Lawless: Area Code Game

Game 702 in Vegas Golden Knights history just happened to be Opening Knight for Season X. Let’s call it the Area Code Game going forward. A 5-2 win for Vegas with a ton of positives.

Ryan Craig gets his first win behind an NHL bench as a head coach. Players said he was energetic and had a presence behind the bench. Solid start for the guy everyone calls Craiger.

A quick comment on the coach. It’s his 10th season with the organization. Daren Millard was interviewing GM Kelly McCrimmon on the radio on Monday and Millard made the astute observation that it doesn’t feel like he’s a new coach. It’s true. From the outside, it feels like Craig has stepped in and taken over and this is his team. End of story.

A coach only gets one chance to make a first impression, and it has a major impact on whether a tenure has a chance to be successful. Craig ran an efficient and high-energy training camp, and followed it up with a win in his first game.

A big part of coaching is sales. And a coach needs to bank credit to be able to sell a team on a concept. Craig had credibility to start and is continuing to stack it up.

The positives for Vegas: Rookie Trevor Connelly scored a dandy in his first regular season NHL game displaying hands that really can’t be taught. He’s got speed, hockey IQ, a nose for the net and the skill to finish.

Listening to discussions about Connelly after the game left me with the thought that there’s no need to put undue expectations on the 20-year-old, but there’s also no need to put a ceiling on him.

VGK radio broadcaster Dan D’Uva said on the post-game show that Connelly’s play will determine how much opportunity he does or doesn’t get.

Seems simple enough but no less accurate. No, Connelly doesn’t have to carry a young team and can just be one of the spokes in the wheel. But that doesn’t mean he can’t excel and become a special young player. Again, no need to put extra pressure on him but also no need to hold him back.

Camp for Carter: Goalie Carter Hart looked steady and solid stopping 24 of 26 shots against. The ability to come to a training camp for the first time in three seasons and to walk into a dressing room with teammates he knows and who value him can’t be overstated. He’s relaxed and comfortable. Hart came off the ice after the morning skate, had a smile on his face and commented on how excited he was to play on Opening Knight.

Jack the Knife: Jack Eichel and his linemates Mark Stone and Ivan Barbashev looked sharp in Game 1. Eichel had a goal and three points, Stone scored, and Barbashev had two assists. Just a ho-hum night for the No. 1 line in Vegas. Eichel is one of the best players in the world, and with no World Cup of Hockey or Olympics to worry about this season, look out.

Getting late early: Watching games across the NHL slate last night, it was impressive how much the games seemed to matter to the players. No dipping the toe into the water. Everyone into the deep end. Now. There was intensity and emotion. Sure, there were some mistakes and some stretches of sloppy hockey. But the give-a-bleep meter was redlining all over the league. Great for teams and greater for fans.

Into the Deep: Depth, it would seem, is in the eye of the beholder. There’s depth in the NHL, prospect depth and call-up depth. Lots of different ways to look at it.

Vegas is a contender. A team which came just two wins short of the Stanley Cup last season. They need players that can step in and play NHL games if there are injuries with the big club.

As a result, McCrimmon and his staff have built a roster at the AHL level which is loaded with useful players. By my count, there are 15 players with the Henderson Silver Knights worthy of NHL consideration, should a need result in Vegas.

Not to mention, Vegas has two glittering prospects in Connelly and Braeden Bowman playing in the NHL right now.

The Golden Knights have used draft picks and prospects to maintain their elite status in the NHL. But that doesn’t mean they have ignored their pipeline. Far from it.