Vegas Golden Knights Provide The Perfect Blueprint Of What It Takes To Win In The Postseason
Paying tribute to the 2023 Stanley Cup Champions...
Many would argue, and perhaps fairly so, that a 9-3 blowout in the Stanley Cup clinching game can feel a bit like a dud.
After what was a first couple of mouthwatering, suspenseful Playoff rounds full of high drama, we saw a sweep in the Eastern Conference Finals before the Vegas Golden Knights made light work of the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final to complete a gentlemen’s sweep on home ice on their way to securing a first championship in franchise history.
Some would say the ending to the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs was anti-climatic at best.
I beg to differ, however.
Because, in absolutely dismantling the fairytale Panthers in the way that they did, the Golden Knights provided the rest of the NHL with a blueprint as to how to handle your business on the biggest stage and bulldoze your way through the postseason.
There were very few blips for this absolute juggernaut of a Vegas team - aside from a freak and head-scratching 5-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets in Game 1 of the Western Conference First Round. Aside from that, the Golden Knights were damn near-on perfect on their way to winning the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history in just their sixth year of existence.
They ticked every single box you need to tick in order to scale the mountain top and taste euphoria in arguably the toughest postseason in all of sports. The brain trust of President of Hockey Operations George McPhee and General Manager Kelly McCrimmon provided the vital ingredients of speed, power, scoring, experience, toughness and depth to Head Coach Bruce Cassidy - in his first year behind the bench in Vegas - who then cooked them up in an irresistible dish that proved impossible to beat.
It’s always a good idea to back up points with hard evidence and there’s some eye-popping stats out there that really do a great job of underlining in bold just how freakishly dominant this Vegas team was throughout the postseason.
For instance, the Golden Knights outshot Florida 26-12 in the Stanley Cup Final, which is an insane stat within itself. The 9 goals scored in a commanding, domineering Game 5 win was the mosts goals scored in a Stanley Cup clinching-win all-time. In total this postseason, Vegas outscored their opposition by a whopping margin of 66 to 33 at five-on-five, while winning by three goals or more in nine of their 16 Playoff wins.
Oh, and they never faced elimination once over its 22-game run to the Stanley Cup.
I can’t even begin to put into words how impressive that last point really is. It’s hard to win in the Playoffs but the Knights did it for fun.
Vegas was the best team in hockey all year and they hammered that home throughout the postseason.
There’s also a couple of key components when it comes to navigating, surviving and then prevailing in the gruelling war of attrition that is the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Those are building rosters that are loaded with depth and winning the special teams battle.
Vegas passed both of those requirements with flying colors.
The Golden Knights got production from up and down their lineup throughout the Playoffs. They became just the fifth team in the salary cap era to have three players score 10 or more goals during a single postseason. They were also the only team this year to have four players with eight or more goals. Furthermore, 12 players also reached double digits in points and 17 of their 18 players tallied at least a point in the Stanley Cup Final.
Yes, Vegas could rely on a glob of star power with the likes of Mark Stone, Jonathan Marchessault, Jack Eichel and Shea Theodore on their roster. But this team could also roll all four lines knowing they would get production from a slew of players up and down the lineup on any given night, and they had six big, solid defenseman who were able to lock it down in their own zone.
When it comes to special teams, the Knights held the Panthers without a single goal on the power play in the Stanley Cup Final. Florida went 0-for-14 on the man advantage while Vegas went 6-for-19 (31.6 percent) on the power play. That ultimately proved to be a major difference in the series with Florida unable to stay out of the box and they were punished time and time again. Vegas Captain Mark Stone also scored a shorthanded effort in Game 5.
Of course, you also need some luck throughout the course of a deep postseason run and Vegas got some breaks along the way. They were able to stay largely healthy throughout, they went up against a physically compromised Matthew Tkachuk in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final and then didn’t have to face him in Game 5, and they were able to hit on an absolute wildcard in the goaltending department after injury did strike.
We’re talking about Adin Hill, of course.
By now, you are all familiar with the remarkable rise of Hill from fourth-choice goalie with the San Jose Sharks to now being a Stanley Cup winner. Hill, who was acquired from the Sharks by Vegas for a fourth-round pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, emerged from the dark, deep depths of hockey hell to become a star in a city that loves to see a gamble pay off.
That looks even more of a bargain now.
Hill wasn’t even the starter for the Knights to begin the postseason but, after Laurent Brossoit went down hurt in Game 3 of the Second Round against the Edmonton Oilers, Hill stepped up and was near-on perfect from that point on. He went 11-4-0 with a 2.17 Goals-Against Average and a .932 Save Percentage to go along with two shutouts. He pulled off an insane doorstep save with the heel of his stick to rob Nick Cousins in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, and that defining image will be part of Hill’s legacy forever.
Now, sure, Hill did immensely benefit from the fact that arguably the biggest strength of this Vegas team is its physically-imposing, ultra-committed defensive unit that made life absolute hell for every opponent they faced in the postseason. Alex Pietrangelo, Alec Martinez, Shea Theodore, Brayden McNabb, Zach Whitecloud and Nicolas Hague combined for 123 blocked shots in the series against Florida, including 31 in Game 3 and 30 in Game 4. They put their absolute bodies on the line while clogging up the the middle of the ice and doing a great job of taking away second-chance opportunities on rebounds. This was a behemoth blueline that excelled in the dark arts of getting right the ugly but necessary details that go into winning a hockey game, a postseason series and, ultimately, a championship.
However, when Hill was needed he absolutely stood on his head and made a slew of highlight-reel saves in clutch moments to bail out his team. He made a hugely critical stop seconds before Mark Stone scored the first goal of Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final, and just look at this insane glove save that Hill somehow managed to pull off later on in that same contest:
If you go produce a survival list of things you need in order to win in the Playoffs, Vegas had it all - depth, goaltending, scoring, special teams, speed, toughness, a little slice of luck, experience - and they were a relentless force of nature that never once slowed down.
And that brings me back to my original point. Yes, as hockey fans, we would have loved to see the Stanley Cup Final decided in Overtime of Game 7. I’ll confess, before this series started, I predicted Vegas and Florida would go the full seven. However, as magical and as unlikely a run as the Panthers had, they were never a match for the Golden Knights.
Right out of the gate, and as they had done all postseason to dispatch the Jets, the Oilers and the Stars, the Knights stayed true to their game, never panicked and proceeded to land blow after punishing blow upon the chin of the Panthers before delivering the crushing, emphatic fatal blow in Game 5.
There’s nothing too sexy about this Vegas team and there was nothing sexy in how they closed out this series to get their hands on the Stanley Cup. They are just a fundamentally sound hockey club and they developed a habit of going for the throat, sparing no mercy towards their opponent and scrapping and clawing and fighting at every inch until the job was done.
Games 1 and 2 quickly showed everyone just how overpowering the Golden Knights could be. They piled on in Game 3 and would have taken the first game of the series on the road had it not been for the heroics of Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. But, knowing they would face an onslaught from a desperate hockey team in Game 4, they took advantage of the opportunities given to them, blocked shot after shot after shot and used their size to play a skill game Florida simply couldn’t figure out.
Then, with all the pressure in the world on their shoulders back on home ice in Game 5, with the celebrations being planned, the Golden Knights did what they do best and that is to just play their game and block out the outside noise. The way in which they ruthlessly picked apart the Panthers, throwing puck after puck on goal and never, ever taking their foot off the gas was beyond impressive. They absolutely throttled Florida, attacking in waves and they kept on beating the crap of out their opponent until the job was done.
From the original Golden Misfits all having a huge impact on Game 5 - in addition to having their fingerprints all over Vegas’ overall postseason success - to Adin Hill morphing into a star overnight to Jack Eichel completing his redemption tour to Mark Stone becoming the first player to score a hat trick in a Stanley Cup clinching-game since 1996, this postseason journey was a culmination of a six-year journey for a franchise that hasn’t been afraid to go all in and trade away beloved icons in order to extend their win-now window.
And, yes, while the Stanley Cup Final itself wasn’t as tightly contested as many of us would have liked, we were treated to an absolute spectacle of dominance that we haven’t really seen before from a Vegas Golden Knights team that had the perfect blend of all the vital ingredients you need in order to scale the mountain top and win it all.
They did it in the most dominant way possible too.
And that’s why, for me at least, the Stanley Cup Final wasn’t an anti-climatic disappointment. It served as an absolute masterclass in how an unrelenting juggernaut willed their way to ultimate glory no matter what challenges or hurdles were thrown in their way.
The Vegas Golden Knights ended up as the best team in the NHL. And they put one almighty exclamation point on that statement by absolutely dominating from end to end of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
They are the ultimate fitting Stanley Cup Champion.
