game is a little more suited to right now until the rush game gets going. -Cassidy

Last night, the line changes brought Vegas down to three lines organized like this…

Barbashev-Eichel-Dorofeyev
Howden-Karlsson-Pearson
Hertl-Roy-Kolesar

That left Cole Schwindt playing just four shifts in the 3rd period on makeshift lines, while Alex Holtz and Grigori Denisenko each saw just one shift a piece in the final 22 minutes of the game.

Cassidy said the switchup was mostly constituted by a desire to get more offensive game out of Hertl, Howden, and Holtz at 5-on-5.

Some of the matchups ended up working out tonight for us. So there’s a little bit of that but it’s more about trying to get all three of those guys going because their 5-on-5 had dried up a little bit. -Cassidy

Cassidy said he liked what he saw from the supersized line of Hertl, Roy, and Kolesar, and may continue with it moving forward.

I liked it a lot. It’s a big heavy line. You’re going to be worried some nights about pace yet once Tomas got in on the forecheck his pace is excellent. Kolesar is a great skater and Nic plays the middle very well in our system. We’ll look at it. What’s the opposition look like Friday or Sunday, does it work? -Cassidy

Nonetheless, it was yet another admission from Vegas’ bench boss that he’s not satisfied with what Tomas Hertl has offered at 5-on-5. This is the 7th different line he’s played significant time on, and it’s the first time Cassidy has pulled him out of the center of the ice and onto the wing.

Hertl remains a massive piece to VGK’s PP puzzle and for that alone he’s worth having in the lineup every night. But, for the Golden Knights to get where they really want to go, he has to be a dominant player at 5-on-5 as well. They haven’t found the right combination to make that happen yet. Maybe last night in Anaheim was the solution. Or, maybe not and the experimenting must go on.