Vegas has a surprisingly stingy defense

[HanSolo]

Healthy scratching Reinhart for all 6 games won't increase his trade value, but he wasn't waived when a roster spot was needed last week. Not sure what GMGM's end game is here.

Your guess is as good as mine. I'm guessing Brad Hunt is seeing ice time for potential trade purposes but Reinhart really should just be exposed to waivers I doubt any team would put in a claim. He's a black hole of bad. I mean I always felt he was overrated in the 2012 draft but I really didn't anticipate he'd be this awful.

 

[MJ65]

Not a easy team to play against - what a pleasant surprise this team is

Have beaten some good teams and none of those wins a fluke, even this Sabres is pretty talented team that's not playing to it's potential

It's not going to be an easy game against team for any team - I know it's early in the season but what a promising start it is

 

[Esteban Tornado]

Easy to nitpick this team when they'veonly been together 2 months.
They do have things to clean up, but they are playing fast, d is solid.
I thought they would have a decent 1st line and basically the rest of the lines are 2nd lines and above average 3rd line.

 

[Go Wings]

Cue the small sample size song

 

[tony d]

I expect them to come back down to earth soon but they're playing some good hockey right now, good for them.

 

[Filatov2Kovalev2Bonk]

Quite impressed.
They are doing what they should be doing, stealing points from others.
Their Twitter account is tops in the league, with only a few missteps so far.

 

[ThatGuy22]

Alot of it probably has to do with the two-way ability of their forwards. They didn't get much star power there, but they're deep as heck with responsible forwards.

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

Cue the small sample size song

Of course, but I don't think many people would've predicted them getting off to a 5-1 start. It should be fun while it lasts.

 

[Yatzhee]

It should not be surprising. As an expansion team they had pick of the litter.

 

[sr edler]

Anyone want to admit I was right that Sbisa is actually a decent Dman?

He's gotten alot of hate around here but he is a good Dman.

He's okay. I never got the amount hate.

 

[ColdSteel2]

More mobility without having to carry the weight of their beards.

 

[pbgoalie]

He's okay. I never got the amount hate.

I watched him with the Ducks...he earned it. Tantalizing physical talents, but soooo many mental mistakes

 

[CRDragon]

Sbisa is stingy?

 

[rent free]

Tuch by every measure should be a top 6 player on this team and he absolutely should not be sent down. His strength on the puck and tenacity for attacking the net is something the Knights were sorely missing while he was out.

Leipsic is a guy that should fit into the long term plans as well.

This team may end up losing more games than they win, but they should be more competitive than expansion teams of years past.

tuch and shipachyov will be sent down when marchasseault and haula return from injury

 

[deckercky]

It should not be surprising. As an expansion team they had pick of the litter.

They got to pick roughly the 9th or 10th most valuable player from every team (excluding players without 2 years of pro hockey). It's better than previous expansions, but hardly 'pick of the litter'.

Vegas is obviously playing really well, and they actually look pretty solid out there, but let's not pretend that the roster has much quality on it.

 

[rent free]

they're defenders are defensive defensemen so they will be defensive when it comes to defending

 

[bukwas]

Of course, but I don't think many people would've predicted them getting off to a 5-1 start. It should be fun while it lasts.

Most here were claiming McPhee had done a horrible job prior to their 1st practice so 6 games is substantial in comparison.

 

[Jumptheshark]

They are near tops in the league for GA and keep winning games. At this rate they're going to fly under the radar into the playoffs as team with a completely non-flashy offense but a very stout D and goaltending. Does this mean Vegas immediately has one of the best front offices in the league if they haven't even had the chance yet to land a high caliber draft pick yet, yet are completely capable of staying near the top of their division?

so I take it people have stopped calling GMGM an complete idiot with no plans then?

 

[Howboutthempanthers]

Gallant is their coach. I would have been surprised if they didn't play good defense.

 

[sr edler]

I watched him with the Ducks...he earned it. Tantalizing physical talents, but soooo many mental mistakes

I'm not saying he's great or anything, but the amount of hate he got wasn't reasonable. If Sbisa was a Biblical figure he would be the scapegoat.

 

[Osprey]

Not surprised. He was hot garbage playing with Doughty.

Doughty won his only Norris Trophy partnered with that "hot garbage." McNabb also consistently had some of the best defensive stats on the team, even when apart from Doughty. He just wasn't a big contributor to offense and producing low percentage shots and that led to him not being appreciated by possession-obsessed management and, obviously, the fans.

 

[MJ65]

This team is playing pretty good hockey and working as a unit - certainly not easy points for any team

A welcome addition to NHL and the best start by a expansion in their 1st season

 

[Yatzhee]

They got to pick roughly the 9th or 10th most valuable player from every team (excluding players without 2 years of pro hockey). It's better than previous expansions, but hardly 'pick of the litter'.

Vegas is obviously playing really well, and they actually look pretty solid out there, but let's not pretend that the roster has much quality on it.

Couldn't disagree more, and at least 10 teams or so would as well.

 

[westc2]

Vegas has been impressive, but they've also probably had the easiest schedule in the league so far...

Dallas W-2-1
Arizona W-2-1-OT
Arizona W-5-2
Detroit L-3-6
Boston W-3-1
Buffalo W-5-4-OT

If anything they've shown they aren't a typical expansion team. They are actually competitive and definitely not the worst team in the league.

 

[deckercky]

Couldn't disagree more, and at least 10 teams or so would as well.

What team gave up a player it determined to be more valuable than its 10th most valuable player? They could protect 1 goalie and any 8 skaters, so by definition, teams could protect at least that much. There were strange situations like Neal, but Nashville determined that 1 year of Neal was less valuable than other players that were controlled longer.