What does Vegas do differently than us?

[shortfuze]

Unfortunately it seems they have more guys that want to try and win with talent alone and have no compete. They have to many guys that play the same style. Barely anyone hits. Barely go into the corners. Can’t play tough. Shy away from physical play. And can’t seem to get the puck out of their own zone when they have a little bit of pressure. Their smallest guy it seems was the only one that wanted to battle in the corners because he wanted that puck on his stick every play(Marner). Saying that though I just hope guys like Nylander and Matthews had an injury and not a sign of things to come.

 

[shaner8989]

They don’t have 1 player that floats around. They outwork every single team and player.

They are relentless and fast

To me now...See ya jvr bozak gardiner

 

[The Hanging Jowl]

I haven't seen enough of Vegas to really respond properly. But I can say the Leafs have a few floaters and a few of guys that shy away from contact and wilt under pressure. I doubt that's the case in Vegas. There's a reason Hyman was one of our best forwards against Boston: compete level. It just wasn't there for pretty much everyone but him, Marner and Marleau (for forwards). Still massively disappointed in Matthews in that series and I'm hoping he was still bothered by injuries.

And we need a goalie that can steal a game under pressure. Maybe Andersen will be that guy but he wasn't against Boston, that's for sure. Good goalies consistently win games where people say they stole the game and I think that's the wrong way to look at it. I call that a good goalie doing his job. There was that stretch from November to January where Andersen was clearly a good goalie.

 

[Al14]

They're doing something no exansion team in pro sports (if i'm not mistaken) have done. This team was not expected to make the playoffs let alone the NHL Finals. VGK have the potential to do more in 1 year than this whole franchise has done in 50+.

Exactly, but, it's not only our Leafs that should be embarrassed by Vegas!

 

[paulhiggins]

You guys seem to have a handle on this. Hope Leafs management and coaching gets it too.

 

[Buds17]

Exactly, but, it's not only our Leafs that should be embarrassed by Vegas!

Only one team left with a chance of being better than VGK. It's very select company at this point.

 

[kindalaidback]

i don't know how anybody could be mad about vegas winning the stanley cup. it's such a great moment in sports-- i'm really enjoying it. they still have to win at least four games, but i want them to take it all.

sure, vegas also has a good gm, a good coach that has created a system in which everyone can find a place, and players that have embodied a "one for all and all for one" mentality. and a great f***ing goaltender who has played lights out. that's it.

it's even better if you consider that bill foley's goal was to make the playoffs in three years and now they're playing in the stanley cup finals. it's too good to be true.

but this is much more than just about hockey. this is about a team that is playing for a city that has gone through so much pain and now they are trying to help this community to heal.

 

[Menzinger]

Not sure that actually makes any sense. The Vegas team is made up of mostly veterans while the Leafs core is filled with 20-23 year olds.

A good point.

Even though I think redhot goaltending is the main reason for Vegas’ success, they essentially were able to stack the rest of the lineup with players right in the middle there primes. Where most other teams tend to be rounded out by you guys either well past their prime or young players not yet in theirs (ie the Leafs). And that’s a big factor too.

 

[GoldenGOOSE]

Fleury indeed is goaling like I cannot remember in recent playoff history. Yeah, Quick is a good comparison.

When your goalie is playing like that, it makes every player feel as large as Byfuglien.

Apart from that, Gallant has instituted a forecheck and defend system, that, I cannot remember ever seeing before.

Winnipeg was playing well and hard, in the fifth game, but Vegas defended so close, so perfectly angled, that Winnipeg was visibly clumsy at times on their skates, the poor guys were that pooped from trying to get into open ice around the net.

Vegas hounded the Jets for five games and Byfuglien especially looked like he might fall, many times during the game, from outright fatigue.

The Leafs had the Bruins looking like that in game six and seven from using their speed, but once again, choked an obviously worn out and defeated opponent.

I love watching Vegas, I have loved them all year. I think the Leafs were a good team, and are, but you have to get rid of a few guys who just won't go that extra mile.

Maybe the most important factor that no one can copy and paste is you have a team of obviously very good players, all feeling like brothers of the damned, because their parent teams gave up on them. How does any team duplicate that?

So yeah, its unique circumstance. If Washington beats Tampa and extends that series, wow, can the script for Vegas be any better than that?

If Vegas can consistently shut down Kucherov and Point, well, call me overly impressed.

 

[ShaneFalco]

Execute a good game lan and out-work other teams. Great goaltending too so far

 

[Battle Lin]

the two main things are their main guys are young but not early 20s young like our guys, they are 25-28 area young and in their prime years

the 2nd is obviously goal tending

 

[Seath The Scaleless]

Their defensive zone play. They pressure the puck carrier to limit time and space. Too many teams play the passive collapsing zone coverage (Leafs) rather than hounding the puck. The points are rarely wide open unlike what we've seen with the Leafs.

Also, when in danger, they know how to clear the zone. Sometimes your best option is to aim for the jumbotron rather than passing your way out of the zone, which leads to turnovers when you're fatigued. I understand that you want puck possession, but after a long shift, just get it out.

Vegas' forwards seem to know their positioning to give the puck carrier some passing options.

 

[ottomaddox]

last week it was the jets this week the knights in a few days it will be either the caps or lightning. stop with this hot take discussion

What do you propose?

What else can you do?

 

[Clark4Ever]

The irony is that this could be the worst possible thing to have happened to Vegas. Nevermind that it's an embarassment to the NHL, but Vegas has nowhere to go but down from here, especially if they win the Cup.

 

[ottomaddox]

2018 Trade Deadline Moves for VGK

There's a leafs connection here: earlier in the season:

To VGK Tobias Lindberg, 6th round pick in 2018
To TOR Calvin Pickard

Deadline:

To PIT Tobias Lindberg
To VGK Ryan Reaves, 4th round pick in 2018

To DET
2018 1st-round pick; 2019 2nd; 2021 3rd
To VGK Tomas Tatar

^pretty steep

To VAN Brandon Leipsic
To VGK Philip Holm

Some impact and some insurance.

 

[Nithoniniel]

The irony is that this could be the worst possible thing to have happened to Vegas. Nevermind that it's an embarassment to the NHL, but Vegas has nowhere to go but down from here, especially if they win the Cup.

I seriously struggle to see how it's an embarrassment to the NHL. And no, having a huge opportunity to win a Stanley Cup is not the worst thing that could happen.

I guess you were joking?

 

[Peiskos]

Not sure that actually makes any sense. The Vegas team is made up of mostly veterans while the Leafs core is filled with 20-23 year olds.

Not really, Toronto has a number of veteran guys Komarov(31), Bozak(32), JVR(29), Polak(32), Hainsey(37), Marleau(38), Kadri(27)...c'mon dude these guys are seasoned they should know never to keep the foot off the gas. Vegas has young guys too..Theodore, Tuch, Carrier, Karlsson, Matteau, Reinhart are all under 25 years old.

I agree that our young core is all quite young though.

 

[NarcoPolo]

Have 4-5 players including your goalie have career years for starters. I want to say they've also benefited a lot just out of sheer luck. I mean no team wins a cup without having either a #1D or #1C, or so we've been told for years and years.

 

[rent free]

they were good

 

[RoadWarrior]

Played with confidence, had much better coaching that emphasized playing to the group's strength, significantly better goaltending. All 30 teams should be embarassed. This just proves how vastly overpaid most of the 'hockey minds' across the league are.

It also proves that George McPhee is the best GM in the league. It’s ironic that they may face Washington in the finals which is the other team built by McPhee.

His principals are team speed, 200 foot players and superb goaltending.

The leafs are lacking in the latter two categories.

 

[X66]

They don't have the worst right side D-pairing in the NHL.

 

[Jeffrey Pedler]

I heard from someone that they treat every line like the first line and every defence pairing like the first. It doesn't matter where you are in the line up, you're going against Crosby, McDavid, Matthews, etc.

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

If Babcock really needs to motivate a bunch of young guys, then we have a problem.
Everything is going right for Vegas, so I dont think their success should somehow put a red mark on our team. Plus it wont be just Babcock, then the 29 other teams coaches dont how to motivate either then. Those teams also dont show up 100% of the time.
Gallant isnt perfect, he plays a certain player or players too much(Sbisa). Maybe Babcock cant achieve that because our team has a maturity issue, and there is not much Babcock can do there other then keep teaching.
Babcock got the most out of this team as well. He battled Matthews not showing up, Andersen deciding to play like an AHL calibre goalie, and despite that made it to a game 7 against a great team.

Look I understand Babcock had some habits that hurt the team, we all know what they are. However motivation isnt one of them. If motivation is exemplified by Gallant, then 30 other coaches also have this issue.

players absolutely do need to be motivated, especially on a good team. it's so easy to become content and passive and develop bad habits when you're winning. I agree that no other coach is as good as Gallant in this respect, but Babcock is one of the worst. The Leafs really do take long stretches of the game off on a consistent basis. That's just basic effort level though. The issue goes deeper beyond that when you look at Babcock's favoritism and poor consistency for holding players accountable. Again, Babcock isn't the only coach behind Gallant in this area, but he still has a lot of catching up to do. He's a smart guy, so hopefully he can learn

 

[Clark4Ever]

I seriously struggle to see how it's an embarrassment to the NHL. And no, having a huge opportunity to win a Stanley Cup is not the worst thing that could happen.

I guess you were joking?

I wasn't joking at all. If you don't think an expansion team finishing near the top of the standings and dominating every team they've faced in the playoffs is an embarrassment to the league, that's your prerogative.

Moving forward, for their sake, I hope the fans will hang in there if the team takes a step back or two.

 

[Menzinger]

I wasn't joking at all. If you don't think an expansion team finishing near the top of the standings and dominating every team they've faced in the playoffs is an embarrassment to the league, that's your prerogative.

Moving forward, for their sake, I hope the fans will hang in there if the team takes a step back or two.

GMs of other teams should feel embarrassed, not the league.

For the league I can’t imagine a better scenario. It’s been huge for the local market in Vegas and has actually given the national US sports media another reason to focus on the NHL. It’s a buzz generator