Go West, Young Man

“Go west, young man” is often credited to the American author and newspaper editor Horace Greeley, concerning America’s “manifest-destiny” expansion westward. However, it was first stated by John Babsone Lane Soule in an 1851 editorial in the Terre Haute Express: “Go west, young man, and grow up with the country.”

Well, 1851 is a long time ago, but these words seem exactly like what the Vegas Golden Knights need to do after completing their road trip. They only were able to secure three points out of a possible 12 that were up for grabs. They return west with a disappointing result of 1-4-1, which includes the overtime loss against Toronto.

In their final two games of this road trip, they never had the lead in all of 125 minutes of play, including the five-minute overtime period in Toronto.

The team looks tired and their fore-check is nowhere to be found, which is explained by the fact that four of the six games were played on back-to-back nights and the six games were played in nine nights.

On the other hand, these are highly conditioned athletes who should be mentally and physically prepared for a schedule like this. Is the ready for the rigors of the road? That should be looked at before future road trips, even though this was the longest the team will be faced with for the rest of the 2017-2018 season. The hopes of the team jelling on this road trip now seem forgotten.

I’m and old-time hockey fan who understands the speed and beauty of the game, but I also understand that if you allow a team to pretty much skate with their heads down and allow them the time and space to admire their passes, you’ll be chasing the game and a 2- to 3-goal lead every night you play this way. Not until late into the third period was there a hard-crunching hit to a Montreal forward as he entered the zone. No fore-check, no big hits that will make an opposing team pay attention and know that every inch of ice they want will have to be earned.

But here’s an idea. The Calgary Flames just released a player whom I happened to know very well, not personally, but I know what he brings to the rink every night. He will fore-check you to death. He will make you turn away from him and change your intended course of travel rather than have him run you over legally. And he will force you to carefully enter your offensive zone with an eye over your shoulder.

Frankly, the VGK has no one who currently can do this. Deryk Engelland has a pedigree for this style of play and he can make you pay dearly if you want to camp out in front of the net. But as a defense man, he’s not going to be on the fore-check and the VGK need a player who can do this before the opposition is deep in their end.

The ex-Flames player I speak about is Tanner Glass, who can do all of the above. And right now it seems like this is something that the VGK can use.

I don’t know if Coach Gallant reads this blog, but based on my opinion of the Shea Theodore experiment that I mentioned in my last blog, maybe he does. Or maybe he also observed what I did when it came to Shea Theodore as he was scratched from last night’s game.

Both GM George McPhee and Coach Gallant played an old-time hockey-style type of game. They forced you to earn every inch of ice you desired when they played in the NHL.

In my opinion, the VGK have a good team that will succeed long-term, but they currently need someone to keep the opposing players from feeling like they’re at an Ice Capades show, having the freedom to skate wherever they please. Tanner Glass is that player and he’s there for the taking. A team guy, he’s beloved by all who have played with him and he’s even more respected by those who have had the displeasure of playing against him. The VGK fans will love this guy.

Mr. McPhee: Give Tanner a call, please! We can use him both on the ice and in the locker room.

Interesting facts from the Montreal game.

The VGK were outshot 13-2 in the first period. In the second period it rose to 18-4 before they closed the shot gap considerably.

This reoccurring problem of giving up the game’s first goal was somewhat overlooked when their record 5-2. Now the latest loss, that record now stands at 5-4-1.

You can only tempt fate so often and in the NHL, where the first goal of the game is a good indication as to who will win. As in all games of skill, the math is always correct.

The Canadiens dominated the play almost the entire game and the final score of 3-2 is very deceiving. The VGK were never really in this game. Even though Max Lagace played well, when your team only gets six shots on the opposing goalie in the first 33 minutes of a scheduled 60-minute game, your chances of success are slim to none—and Slim is headed west like the rest of the team.

The Canadiens dictated the pace of the game, as the VGK offered no fore-check whatsoever, which would have limited the speed of Montreal breaking out of their zone. They also delivered no hits to the forwards entering the zone. No fore-check, no hitting, no resistance to the constant waves of Canadien rushes from one end of the ice to the other.

The VGK are back in action at T-Mobile on Friday night vs. the Winnipeg Jets. Let’s hope some home-cooking will help the boys recover from this less-than- stellar road trip.

The Jets have been in town for a few days waiting on the VGK to return. If my friend Eddie Rivkin has been providing the waiting Jets with his outstanding bottle service and Las Vegas VIP treatment, I like the chances of the VGK returning to their winning ways. Of course, this is only a joke; Eddie would never consider trying to alter the outcome of a game he could wager on.