R3 - Series Thread - Jets (C2) vs Golden Knights (P1) Vegas Wins 4-1

[Hockey]

I for one am shocked Vegas continues to win. I still think Winnipeg can win this series.

[gamesaver]

Originally Posted by KootenayFlamesFan

I don't know how it fell in their laps........nobody looked at that roster to start the year and thought 'Stanley Cup finalist'. They're a bunch of guys with something to prove, with a great goalie, a great coach that didn't even have a job, and a team that flat out just works and skates hard.

You can't overstate confidence, either. They're loaded with it.

Yes I agree, most people laughed after the expansion draft and thought they wasted their chance for building a competitive roster. You gotta give it to the management, they did a terrific job.

[Fan in Exile]

Someone should throw Byfuglien's clothes in the shower.

[Inferno]

lol, my cousin is going on a tirade right now on Facebook about how Bettman must be loving this. You had four straight powerplays that helped you gain momentum and didn't have to kill a penalty since the first. Maybe Big Buff shouldn't have been so lazy going back to get the puck. Like I said, don't just assume it's icing that late in the game.

[Toonage]

Originally Posted by gamesaver

Yes I agree, most people laughed after the expansion draft and thought they wasted their chance for building a competitive roster. You gotta give it to the management, they did a terrific job.

I still think Vegas management prepared to lose. They went with youth that would be competitive several years down the road when their prospects were ready rather than be in a perpetual rebuild until then if they went with older vets. Then the unexpected happened.

[JohnnyB]

Woot! Expecting this to go at least 6, but feeling pretty good about seeing VGK in the final!

[DeluxeMoustache]

That 4 seconds was not what lost the game. They didn’t win the draw with 6 seconds left.

Noticed that Vegas responds exceedingly well the shift after they are scored upon.

[Jacks]

Fleury has been huge but so has every goalie still in it. It's not like Vegas isn't scoring plenty of goals,it's been a team effort for sure.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Jacks

Fleury has been huge but so has every goalie still in it. It's not like Vegas isn't scoring plenty of goals,it's been a team effort for sure.

Vegas is outscoring the Jets 10–5 at even strength.

[Jacks]

Edit nm read that wrong

[CSharp]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

Vegas is outscoring the Jets 10–5 at even strength.

It really amazes me that they've done that in 3 series now where their even strength dominates the opponents. Their pp looks good in this series as opposed to the Sharks series. The Knights have shown they're very resilient thru the whole 1st session. Their 5-on-5 is potent.

[Kovaz]

Originally Posted by Red

Outclassed LA.
Didnt give an inch to SJ.
A game away from eliminating Jets who seem to only bring it when down in 3rd periods.

I dont think they are often the 2nd best. They have earned their wins. Look at Wpg and take away their PP. Without it the Jets are pretty average.

Admittedly I've only watched probably 1/3rd of the time, so maybe I've just caught the wrong parts, but the periods I've watched there's been a ton of stretches where Vegas is on their heels, giving up chance after chance, Fleury makes 3 or 4 ten-bell saves, and then they go the other way and score on their one shot. IMO Winnipeg has comfortably out-played them outside of Fleury being at a .945 and Hellebuyck at .868, and I thought SJ was the better team after game 1.

[868904]

Originally Posted by Toonage

I still think Vegas management prepared to lose. They went with youth that would be competitive several years down the road when their prospects were ready rather than be in a perpetual rebuild until then if they went with older vets. Then the unexpected happened.

Yea it's annoying how everyone is calling McPhee a genius now but were calling him dumb after his selections at the expansion draft. It was universally panned at the time.

I think the credit really goes to Gallant. That roster still sucks. They are just a TEAM and they have a great leader.

[the_only_turek_fan]

Vegas is going to win the next 5 games and win this whole thing. Crazy.

[Otto-matic]

Originally Posted by Mathgod

It's going to be very hard for me to have any respect for the NHL if Vegas wins the cup this year. Having a Stanley Cup winning roster in year 1 just seems bush. Other teams struggle for years, even decades, to piece together a winning formula, but these guys have it fall into their laps right off the bat. Just doesn't seem right.

This is a terrible take on Vegas.

Everybody and I mean everybody was picking them to be basement dwellers this season. If you take a look at the pre-season prediction thread here I think all of us picked them to be dead last and easy pickings for the Flames.

The team has a chip on their shoulder because they're all essentially cast offs from teams that didn't think they needed. Its not like the NHL gifted them 23 all star players.

[Samonadreau]

Originally Posted by Hockey

I for one am shocked Vegas continues to win. I still think Winnipeg can win this series.

I'm not. After they swept LA. I decided - F it they're gonna win the cup. Its destiny or some crap like that.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by 868904

Yea it's annoying how everyone is calling McPhee a genius now but were calling him dumb after his selections at the expansion draft. It was universally panned at the time...

This is not true. McPhee's draft selections were panned by a number of pretentious fans and a few in the media, but otherwise outside opinions were fairly strong that he made astute player acquisitions and deals, and handled the whole process very well.

[zamler]

Originally Posted by Mathgod

It's going to be very hard for me to have any respect for the NHL if Vegas wins the cup this year. Having a Stanley Cup winning roster in year 1 just seems bush. Other teams struggle for years, even decades, to piece together a winning formula, but these guys have it fall into their laps right off the bat. Just doesn't seem right.

Vegas was widely picked to finish dead last.

[Roof-Daddy]

Originally Posted by Mathgod

It's going to be very hard for me to have any respect for the NHL if Vegas wins the cup this year. Having a Stanley Cup winning roster in year 1 just seems bush. Other teams struggle for years, even decades, to piece together a winning formula, but these guys have it fall into their laps right off the bat. Just doesn't seem right.

I agree 100% but good luck around here. Blows my mind how many people are fine with an expansion team being able to build a cup contender right out of the gate by cherry picking other teams rosters and players they spent years and money and assets on acquiring.

Doesn't really matter what anybody thought before, during or immediately after the process either. It's clear now that they were allowed too much leeway and as a result were able to build too good of a team without having to earn it like every other team has to.

I'll be glad if they knock Winnipeg out, because I don't want any other Canadian based team anywhere near the Stanley Cup besides the Flames. But the NHL should be embarrassed IMO, but they won't be because clearly most of the fans are just lapping it up like a cat on a saucer of milk.

[Otto-matic]

Originally Posted by Roof-Daddy

I agree 100% but good luck around here. Blows my mind how many people are fine with an expansion team being able to build a cup contender right out of the gate by cherry picking other teams rosters and players they spent years and money and assets on acquiring.

The same players teams deemed expendable and left them unprotected?