Kevin Woodley

I've never had this conversation with defenders, but it seems clear to me that Vegas working below the goal line and out of the corners, forcing the Carolina defenders in a man-on-man defense to sort of have to turn and look and find their guys who are moving off puck while still keeping track of it down low.

It just feels to me...

like that's something that they're either going to have to adjust to or just do a better job in their coverage of because it looked like Vegas was having success on it.

Like, again, I think that's so much a Freddie Anderson thing as a way to exploit that system perhaps and one that's going to be hard on any goaltender on the other end and to get those looks.

Now, the one thing on Freddie, and Carter does this too, and it was actually in my pre-scout on Carter, less so on Freddie because he only does it on the one side,

When that puck gets close below the goal line around the net, as soon as you see a goalie reach out with that stick to cut off that lane, that automatically means on a pop pass, you've got to go far side one tee.

Because that reach with the stick delays their ability to get that far side coverage.

So as soon as you see that stick out there, it's A, you've got to get that pass.

beyond it either over it or just outside of it but you know that reach creates a delay to the far side of the net as soon as that pop pass connects into the middle it's got to be a 1T and it's automatically got to be far side of the net and if you can execute and the goalie continues to do it I don't want to say it's an automatic goal every time but it's pretty close.

Yeah, funny enough because we've always thought of Carolina as this pucks to the net team, but they rely a little more on skill, on rush plays, on the type of things that we saw them create with Ehlers.

Obviously, there's a ton of pressure and forecheck pressure in their game that forces turnovers and creates time and space for those skilled players to make skilled plays, but

What they haven't really been, at least nowhere to the same level of Vegas, is that dirty goal-mouth win battles in and around the net, get on rebounds, create broken play bounces, score with screens.

They haven't been that team for the most part in the playoffs.

All teams have those types of goals, and they're in that list, but they're more mid-pack of the 16 teams.

Nothing like what Vegas is creating.

So I don't know that they don't have it in their game, but it's not...

not nearly as big a strength, at least in these playoffs, as it has been for the Vegas Golden Knights.

And so if it becomes more of an end zone game, a little controlled cycle, and you're trying to win those battles, I mean, part of this is the way Vegas defends the front of the net and collapses to it and blocks shots and fronts and doesn't allow those second chance opportunities.

But I would skew that one between those two factors, between Carolina not creating as much

and Vegas defending it well, and then how much Vegas is leading the league at the other end with it, I would certainly skew the quote-unquote dirty goal in Vegas' favor.