After two periods in Winnipeg, the Golden Knights were in complete control. It appeared as though the Western Conference’s #1 seed was ready to lock it down and coast to the finish line in Game 3, securing their first series lead along the way. That is not what happened.
From the number of screenshots of heart rate warnings on Apple Watches I’ve been sent since the game ended, I know the final 44 minutes of that game were excruciating for Golden Knights fans. Despite the positive outcome, I’d imagine most would have preferred a less exciting 3rd period as the team headed down an all too familiar path.
The head coach disagrees though.
In the long run it might be a better way to win to be honest with you. We’ll see about that but yeah we found a way. -Bruce Cassidy
It’s not just a gut feeling either, he has his reasons.
More minutes on them and it’s a little bit demoralizing when you come back that far and then you don’t get it done. They’re already down a D-man and there’s a lot of stress on their D whereas we’re a little more balanced in our minutes. -Cassidy
Looking at the scoresheet, it’s clear to see he has a point. Five Jets skaters topped the 30-minute mark including three defensemen. After losing their superstar Josh Morrissey early in the 1st period, the Jets were forced to rotate through just five D-men the rest of the way. Neal Pionk, who averages 22 minutes a game and has not hit that mark in either of the first two games of the series, spent nearly half of the 84-minute game on the ice, logging a career-high 41:08. Meanwhile, on the Vegas bench, just one player topped 30 minutes, Pietrangelo at 34:30.
Maybe it builds something in us where we’re like ‘hey, even though we didn’t have our best, we found a way to win.’ For us, if we get in this situation again the guys will know they’re never out of it. -Cassidy
The Golden Knights have been through this before. Early in the season, Vegas blew leads in eight of their first 19 games. They came back to win five of those eight. Then, later in the year, VGK had a tough time closing games out as they allowed seven goals against the empty net in a span of fewer than 30 games.
You live and you learn, right? Sometimes things happen and maybe you’ve had success in those situations and then you take a step back and kind of look at what you can do better to shut opponents down. -Alex Pietrangelo
Tough on the fans or not, Game 3 in Winnipeg could easily go down as one of the most important games of the playoffs for the Golden Knights. While getting the preferred outcome, they were delivered a healthy reminder of just how crazy games in the postseason can be.
Hopefully they’re right. We don’t need people being on the verge of heart attacks for nothing.
Frank
This team has shown the ability to win close games all season. Bodes well for deep playoff run…. Of course now they should have finished the last one up in regulation… But a playoff win in the other teams building is huge!
Jerry Crowell
Totally agree. It’s my favorite part of the 2nd half of the season. They win…..not only because they played great, but they just found a way.
Richie-Rich
The real point of this analysis is that the VGK has a tendency to allow breath back into teams that they have a lead on, especially in the final stages of games.
This is a tendency that they cannot afford once they get into the next round.
Jailbird
I think it is a lesson well earned, without it costing us a win. They might occasionally allow breath back into a team, but their record of leading after 2 periods is amazing. Don’t think we will see this kind of lead let go of again, in these playoffs!
Roberto
Seemed like Pionk was on the ice for 70 minutes yesterday, with all the times his name was called. Was a great team game by Vegas, but props to him for playing at such a high level for so many minutes when his team needed that individual effort. Dude’s legs must feel like they’re made out of cement today.
knights fan in minny
pionk has to be the iron man now morrisey out for the series.
Larry
Just out of curiosity… why is #8 out there with 7:25 to go in the game anyway way?…in fact when are they going to put him in as a healthy scratch.. maybe when Carrier returns??
VGK Fan
Little harsh on Kessel he is tied for 3rd on the +/- in the post season and he was the victim of a terrible call by the referee.
knights fan in minny
pionk has to be the iron man now morrisey out for the series.
THE hockey GOD
hey coach how many times did the jets ring the iron ??
livin’ on a prayer
THE hockey GOD
breaking, just say no
to wokeVERSITY BS
Legendary NBA coach Phil Jackson says he has grown disenchanted with the league’s foray into politics and no longer watches games as a result.
In a recent interview on the Tetragrammaton podcast, host Rick Rubin asked Jackson if he still watches NBA basketball.
“No. I don’t,” Jackson replied.
The famed coach — who won six NBA championships with Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in the 1990s, and five more with Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, and the Los Angeles Lakers in the early 2000s — cited the NBA’s bubble during the Covid lockdown in 2020 as the point when he became disenchanted with the league. Instead of having their names on the back of their jerseys, players wore social justice messages such as “justice” and “equal opportunity.” Jackson mocked such gestures for “catering” to a “certain audience.
“They had things on their back like ‘Justice’ and a funny thing happened,” Jackson said. “Like ‘Justice went to the basket and Equal Opportunity knocked him down’… Some of my grandkids thought it was pretty funny to play up those names. I couldn’t watch that.”
The coach added, “They even had slogans on the floor, on the baseline. It was catering. It was trying to cater to an audience, or trying to bring a certain audience into play. And they didn’t know it was turning other people off. People want to see sports as non-political.”
Jackson cited a former teammate from his playing days, former Senator Bill Bradley — who won two championships with Jackson on the Knicks in the 1970s — as an example of how one could be separate politics from basketball.
“Bill Bradley was a senator, a number of baseball players have been representatives and senators … But their politics stay out of the game,” Jackson said. “It doesn’t need to be there.
Emmanuel
Thats gotta demoralize the Jets…..
TS
Idk about this theory. Yes, the Jets were short- handed. Tired. We outlasted them in 80+ minutes.
BUT…how is OUR team feeling after??Can we outlast them in the series? I hate the idea of winning that way..
Tired players are injury- susceptible, make mistakes….we cannot keep doing that!
Gotta save SOMETHING for the NEXT series!
Jailbird
TS, yea it’s tuff situation, but try and save something for next series may cost us this one. We have no choice but to play flat out to win this series! There’s no resting in playoff hockey!
TS
Guess it’s LAST MAN Standing now. Who has the deepest team. Yikes— let’s HOPE attrition doesn’t bite us!!
knights fan in minny
you have to give it your all 2 days off before game 5 will be nice there wont be much practice this time of year
TS
Kfim, isn’t it 3 days off? Next game Thursday?
TS
Kfim, never mind. 2 dys off, play 3rd day..DUH.
knights fan in minny
i get it it’s the excitement
TS
Kfim, Damn right, it is!!
THE hockey GOD
Stop calling CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, and MSNBC the “Main Stream Media.”
They’re anything but mainstream.
They’re state run propaganda by the pedocrat party, biden head pedo. PERIOD
Hockey Devil
Shut it.
We are talking hockey.
Jailbird
The Knights/Jets series leads the playoffs in combined hits. Dont expect tonight to be any different.
TS
Jb, 69 hits against us last game ALONE. It was painful to watch.