GDT: WCF G4 Winnipeg Jets @ Vegas Golden Knights (5pm PT)(Slow website edition)

[IceNeophyte]

Hey guys, looking to be enlightened. I know your top six and goalie are both very good. My question is, how would you rank your defensemen? Schmidt is awesome, Theodore looks good, but I’m ignorant. Is Engo good now? Is Collin Miller somebody I’ve slept on the whole time? What makes it tick? Thanks.

There are always 5 skaters on the ice playing defense for this team.

Engelland is a bit slow but his value as a leader is immeasurable. Miller is serviceable.

 

[IceNeophyte]

I feel like that will break up the good juju. I might do game 6 if they need one.

Cherry picker!

 

[HanSolo]

Cherry picker!

You don't f*** with a process that works.

 

[Vegan Knight]

There are always 5 skaters on the ice playing defense for this team.

Engelland is a bit slow but his value as a leader is immeasurable. Miller is serviceable.

Miller is way more than serviceable.

 

[CupInSIX]

Hey guys, looking to be enlightened. I know your top six and goalie are both very good. My question is, how would you rank your defensemen? Schmidt is awesome, Theodore looks good, but I’m ignorant. Is Engo good now? Is Collin Miller somebody I’ve slept on the whole time? What makes it tick? Thanks.

• Schmidt=legit (best Knight this year IMO) I don't know if he can get any better than he already is but if he does he's in elite company
• Theo seems to be getting better defensively every game. Less turnovers, using his fast legs more and more. He's already on the cusp of being a legit #2 next year and can be paired with Schmidt in training camp if they bolster the blueline. He's already miles ahead of where he was earlier in the season.
• McNabb is a rock. Great shot blocker, and maybe Schmidt makes things a bit easier for him. 3rd pairing PK guy that's probably playing over his head (but don't tell him that)
• Engelland had one of his best games last night. Some nights he looks a little slow, other nights he can fly and makes a surprise pinch. He's playing his heart out but he had some rough patches in the regular season. I don't see him being a regular Dman next season but maybe he can be used as 4th line RW.
• Miller is mostly a 3rd pairing PP specialist at this point. Great shot, great speed, bit not the biggest or strongest. That said, he loves to go looking for a big hit or a pinch and half the time that's ill advised but he's still learning. Most Jets chances come when he and Sbisa/Merrill are on the ice. Next year he can move into the top 4 with Theodore or McNabb.
• Sbisa is going to give me an ulcer
• Merrill has been somewhat effective but he too might give me ulcers

They've been helped out by their forwards a lot though, although that's not a surprise. Eakin hasn't gotten enough recognition for his backchecking below his own goal line. I know Gallant doesn't try to match lines, but he seemed to throw Eakin over the boards when Scheifele was out and he really seems to be effective and drives him nuts!

If the Knights had that one LD (like Cole) to shore up the D...

 

[allan5oh]

Jets fan here. Some things I've noticed.

- Jets are slow to retrieve the puck from behind our net. You're the only team to take advantage of that.
- You're also the only team to properly counter our breakouts. We don't have much variety so there's not much to fall back on
- The blind passes up the middle have worked out well for you guys
- I have no doubt when Connor gave away the puck leading to a goal that was intentional by your team. We were cheating line changes at times and your scouting has picked it up
- MAF is unreal

Hats off to your coaching/scouting. You're doing things that Minnesota and Nashville never picked up on and it's working.

 

[Vegan Knight]

Do people not understand that the coaching staff sticks Miller with Sbisa/Merrill because they trust him to babysit them MORE than Theodore or Engelland? Miller has been our second most valuable defenseman this year.

Already top 4 quality but doing the job needed to shore up our most glaring deficiency (#6D) the best we can.

 

[Say Hey Kid]

I hope we play the weaker team, the Caps.

 

[Bart9349]

Jets fan here. Some things I've noticed.


- MAF is unreal

A very thoughtful assessment, but I think the reasons for the Knights success may be more simple:

Laine probably is hurt. He looks to be grimacing between shifts.

The Jets team (and their fans) underestimated the Knights. After beating the Preds, they overestimated their strength against the Knights (as well as any future ECF winner). There is no easy opponent at this point in the playoffs.

Finally, I agree that MAF is playing out of his mind. He really revels in the role of the starting goaltender after the MAF v Murray fiasco in Pittsburgh.

That said, I won’t be surprised if this series goes to a game seven.

I feel no animosity toward the Jets. Some of the venom spewed by Jets fans toward Las Vegas (and the US) has been surprising, however. The notion that Las Vegas fans know nothing about hockey is ridiculous.

As a longtime Pens fan, I can tell you that there is no entitlement at the championship level in sports. I still have nightmares about the Pens 93 playoff run when a third consecutive Cup was a sure thing ... until it wasn’t.

 

[Jagged Ice]

According to jets fans on hf, we should have lost every game. lol

It's not just Jets fans it's league wide. I'm mostly a Wild and Coyotes fan, but really just a big fan of the general league. All these fans that have said you guys are a fairy tale Cinderella team that wouldn't beat the Kings, then Sharks and now the Jets better not be bit*ching after it's all over that it wasn't fair how your team was set up to rape the league of talent and special trade deals. But you will hear it.
I've been saying since November you guys are well coached with great chemistry. An offense that plays defense and a defense that scores. Cinderella teams don't make it this far.

 

[Vegas Mac]

Knights' biggest weakness is their blueline. They mask it through team approach where everyone plays a two way game, shrewd pairings, and MAF of course. And of course "weakness" is relative, where they're still getting very good play on the back end. Just think that's the area where they can really upgrade this offseason.

Nothing's changed for me thus far in this series. Jets are a fearsome team, their overall skill is crazy good and they're big and fast. Getting that last win is gonna be tough, and the good thing here is the Knights are a grounded bunch who know that. So hopefully this series gets put behind us, and sooner rather than later.

 

[Vegas Mac]

- Jets are slow to retrieve the puck from behind our net. You're the only team to take advantage of that.
- You're also the only team to properly counter our breakouts. We don't have much variety so there's not much to fall back on

I think overall this has been a fantastic series thus far. Well, outside of game one. The past three games have been evenly matched, with the Knights capitalizing on turnovers and good chances. So whatever happens, for me both fan bases can feel pretty damn good about their teams.

Re: the pressure by the forwards, that is their greatest strength. What is interesting is that their ability to force turnovers is the one thing everybody overlooked about the Knights going into the playoffs. The Kings had a hot goalie who kept them in it by himself, but they just didn't have the horses up front to deal. Sharks same thing, they've got some speed/skill but nowhere near enough. Jets are different. So for myself at least, I'm not going to be relaxed until this series is over.

 

[Vegas Mac]

I hope we play the weaker team, the Caps.

I am not comfortable looking ahead, personally. But in that hypothetical exercise I think the Caps are the tougher matchup for Vegas.

The good thing here is that IF they can get by the Jets, they're certainly capable of beating either of those eastern teams. But for me right now it's gonna be white knuckles to the finish line man. Then I'll sweat that finals matchup, if applicable.