Golden Knights Exit Interview: Cassidy Praises Eichel, Rips Depth

On Saturday, Vegas Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy met with the media for his end-of-the-year availability. Cassidy reflected on what went wrong and pinpointed why the Edmonton Oilers eliminated the Golden Knights from Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

“As a team, we just weren’t able to break through and score,” said Cassidy. “McDavid had one goal. It was a tough series to score in. Their depth ended up scoring more than ours, and that’s a fact. But it was a tough series to score in for the most part… I thought the effort was there for us. I don’t sit here and say, ‘Well, our guys didn’t want it.’ They just weren’t able to do it.”

After a season where Jack Eichel hit a career-high in points, Cassidy spoke on what ‘finding another gear’ might look like.

“The next gear [for Eichel] looks like it did two years ago in the playoffs,” said Cassidy. “That was an elite number one center having an elite postseason.” 

Eichel is one of the best two-way centers in the league. He’s an elite playmaker with a good shot who takes pride in his defensive game. Now, he’s focusing on producing offensively during the regular season, and Cassidy spoke on how Eichel can improve his game.

Read More: Golden Knights Exit Interview: Eichel, McNabb Looking for Answers

“I think Jack now wants to be in the elite with regular season scoring with the top guys. Jack also understands that it’s a team game… I think if you looked at his game to grow it, he could start shooting more. He’s always had the ability to score, but he likes to defer and set players up. That’s where there could be some growth in his game offensively. 

After that, this guy is a world-class leader. He’s pulling guys into the fight every night; he’s trying to make a difference every night he’s on the ice. I have not one issue with Jack Eichel’s game and his willingness to win. It’s infectious. We just have to make sure we put the right people around him that he can pull it out of.”

Adin Hill struggled this postseason, but Cassidy reaffirmed his confidence in the Golden Knights’ number one goaltender.

“I have lots of confidence in Adin. He’s proven he can play under pressure. He proved this year that he can handle the workload of what we want for our number one [goaltender]… Did Adin need to be better in this series? Yes, just like a lot of guys.”

Cassidy ended his press conference by noting that the Golden Knights were able to limit Edmonton’s top players.

“Going into the series, if you had said to me that Draisaitl has five points and McDavid had five, they had one goal and two goals, their power play was 9%, and the series is over in five, I’m thinking ‘Well, we’re winning.’ 

“That was the gameplan, to limit McDavid. Don’t let [McDavid and Draisaitl] take the series over, and don’t let their power play get hot to the point their top guys now start feeling it. We did that, but it didn’t go our way… That’s the disappointing part of the series. I think we did some things well against top people, and it didn’t go our way.”

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