Thorner

Eichel leads the 2022-23 Stanley cup playoffs in Points

From what Friedman said (he has a vote) the voters are down to a choice between Marchessault and Eichel for Smythe so I expect them to be 1/2 if Vegas holds on. Probably Marchessault first given how they were speaking Gretzky picked Eichel fwiw lol

At the risk of jinxing it

The final payment

Eichel might have won the Smythe with that shift

Another key assist from Eichel

Florida definitely still has a *chance*. It’s hockey. So much random. Key is preventing Vegas from that magical 3 goal number (undefeated) Exactly

50!

Is this for me or the perception at large I mentioned? - - - Regardless, on an unrelated note, Eichel has as much a claim on being the Knights’ best player as anyone. The fact that there’s a few guys in contention is exactly the point: any contending team has and needs exactly that. And he’s as much a part of their room as anyone, if anyone cares to listen to what Cassidy and the Knights players actually are saying.

That happens to every team. We just had it happen less And our lack of D depth more exposed

They really have no business blaming anything on “injuries” when we were among the least injured teams in the league this last season. It’s not an area likely to find improvement, in fact it’s likely to regress. They absolutely shouldn’t be counting on that avenue for any improvement they are seeking

I agree with this tbh. He wasn’t very good in my estimation

The perception will be out there regardless that Adams and the Sabres were wrong about Eichel’s injury treatment, but other than that, I agree

plus minus standing of vegas’ 4 lines Eichel Marchessault Barbashev +41 Stephenson Stone Howden +7 Karlsson Amadio Smith +22 Roy Carrier Kolesar +3 and this that on ice goal differential 👀👀👀

He’s their number 1C, leading the playoffs in both playmaking and 200ft game, and the probable winner of the Smythe is going to do so because Jack is his Centre handling all Marchy’s defensive responsibilities while setting him up for 9 of his 13 goals. They definitely aren’t here without Jack We wouldn’t look at any other cup team and debate them winning without their 1C Marchy and Jack are 1-2 on the all time scoring list for Vegas players in a playoff run, separated by a point. Messing with this connection is literally the last element of the team you’d touch

I dunno...that may have honestly been the way to go...thinking back. It’s been a long journey

The fact there are about 4 maybe 5 guys (Marchessault, Eichel, Hill, Karlsson, Stone) on Vegas who could realistically win/deserve the Smythe says it all, and is really the whole point: those are the teams that win Cups. There isn’t one player carrying the mail and if that’s your targeted set-up, you’re doomed. They’ve had several guys step up this playoffs they couldn’t have done it without, playing crucial roles along the way. They’ve been hella impressive and as of now, deserve the Cup win

Would love to add Laughton

Ie we should probably be bringing in someone quite capable, keeping the status quo isn’t really a viable option

Chad covers it really well here

Vegas has just been better.

If Levi is the better goalie than Comrie id much rather him get the secondary starts, if possible. I feel like 30 NHL games would be better for development than 50 in the AHL anyways, he could learn from Saros, learn the NHL environment and his teammates, and it’s not like he’s used to a huge workload right now, anyways, in terms of games played per season. Saros played a whopping 64 and 67 games the last two seasons, but his numbers were just fine when he played 36 and 40 the two seasons before that; in fact his high watermark sv% was the 36 game, .927. Don’t see a problem with cutting it back to 45-50 games from him, personally

I agree with a lot of this, but I think another thing at play here that I’ve personally come to realize lately, that lends an alternate explanation is: many people just really, really like Levi. He’s not really an “if”, it’s when he becomes better than Connor Hellebuyck, and the reasons being used to explain why we don’t want him make sense within that context, and don’t necessarily point to fear of expectations. Hell, the expectations being ladled onto young Levi are downright brazen