The Vegas Golden Knights can only lose a playoff series through special situations. Five-on-five, Florida is not up to Vegas’ level.
The Vegas Golden Knights won Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals in Sunrise, Florida 3–2 and now lead the series 3–1.
The expansion team from six years ago will get to try to end the streak for the first time on Tuesday on their home ice.
Ylen Sports expert Ismo Lehkonen highlighted three themes from the fourth match.
Vegas gambling clinic
Even though the match was numerically even, in terms of gameplay it was not so in a broad view. Vegas dominated the first two periods almost at will, creating a huge number of scoring chances. Florida guard only Sergei Bobrovsky great moves kept the numbers at only three goals for a long time.
The quality of Vegas’ fundamentals at five-on-five in all three areas of the game is a class better than Florida’s equivalent.
– In the first two sets, we saw Vegas’s wonderful game style clinic. With my exact comb, the goal posts were 18-5.
– It’s really difficult for Florida to get to the finish line, says Lehkonen.
In addition to the structure, Lehkonen likes the level of commitment with which Vegas implements its way of playing. One indication of commitment to the defensive game, for example, is the number of blocked shots. The team has blocked a whopping 103 shots in four matches.
– Everything starts from the attacking area. The guys anticipate and have the power to skate back to their own and give back or slant pressure.
You always come to Omi through the center and the tasks there have been carefully thought out. The lower triangle plays man against man and the platforms help lower. The defenders’ shots are blocked. The game has been put in good shape tactically, says Lehkonen.
Coaching choices
In the case of Florida, what spoke first of all was the coaching choices during the match. Injured in the previous match Matthew Tkachuk the problems came up already during the warm-up, where it didn’t fire even once. In the game, the star forward avoided contact, sometimes even the puck.
Even the chain changes were made to wait until the end of the second set by the coaching staff. Only then the head coach Paul Maurice piled into the same thread Alexander Barkov, by Anton Lundell mixed by Sam Reinhart. The chain completely changed the course of the match.
– Responsibility must be given to those to whom it belongs and Barkov should be found better places to perform. Need to find the chains to get the offensive game rolling. It can’t happen that Barkov got one goal in five home games.
– Through fouling and chain changes, you have to break Vegas’ rhythm and make their coach hesitate.
Finns
You can’t talk about the fourth final match without mentioning the Finns. Barkov and Lundell are the best players on their team by a country mile – have been throughout the series. Now the result also started to come in a hard place. Barkov recorded the power 1+1 in his account.
Only 21 years old, Lundell’s unimaginably mature 60-meter playing manages to impress night after night.
– Nothing more needs to be said about Barkov. I really like the man and I would take him on my team anytime, Lehkonen begins.
– Maybe Lundell doesn’t quite understand how extraordinary it is that a 21-year-old can play the best of his team that was in the finals. He constantly causes problems for opponents. He doesn’t lose fights and in the defensive game he is always in the right place. It’s going to be a pretty messy NHL career for the guy.
Lehkonen praises Lundell above all for his sharp game head.
– He has tactically awakened. He has understood what he is getting into and found out what kind of game needs to be played here.
– He understands that in the playoffs, you go for your life in every exchange. And he does it wisely. That’s easier said than done, Lehkonen laughs at the end.