Vegas Cinderella story is over

[WesMcCauley]

I didn’t think they would be as good. I think they’ll win the division now.

Nate Schmidt is extremely underrated. Once he came back they started climbing the standings. He plays over two minutes more a game than any other player on Vegas. Easily a top 30 defensemen in the NHL.

 

[Brazen331]

I was at the VGK/LA game tonight and the Kings got slaughtered, it should have been 8-0. All 3 stars should have been given to Campbell. But here is my question:

How come Brandon Pirri has not found a niche in this league yet? Wasn't he scoring at a decent clip in Montreal not too long ago? Maybe he isn't the greatest 2-way maven but his shot has to be at the top of any league he plays in. It's phenomenal. I don't see how you can sit that shot.

 

[mtlmonk]

I was at the VGK/LA game tonight and the Kings got slaughtered, it should have been 8-0. All 3 stars should have been given to Campbell. But here is my question:

How come Brandon Pirri has not found a niche in this league yet? Wasn't he scoring at a decent clip in Montreal not too long ago? Maybe he isn't the greatest 2-way maven but his shot has to be at the top of any league he plays in. It's phenomenal. I don't see how you can sit that shot.

Never played in Mtl

 

[Brazen331]

Florida and Chicago were the teams. Sorry

 

[ijuka]

I called it in November. Team was on the upswing. Vegas is legit and they are deeper this year. In addition to Stastny, Pacs, and Pirri, Tuch has finally broke out.

Yep, they were doing amazing in advanced stats and were at the top of every "unlucky"-type advanced stat chart. This is an expected outcome, one could say.

 

[Brazen331]

Vegas needs to bring up Erik Brannstrom as soon as Sweden is through with him. I'm not sure why he shouldn't have made the team to begin with. If they had another skater on that blue line to go with Schmidt and Theodore I think they could be more of that swarming fast-break style team that just skated teams into the ice last year.

He'll make mistakes but he'll also give them a top 10 power play instantly. I watched him in the pre-season. Vegas does not have an offensive threat on their blue line right now remotely like him. Certainly they should be able to find a place for him with guys like Holden and Merrill and Engelland occupying space.

 

[HanSolo]

Vegas needs to bring up Erik Brannstrom as soon as Sweden is through with him. I'm not sure why he shouldn't have made the team to begin with. If they had another skater on that blue line to go with Schmidt and Theodore I think they could be more of that swarming fast-break style team that just skated teams into the ice last year.

He'll make mistakes but he'll also give them a top 10 power play instantly. I watched him in the pre-season. Vegas does not have an offensive threat on their blue line right now remotely like him. Certainly they should be able to find a place for him with guys like Holden and Merrill and Engelland occupying space.

He was struggling with 1 on 1s in the last two preseason games but certainly not as badly as Merrill has this year. John Merrill who got the third most minutes on Vegas last night for some f***ing reason.

 

[HanSolo]

Nate Schmidt is extremely underrated. Once he came back they started climbing the standings. He plays over two minutes more a game than any other player on Vegas. Easily a top 30 defensemen in the NHL.

And he hasn't even really been at his best but the truth is Theodore wasn't ready to be the guy yet. He was good but with Miller having a shit year, Engelland's age showing, McNabb being below average, and the Merrill-Holden pairing being a disaster, Shea was struggling to carry the defense. With Schmidt back, McNabb has been a lot better and Theodore-Engelland's have a lot of pressure off their backs.

Vegas has four great defensive prospects in Brannstrom, Hague, Bischoff, and Whitecloud but Schmidt, Theodore, and McNabb have arguably secured spots going forward. If Miller continues on his current path he'll find himself out of a job.

 

[allevat]

I'm not sure why he shouldn't have made the team to begin with.

McPhee doesn't like to keep teenagers in the NHL, thinks it is usually better for their development to spend a year or so in the AHL. And really, for all but a very few superstar level kids he's likely right.

 

[CupInSIX]

McPhee doesn't like to keep teenagers in the NHL, thinks it is usually better for their development to spend a year or so in the AHL. And really, for all but a very few superstar level kids he's likely right.

That's not really true. It's more like he doesn't like to play 18 year olds in the NHL.

 

[Volica]

And he hasn't even really been at his best but the truth is Theodore wasn't ready to be the guy yet. He was good but with Miller having a **** year, Engelland's age showing, McNabb being below average, and the Merrill-Holden pairing being a disaster, Shea was struggling to carry the defense. With Schmidt back, McNabb has been a lot better and Theodore-Engelland's have a lot of pressure off their backs.

Vegas has four great defensive prospects in Brannstrom, Hague, Bischoff, and Whitecloud but Schmidt, Theodore, and McNabb have arguably secured spots going forward. If Miller continues on his current path he'll find himself out of a job.

Engelland's age has been showing since he was 27. Outside of a blip on the map last season.

 

[ImNeverWrong]

Nate Schmidt is extremely underrated. Once he came back they started climbing the standings. He plays over two minutes more a game than any other player on Vegas. Easily a top 30 defensemen in the NHL.

Yah been watching a lot of vegas games lately and schmidt is clearly the lynchpin for success i believe. A very good dman that does everything well. Kind of like a poorman's Mark Giordano imo.

 

[HanSolo]

Yah been watching a lot of vegas games lately and schmidt is clearly the lynchpin for success i believe. A very good dman that does everything well. Kind of like a poorman's Mark Giordano imo.

I know this is gonna sound like a "yeah whatever" statement but his personality is also gotta be uplifting in the locker room.

 

[ImNeverWrong]

I know this is gonna sound like a "yeah whatever" statement but his personality is also gotta be uplifting in the locker room.

he seems like he could be a jokester...

Look at that face.

 

[Intangir]

he seems like he could be a jokester...

Look at that face.

That's one creepy smile, and that vacant look in his eyes, wow..

An absolute stud of a prospect though.

 

[Vegas07]

They'll go as far as Fluery can take them. Subban has 1 win this season and it was against the Kings on a Saturday afternoon.. You can't expect him to play 70 games and not feel it.

I think a lot of people including Vegas fans have been too tough on him. He hasn’t started a home game yet, started on the second night of back-to-backs a large percentage of the time, played against some tough teams, and in a couple of his bad starts the entire team looked way off (or sometimes even looked gassed) and made it a lot tougher on him. The team also played poorly early in the season.

The 7-2 loss to Calgary would have been a blowout if Fleury was playing. The Kings clearly outplayed the Knights in a 4-1 loss. And Subban was great in a 1-0 loss at Columbus but lost because his team didn’t score.

His record last season was 13-4-2 so I think his record this season is misleading. I can totally understand why people would look at his stats this season, or watch one of his bad games and think he sucks though.

 

[traparatus]

He was struggling with 1 on 1s in the last two preseason games but certainly not as badly as Merrill has this year. John Merrill who got the third most minutes on Vegas last night for some ****ing reason.

Why does Vegas have this dude on their roster? Might be the slowest skater in the league and to compound it, he pinches in every single shift. There must be a better option out there that can be had for a late round draft pick.

 

[96]

That's one creepy smile, and that vacant look in his eyes, wow..

An absolute stud of a prospect though.

Absolute stud of a 27 year old prospect with 300 NHL games

 

[Brazen331]

Why does Vegas have this dude on their roster? Might be the slowest skater in the league and to compound it, he pinches in every single shift. There must be a better option out there that can be had for a late round draft pick.

They don’t need to make a trade. They have 4 guys in Chicago who are better than Merrill as well as Hunt who always sits for Merrill.

 

[Intangir]

Absolute stud of a 27 year old prospect with 300 NHL games

My mistake, I thought the guy was Brannstrom. Not gonna lie, I'm kinda relieved to know he doesn't have such a creepy smile.

 

[Brazen331]

My mistake, I thought the guy was Brannstrom. Not gonna lie, I'm kinda relieved to know he doesn't have such a creepy smile.

No, Brannstrom looks like he is 15 years old. I think if they bring him up and find a place in the lineup for Pirri when Pacioretty returns they can win the Pacific again even with Calgary having a couple in hand. Vegas doesn't have a Karlsson (you know which one) or a McDavid or a Gaudreau or a Doughty or a Pettersson for that matter, but when they are on their game they certainly seem to beat up on their conference opponents fairly well.

And having all those home games to end the year is going to be a big benefit.

 

[Riddum]

Absolute stud of a 27 year old prospect with 300 NHL games

Matthews is no Pirri. Stud!

 

[96]

Matthews is no Pirri. Stud!

Always thought he was a great player back in his florida days. He’s been a staple on my NHL be a GM teams 3-4th lines since then lol

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

Pirri is still owner of the sweetest one-timer ever scored in NHL history, when he scored against Price while on the Rangers. It was poetry in motion.

 

[Big Daddy Cane]

Another W. Now 10 games above NHL .500.

It will be interesting to see how the Pacioretty - Stastny - Tuch line gels now that everyone is healthy. If the chemistry develops there, look out Western Conference.