Commitment To Checking Paying Off Once Again Early In The Season

The Golden Knights have always been built to use defense to generate offense. From Nate Schmidt to Alex Pietrangelo to the current trio of Shea Theodore, Rasmus Andersson, and Noah Hanifin, VGK’s focus on puck movement on the back end has been crucial in their transition offense.

Couple that with a savvy veteran group of forwards who have shown their willingness to commit to a 200-foot game, and good things tend to happen.

That’s exactly what’s gone on over the last two games for Vegas, and head coach Ryan Craig is loving it.

We need to commit to checking. We saw that in Nashville. Lauzon ends the play on the one. We come out of the box for Hertl’s goal. Stone checks at the top on the second one off of PK. We push up. We create the opportunity with McNabb and Jack. It’s that checking mentality to create the offense. -Ryan Craig

Craig made those comments before the game last night against Calgary, and then his team followed it up with a pair of goals inside of the first 10 minutes that prove his point unequivocally.

First, Mitch Marner worked back in the neutral zone to strip a puck from Yegor Sharangovich, leading directly to a transition chance that Brett Howden buried. A few minutes later, Jack Eichel stepped into a passing lane like a Pro Bowl free safety in the NFL and picked off a pass on Calgary’s power play breakout. He went down, finished the breakaway, and VGK quickly jumped out to a two-goal lead.

If you support the puck, you’re going to get it back. You make those quick little plays, and if you have support, it makes the game a lot easier. I think when we get into spots and our D really quick up the puck, they’re all going that way and he slings it this way, and we’re gone. Those types of plays, I thought we’ve done a good job with them. -Mark Stone

Through nine games of the season, VGK have feasted on opposition turnovers leading to transition chances. Part of it has to do with the fact that early-season hockey is a little sloppy, another part has been the soft opposition Vegas has mostly faced, but the biggest part is the Golden Knights’ willingness to position themselves off the puck in order to make these plays possible.

When (our defensemen) are connected and our forwards are working back, we not only put ourselves in a real good position to end plays or check, but when you transition on that, now you’ve created space to attack the other team. We have enough skill to execute off of that to make those plays. -Craig

The Golden Knights have followed this formula to start each of the last five seasons, and it’s paid off every time. At 7-2-0 through nine games and atop the NHL standings, they’re proving once again that it works.