Any time the Golden Knights head to Canada, specifically Toronto, the major media heads north of the border tend to weigh in on what they are seeing from Vegas. Following the 3-1 loss at the Maple Leafs, the voices of Sportsnet’s Hockey Central were not shy in tearing down the reigning Western Conference Champs.
Vegas played fast last year. They were a fast relentless team. I remember sitting down at breakfast with Gerard Gallant this summer and I said, you know Stastny, he slows things down. I mean I hope the pace is (still) pretty good. Then you throw Pacioretty on that wing and all of a sudden you are saying where’s the pace, where’s the speed with this group. -Doug MacLean, former NHL GM and head coach
We’re all in agreement that the shine on some level for many reasons has worn off on that Vegas team. -David Amber, Hockey Central host
They also had a singled out a specific new member of the Golden Knights.
I watch Pacioretty and he is not the 30 goal scorer we saw in previous years with the Montreal Canadiens. For me, he’s just not engaged, involved. He’s got to find a way to start getting into the trenches to score goals again. I don’t know whether or not it’s just the needle moving at the speed of the game the last two or three years, but if you don’t have that dynamic step it’s tough to get into spots to score goals. -Nick Kypreos, former NHL player
There’s no denying Pacioretty can score, but he’s got to get the looks and he’s got to get his nose dirty. -MacLean
They did go on to praise the Golden Knights for dominating games “territorially” but the overall gist of the conversation was not flattering.
MacLean may end up being right about Stastny, but I’m not sure how he saw it in just three games. (Photo Credit: SinBin.vegas Photographer Brandon Andreasen)
Pacioretty has just two points in 12 games and Stastny did not record a point in his three games. But, to be fair, they’ve yet to play much together and have not played a single game with Alex Tuch.
The good news for the Golden Knights is that after the pedestrian 15 points in 16 games start, they sit just two points out of the playoffs. With back-to-back games coming up on Saturday and Sunday, four points would almost certainly vault Vegas right back into the playoff picture.
Of course, that’s quite the tall task for a team that’s just 3-6-0 on the road.
DGL
True comments! Thus, one must ask why has the first line lost the aggressive forecheck they had last year? Why is the fourth line doing so well, because they are hungry, and super aggressive on the forecheck and force errors which have turned into goals. The whole team played that way last year but for whatever reason it hasn’t transferred to this year, I will admit Marchessault has been good. Time to experiment with lines, last night’s win changes nothing. Are we suffering from heavy pocket syndrome after all new the contracts??? 🙂
Mike G
The other thing nobody wants to talk about is how the guy we gave up 3 picks to acquire, another pick and a top prospect to trade for Patches, is having an exceptional year in Montreal. It seems like we gave away way too much and gave up way too soon on a player that fits the Vegas system much better than Patches does.
It’s still too early to pass final judgement but right now this isn’t looking like one of GMGM’s best decisions
Dean
I like Gallant and think he’s done a great job overall…..but I do think his handling of Tatar is one of his few mistakes. He never got the minutes or the opportunities here that he did elsewhere…..but I believe he still scored 4 goals in about 20 games. When he was acquired, he was touted as a 20 goal scorer and if he had put just one more puck in the net, he would have still been on that pace.
Brian
You nailed it, Mike G. I was pretty pumped with some of our off-season transactions & hoping they could push us forward. Not sure if the chemistry is off or something, but it seems we are going the opposite direction
Chips_n_beer
They sound bang on with their assessment to me. Our defence and goaltending too have come down to earth
Only Reeves so far has earned his paycheck with all the summer raises.
DGL
PS – Tell Reaves there’s already a 7Five Brewing Company in Dover, Delaware.
Ken Boehlke
Don’t worry, Foley is super good with this kind of issue.
Jonathan
Plus Reaves will drop the gloves and fight them! They don’t want that :p