Defensemen Must Successfully Walk Fine Line In Possession vs Gap Control

(Photo Credit: SinBin.vegas Photographer Brandon Andreasen)

In Game 3, Zach Whitecloud scored the first and only goal this postseason from a Golden Knights defenseman. An overlap in coverage by the Oilers found Whitecloud walking in on goal all alone where he ripped a beautiful shot short-side past Stuart Skinner.

In that situation, it was a no brainer for Whitecloud to carry the puck deep into the zone and fire a shot on goal. This series though, Vegas defenseman have had to be ultra careful when they’ve abandoned the blue line to extend plays in the offensive zone.

I th0ught the first 10 minutes of the game opened up because we they were exiting the zone quickly and we gave up some odd-man rushes. That’s a part of the game we’ll look back and say we need to correct that because it could have worked against us. We have to be cognizant of how they can transition quickly to create offense. -Bruce Cassidy

In the 1st period, the Golden Knights gave up three two-on-ones and another even-man break that ultimately led to Edmonton’s only goal of the game. All four followed a similar pattern. When the puck was turned over the Oilers were able to hit one quick pass that eliminated a Vegas defenseman. Once it was a chip past Whitecloud in the neutral zone, another was a pass behind Hague after Nic missed on a shot attempt, and the other two were simple stretch passes to Oilers forwards who had already exited the offensive zone.

Every possession in the offensive zone for the Golden Knights in this series is crucial. To beat the Oilers, Vegas has to spend extended periods of time with the puck as far away from their own goal as possible. This forces the Edmonton’s elite forwards to defend, puts stress on a below-average Oilers’ defense, and if done right, when the puck turns over, makes Edmonton travel through five Vegas players on their way across the offensive blue line.

As D-men we need to be aggressive to keep pucks alive, but we have to have good reloads as well. Being on the same page with forwards and D is important. There are times for us to pinch and there are times for us to stay back and we just have to make good reads. -Brayden McNabb

This is where it gets tricky on the Golden Knights’ defense corps. Entering every game, the group of six blue liners knows the importance of keeping the puck in the offensive zone. So, by nature, they are going to want to help as often as possible to pinch down along the walls and keep plays alive.

However, the Oilers are deploying a strategy that can expose even the slightest slip up when a defenseman leaves the blue line to either help recycle a puck or join in on the attack.

They’re going to make some plays but we need to be more accountable in how we’re going to defend that and make sure we’re counting sweaters in front of us. They were leaving the zone early and we have to make sure we’re ready to check and be over those guys when they do that. -Cassidy

Edmonton’s wingers, especially on the weak side, are taking every chance they can to fly the zone in moments where a Vegas defensemen advance up the ice. While the Golden Knights have the numbers advantage if they hold onto the puck, if it’s turned over, all it takes is one simple pass and VGK can go from extended offensive zone time to defending a 2-on-1 coming the other way.

In a period where the Golden Knights headed into the locker room leading 2-1, dominated in zone time, and looked great on the advanced metrics, the odd-man rushes created by the Oilers could have flipped the script.

If they covert on a couple of those chances it might be a different hockey game. So we can’t get ahead of ourselves or full of ourselves. There are things we need to correct and that’s a big strength of their game. -Cassidy

As we move into Game 4, the Golden Knights’ defensemen will have to be cautiously aggressive with their decision making in the offensive zone. Vegas needs extended zone time, so they can’t go fully conservative or the entire game plan will crumble. But, it can’t be a full out barrage we’ve seen them deploy against some of the lesser teams in the league this season.

How well they walk that fine line will go a long way in determining if the Golden Knights come home up 3-1 or tied 2-2.