As we continue the post-mortem assessment of the Colorado Avalanche’s stunning playoff elimination, it’s worth looking at why the Vegas Golden Knights were able to beat the Avs so handily.
It wasn’t that Vegas outlasted Colorado in a hard-fought seven-game series. The shock lies in how the NHL’s best team suddenly could not get much of anything going in the Western Conference Final.
Generally speaking, it was Vegas’ ability to adapt to Colorado’s playing style. The shift wasn’t a sudden shift from one game to another. It was the product of the Golden Knights’ playoff bracket.
Vegas played three teams with very similar styles. The Utah Mammoth and the Anaheim Ducks were clubs that showed a very similar, speedy, puck-possession style that Vegas had to adjust to contain.
In the first round, the Golden Knights went up against a young, fast, and very tenacious Mammoth squad. For a while, it seemed like Utah was too much for Vegas. At one point, the Mammoth had a 2-1 series lead. The two teams even went to double overtime in Game 5 before the Golden Knights took a 3-2 series lead.
If there was any team that could have beaten Vegas, it was Utah. Vegas just managed to outlast them. Had the Mammoth gotten stellar goaltending, this conversation would have been much different.
Then, there was Anaheim in the second round. Like Utah, it seemed like the Ducks had the Golden Knights on the ropes. The Ducks have a fast, young club with a good mix of grizzled veterans.
And like Utah, it seemed like the Ducks had the Golden Knights on the ropes. The series was 2-2 at one point, with Vegas finally pulling away.
By the time Vegas reached Colorado, they knew what to expect. The difference is that Vegas wasn’t facing a young, up-and-coming team with fresh legs. Colorado was a veteran squad that was evidently dealing with numerous injuries. And as much as superstars like Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar tried their best to hold up their end of the bargain, Vegas had adjusted all too well.
The outcome of the Avalanche’s season only reinforces my argument from months ago that superstars should not play in the Olympics. Yes, it’s every player’s dream, but Stanley Cup contenders should really think twice about letting their stars play in a grueling tournament in the middle of a compressed schedule.
Incidentally, the Stanley Cup Final promises to be a snoozefest. Two defensive-minded, grinding teams will meet. With very little offense, this year’s final promises to be a back-and-forth battle of 1-0 and 2-1 games, overtime games.
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