Vegas Golden Knights showed they weren't for nothing entered the Stanley Cup final against the Florida Panthers. Already in the first match of the decisive series of the NHL season, the Knights did what the previous opponents of the authors of the main sensation of the current playoffs failed to do: they not only found the Panthers' pain points, but also deliberately put pressure on them.
Florida leaders Alexander Barkov, Matthew Tkachak, Carter Verage and Sam Bennett were deprived of their effectiveness, the southerners' defense that received a lot of praise at the moment became one of the main causes of the team's troubles, and the team's main character Sergei Bobrovsky stopped working miracles. All this was the result of the intense work of «Vegas».
Many noted the fact that the Panthers had more time to rest before the Stanley Cup Finals. Even the Florida players themselves emphasized the importance of this element. However, the “knights”, having spent two matches more than their opponent in the conference finals, did not concede to him at all in freshness. On the contrary, the “Golden Knights” set a crazy pace for which “Florida” seemed to be not ready. Five goals scored in the first match of the series, seven in the second. Bruce Cassidy successfully uses all the resources available to his gang, and each element of the mechanism perfectly performs its functions.
Note the influence of Ivan Barbashev. The Russian striker fit perfectly into this system of “Vegas” and immediately became an important component of the team for the pursuit of the Stanley Cup. The trophy is only two steps away. And no one will belittle the role of the Russian in this success.
“We just enjoy the moment and do our best. We all know Florida, they want to get under your skin, but it doesn’t matter to us, we have to be focused on ourselves and keep playing well, keep pushing,” Barbashev said after first match.
And the momentum «Vegas» does not slow down. All the same Barbashev continues to follow Cassidy's instructions: he works out in defense, plays actively and efficiently in attack, and also succeeds in power struggle. Here, for example, is another spectacular hit performed by a Russian. If his reception in the first match caused controversy regarding compliance with the rules of the game, then this hit turned out to be clean without any questions. Although Ratko Gudas does not feel better about it: the Czech defender of Florida, who celebrated his birthday on the eve of the match, was injured after a “hello” from Barbashev and ended the game ahead of schedule.
“Ivan Barbashev is an absolutely insane person!” — emotionally reacted to the hit of the Russian press service of the «Golden Knights».
Barbashev did not hesitate to prove himself in hand-to-hand combat, having avenged the enemy for his comrade Jack Eichel, who suffered badly after a hard hit from Matthew Tkachuk. In order to cool the ardor of the Russian hero, the referee punished him with a disciplinary fine on a par with Tkachuk.
“I don’t think that Vegas took Barbashev in the past deadline for exchanges in the NHL. Vegas called the beast out of the hellish mouth and threw him into the first link of his attack,” said The Athletic author Thomas Drantz.
But if Tkachuk in the Stanley Cup final so far stands out with far from effective actions, then Barbashev acts effectively and efficiently. The Russian has 17 points in this playoff and 11 assists. By the end of the Stanley Cup final, Ivan may well rise to the top 30 Russian NHL playoff scorers of all time.
The Las Vegas club bosses hit the big jackpot by trading Barabashev this season. Here and now, Ivan, having the necessary experience of Cup success, can lead the Knights to their first championship in the NHL. Next season, the Golden Knights are unlikely to be able to count on such an important player — the Russian will become a free agent and will be able to demand a solid contract, but the Vegas simply have no room for maneuver to fit Ivan into the salary cap. «Someone should give Barbashev this summer an 8-year contract and an $8 million cap-hit. What a car this guy is!» — Ryan Whitney, one of the hosts of the famous Spittin' Chiclets podcast, admired the Russian forward.
Indeed, Barbashev will have a significant off-season. But the Russian does not think about it yet. The Stanley Cup is just around the corner.