Guest post: The Best Shift

Hello Everyone! Hope everyone got some much-needed rest from the late game we had last night. I know I was about to pass out but made sure to stay to watch the boys win 2 more points for the season.

I wanted to talk about the 5 on 3 shift we saw yesterday involving Ryan Graves and Matt Calvert. When Makar got sent to the box to join Kadri, all of us were like, “Well they’re gonna score.” However, both Calvy and Graves were ALL over the place. Graves blocked two shots, Calvert was blocking every lane that Vegas had. It was one of the most memorable shifts I have seen and boy was it fun to watch.

In the last couple of seasons, we have always struggled to keep the faith that the Avs could kill off a 5 on 3. Most of the time, the other teams would find the shooting lane and would score within seconds of getting onto the 5 on 3. What I was most impressed about was the communication and the amount of ice that both Graves and Calvert covered to make sure Vegas had no shots. We all know we have seen some bad penalty kill units in some recent years, however, the last two years have shown us that Bednar is really trying to give the guys some exciting roles to play. Our very own Scott said recently that Bednar wanted Graves to be his guy on the PK as he has been struggling this season.

That 5-on-3 he did with Calvert should give him a BIG step with confidence to elevate his game and most importantly, show the team they can’t lose him to the Expansion Draft!

Thanks again Everyone! See you all tomorrow for our final game in the series with Vegas!