Every team is vulnerable in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for its own reason. There are no sure things - making it the best two weeks in professional sports.
For the Vegas Golden Knights, who led the NHL in man games lost over the regular season, the question mark that hangs over them is togetherness. Or, more precisely, the lack thereof.
The roster is finally healthy and chock full of elite players. But they haven’t skated together as a unit.
That’s this team’s kryptonite. But, if chemistry comes quick, look out. The Golden Knights are loaded with talent and experience. They’re the defending champions until someone else says different and taking them lightly would be a grievous error.
The Dallas Stars were the Western Conference’s best team in the regular season and are a formidable opponent. The winner of this series will be redlining on confidence with the knowledge they have slayed one of the biggest dragons in the playoff corral.
The best hockey coaches pick their teams for the spring not the fall. Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon is a permanent playoffs resident. He’s been to Centennial Cups, Memorial Cups, Stanley Cups, conference finals, league finals and won a Stanley Cup championship. After a few years of early growing pains running the Brandon Wheat Kings, McCrimmon and his staff won more games than any Canadian Hockey League franchise over a 24-year reign of excellence while making the playoffs in 22 of those seasons. Along the way his teams played in 55 playoff series.
Since arriving in the NHL, along with hockey operations partner George McPhee, McCrimmon has established a record of excellence rivaled only by the Tampa Bay Lightning since 2017-18. Six playoffs runs winning 11-of-15 series while reaching four final fours, two Stanley Cup Final appearances and claiming a Cup.
One of the 63-year-old native of Plenty, Saskatchewan’s handy expressions is, “We’re in the winning business.”
It would be oversimplistic to boil his ethos down to one phrase but it’s an apt descriptor for the results his process is geared towards.
McCrimmon and McPhee began work on this version of the Golden Knights the day after last season’s gang was awarded the Stanley Cup. One and done is not in the plans.
Head coach Bruce Cassidy nursed this team through the regular season. McCrimmon opened his pre-playoffs media availability saying he’s sick of talking about injuries. He should be as his team had to deal with more than any other in the NHL.
Vegas added three key players at the trade deadline in Tomas Hertl, Noah Hanifin and Anthony Mantha. That’s a massive injection of talent (it should be noted both Hertl and Hanifin are signed for six and eight more seasons, respectively) which changes the complexion of the Golden Knights. They’re entering the spring as a deeper and more talented team than they were in the fall.
Not many of the NHL’s cognoscenti are picking the Golden Knights to win this series against the Stars.
Fair enough. Vegas didn’t exactly roar into the postseason. Most teams, however, don’t get all sweaty about regular season accomplishments.
The Golden Knights have lots to prove to themselves. And they don’t have much time to get things in order. That’s the storyline from this perspective. Can Vegas be Vegas? If they can, a lot of people are going to be wrong. And Kelly McCrimmon will be right. Again.
