Tag: NHL Edge

Bruce Cassidy’s defensive system has been a godsend to the Golden Knights since the moment he arrived in Las Vegas. It’s a fairly simple defensive approach that involves a zone focused on packing the middle of the ice.

The biggest benefit of the system is that it typically insulates goalies from seeing bundles of dangerous shots. Through each of his first three full seasons here, VGK’s defense has ranked in the top 10 in high-danger chances against, and they are currently 3rd in the league this season.

There’s another underappreciated benefit to this defensive style too, and that’s skating stress.

Rather than chasing players around in a man-to-man system, the Golden Knights stay in their designated area inside the defensive zone and only active towards the boards when the puck is loose.

According to NHL Edge, this season, the Golden Knights have skated a total of 1,255 miles. This is well below the NHL average of 1,318 and has Vegas ranked 29th in the league in total miles skated. It’s even more dramatic for VGK’s defensemen. They’ve skated 447 miles this season, the lowest of all teams in the NHL, and well below the league average of 481.

The NHL average in miles skated per game is around 48.9, VGK have hit that number just once in the last 10 games and that’s only because of the long overtime game at Madison Square Garden on Sunday night. VGK’s non-OT average is closer to 45 miles per game, a lot less than the league average.

Considering the Golden Knights have played beyond regulation in 11 of their 28 games and still rank near the bottom in total distance skated, it’s clear they are putting far less stress on their bodies than the rest of the league.

Over the course of the season, these numbers will add up in Vegas’ favor. Combined with the fact that the Golden Knights typically try to roll four lines and use all three pairs, their players will be fresher at the end of the season than teams like Calgary, the New York Rangers, and Detroit, who each have more than 150 miles on their bodies through just a quarter of the season.

The Golden Knights aren’t just on track to make the playoffs; they’re trending in a way that they’ll be ready to go once they do.

**NHL Edge data is available here.**

It’s nothing new, but the 9-4-6 Golden Knights have established themselves as a strong possession team. It’s been a constant under the Bruce Cassidy era and has continued into this season. NHL EDGE statistics currently rank the Golden Knights 1st in neutral zone possession. Vegas is a full point above league average.

The Golden Knights spend 18.6% of their time in the neutral zone with the puck. This is an attribute they do better than 31 other NHL clubs. Controlling the game around center ice has become a staple for the Golden Knights’ success since Cassidy’s arrival. The team’s strategy interrupts an opponent’s rush and can create offensive opportunities for VGK’s most dangerous weapons.

When I say goaltender-friendly, we want to protect the high danger and slot chances that are more difficult stops. So, we’re going to try to minimize those opportunities. Some of those are odd-man rushes, breakaways, two-on-ones. We’ll take less risk in our game through the neutral zone. -Bruce Cassidy, September 2022

Not only is Vegas stingy in the neutral zone, but they tend to hold the puck in their own end longer than 23 other rosters. In the group of contenders, only Los Angeles has better possession percentages in the defensive and offensive zones. Each team began today with 24 points.

Compared to President’s Trophy favorite Colorado Avalanche, the Golden Knights are in their zone with the puck more but trail in offensive zone possession. It’s a major reason why the Avalanche are leading the league with 78 goals scored. Whereas Vegas is ranked 18th with 60 goals scored.

Overall, Vegas compares well with the Pacific’s and Western Conference’s heavyweight opponents. The Golden Knights lead the Anaheim Ducks in all three zones and edge out the Edmonton Oilers in both the neutral and offensive zones. Those two divisional rivals could be what stands in the way of the first or the third seed in the Pacific.

Now, it’s time for VGK to improve their rankings for goals scored, shots on goal, and time spent attacking. Sounds easy right?

As we await NHL regular season games to resume, the Golden Knights currently sit in 2nd place in the Pacific Division, 4th in the Western Conference, and 5th in the NHL. Even despite the pre-break skid, Vegas has been one of the best and most consistent teams in the NHL this season.

In living near the top of the standings, this version of the Golden Knights are dispelling the importance of some of the more looked-at advanced stats kept by the NHL.

First, Vegas are one of the slower skating teams in the league. They are near the bottom of the list of speed bursts of 20 mph or more with 1,002. The league average is 1,178 and the league’s fastest team, Colorado has recorded 1,647. Jack Eichel accounts for an incredible 235 of the 1,002, which is 23.4%.

VGK are near the bottom of the league in top recorded speed, 23.5 (average is 23.6), 20-22 mph speed bursts and 18-20 mpg speed bursts. Aside from Eichel, Brett Howden has registered the most 20+ mph speed bursts with 101.

Next, the Golden Knights are right above league average for total miles skated but they fall below in average distance per 60, top game, and top period.

Vegas also find themselves near the bottom of the totem pole in shot speed. Mark Stone has recorded the hardest shot of the season at 94.85 in the 3rd period at Carolina. More than half of the league has at least one and many teams have five or more. VGK are however consistently getting shots at 80-90 mph. They have recorded 297 speedy shots in this range compared to the league average of 258.

Where the Golden Knights do succeed is at shots from medium distance, which is normally not considered the most important part of the ice. The Golden Knights have scored 64 goals from medium danger, the most of any team in the league. They are doing it with a strong 12.7% shooting percentage, well above the league’s 11.6%.

All of these advanced stats can be found on the NHL Edge page available on NHL.com

The NHL season is well underway with every team playing at least 10 games to this point. Vegas sits in 7th place in the overall standings with a .708 points percentage and the peculiar distinction of being the only team to be undefeated at home and the only team to be winless on the road.

For the past few seasons the NHL has shared some of its player and puck tracking data through a website called NHL Edge. Each player has his own page including details on skating speed, distance, shot power, and more. Through 12 games, here’s the breakdown of VGK players in three of the most interesting categories.

	Top Speed	Skating Distance	Hardest Shot
Barbashev	20.21	32.27	93.28
Brisson	21.42	12.24	75.06
Dorofeyev	22.07	29.75	87.55
Eichel	23.50	39.83	90.33
Hague	20.62	21.01	89.53
Hanifin	22.65	38.48	93.61
Hertl	20.77	33.37	74.43
Holtz	21.35	25.67	86.05
Howden	21.54	30.75	83.26
Karlsson	22.07	9.65	78.73
Kolesar	21.04	24.26	79.05
Korczak	21.51	9.25	78.37
McNabb	19.37	30.71	84.24
Olofsson	21.08	9.54	74.36
Pearson	21.57	23.89	83.62
Pietrangelo	20.53	36.85	93.20
Roy	21.28	31.15	77.79
Schwindt	21.44	14.71	87.00
Stone	21.19	33.08	90.92
Theodore	20.93	36.54	89.52
Whitecloud	21.41	28.94	94.31

Unsurprisingly, the fastest skater on the team is Jack Eichel, clocking in with a top speed of 23.50 mph on Opening Night against the Avalanche. Eichel has recorded six of the Golden Knights’ nine 22+ mph skating speed occurrences this season. The others to reach that plateau are Noah Hanifin, Pavel Dorofeyev, and William Karlsson, each doing it once this year.

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