from Jesse Granger of The Athletic,

Cassidy raised his hand high above his head.

“I think before, as a coach, you’re always thinking you have to be ‘here’ all the time,” he said. “There are a lot of highs and lows, and you just have to find your game at the right time, and we were able to do that.”

Cassidy referred to the Golden Knights as an “imperfect team” at different times throughout the season. Vegas finished with the fifth-best record in the league in the regular season. The team was 14th in scoring and 11th in goals against. The power play ranked 18th and the penalty kill 19th. The Golden Knights didn’t have a player in the top-70 for league-wide scoring.

Nothing about the team’s statistics screamed “Stanley Cup champions” but all of the pieces were there, and they came together at the exact right time. What stood out most to Cassidy about his team’s play during the Cup run was the timeliness of its best games.

“We were close to perfect in the second period of Game 5 (to clinch the Stanley Cup against Florida).” he said. “Game 6 in Dallas. The second period in the clinching game in Edmonton. The third period (of Game 5) in Winnipeg. All four clinching games, I thought we dominated.”

Vegas won its close-out games by a ridiculous combined score of 24-6. A championship isn’t necessarily determined by the best overall team, but by which team plays its best hockey at the right time of year. This isn’t a major revelation, but it certainly drives the point home for the Golden Knights, and it’s a valuable lesson they may need in the near future.

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