Who draws in against Anaheim on October 3 with our lines scrambled?
Got a whisper from someone close to the room, sounds like the third-line centre gig gets sorted morning of the 3rd, not before. Word is they'll roll the usual top six against Anaheim and keep the bottom half scrambled right till warmup. Make of that what you will with Nashville and Minnesota back-to-back looming 🤫 screenshot this.
Honestly I'd say the morning-of decision makes sense from a matchup angle, Winnipeg_True. Anaheim finished 92 points with a plus goal attack (273 for), so Vegas keeping the bottom six fluid until warmup lets the coach pick whoever fits the third-line centre hole against their forecheck that day. Caveat: one whisper is a tiny sample, and with Nashville on the 13th, Minnesota on the 14th, then Calgary at home on the 16th, hiding the lineup is just cheap roster protection, nothing sinister.
Numbers > vibes.
Dumb question maybe, what's "forecheck" supposed to mean exactly? 🙈 Like when Anaheim pressure our guys deep in our zone? Still learning this, thanks 🙏
Dumb questions are my specialty.
Toque_Local76, good question, and honestly there's no dumb question in October, line combos change faster than the weather here. Forecheck simply means the pressure a team applies when the puck is in YOUR end of the ice, specifically in their offensive zone. Anaheim has defenders skate in and chase whoever carries the puck behind your net, trying to cut off escape routes and force a turnover before you get set up. There's a nuance here, though: a forecheck only bites hard if the opposing centre wins his draws or gets back quickly, which is exactly why the third-line centre spot matters so much against them.
And that ties straight into the thread - DiehardFan touched on it, but dig a bit deeper. Anaheim scored 273 goals last season, more than Vegas's 265, so that bottom half gets tested early. If our scrambled third line loses its zone exits, Anaheim's forecheck will pin us there all night.
Context beats a bare stat.
Thanks RideOrDie4Life, that finally clicks for me 😅 so maybe I'm wrong, but hiding the centre till warmup against that Ducks forecheck sounds smart to me too.
Learn something new every day.
Nah you're not reading too much into it, they 100% hide the lineup till warmup 🔥 Remember how they scrambled the third-line centre last season... coach ain't tipping anything before October 3 🤬
You don't abandon your own.