Golden Knights, Avalanche vying for top spot in the West, but who’s better?
Amidst the chaos of Frozen Frenzy, one thing managed to remain consistent: the NHL’s three undefeated teams remained unbeaten through Tuesday’s action. The Boston Bruins shut out the Chicago Blackhawks 3-0, the Colorado Avalanche outscored the New York Islanders 7-4, and the Vegas Golden Knights scored a late winner to beat the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2.
The more interesting race at the moment is between the two Western Conference teams. Not only are they duking it out between each other for the top spot in the conference, they’re also the two most recent Stanley Cup champions. Vegas won in a year where Colorado struggled and were eliminated early, while Colorado won in a year where Vegas didn’t even make the playoffs. This race so far this season seems to be setting up what could be an inevitable matchup to win the West.
Luke Gazdic joined Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk on Daily Faceoff Live to talk about the Avalanche and Golden Knights, and tell us which team he thinks has the edge right now.
Luke Gazdic: I gotta go with Vegas! Honestly, the way they’ve shown absolutely no regression whatsoever, not only getting the goaltending, but you hear that phrase that they come at you in waves all the time, and that’s what I see from Vegas, starting their fourth line against first lines all the time.
Their transition game off the rush, if you’re making mistakes in the neutral zone, they’re going right back down on you. It’s fascinating to watch.
Jack Eichel’s becoming one of my favourite players to watch in hockey with his puck possession skills and the way he can use everybody around him and do it himself.
Colorado does it a little differently with their speed and their electric top six, but for me it’s Vegas.
Frank Seravalli: It’s funny, I look at Colorado and I think so much of what I see from them with Nathan MacKinnon, he’s a force of nature. They just kind of bowl you over in terms of getting where they want to get to.
You can watch the full episode here…