In the 2025 version of the National Hockey League, there has never been more information available to head coaches. The 32 men who run the bench for each of the league’s teams have a seemingly endless array of video analysis and advanced statistics and biometric numbers at their disposal.
If they choose to pay attention to all of what’s out there, it could, in theory, give people like Wild coach John Hynes and Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy a kind of “money ball on ice” template for finding hidden advantages that others cannot see.
But in both Hynes and Cassidy, you have veteran, experienced coaches who have been through numerous playoff series and sometimes have gut feelings they choose to follow despite what the numbers and the video clips might say.
Asked on Tuesday morning about the fact that the Wild are playing at Xcel Energy Center for the first time in this series, which allows the home coach more freedom to match lines with the visitors, Hynes noted that he has that freedom, and also has the freedom to put all of the analytics aside and roll his lines, which worked in Game 2.
“You want to let your team play,” he said. “We’ve been a good team on the road, too, and I think one of the reasons is you don’t get the matchup. There’s certain things you look for; I think there’s certain times in a game you might adjust.”
Cassidy also cautioned against over-analysis. For example, the top Vegas line of Jack Eichel, Mark Stone and Ivan Barbashev did not appear on the score sheet in the first two games, but Cassidy noted that all three have played well and have had scoring opportunities, so there’s no reason to do an extensive deep dive on their collective slow start.
“It’s early. I have all the faith in the world in those guys,” Cassidy said after Game 2. “And that gets over-analyzed early in a series too.”
That is maybe the mark of success in the modern NHL, the ability to take in all of the information available, and to know when a gut feeling overrules all of it.
“I think as the coach and coaches, and the management, you obsess over it,” Hynes said. “Then you’ve got to take a deep breath and understand that you make decisions for the right reasons, and you’ve just got to keep it simple.”
Silencing the Strip
As should be expected in the entertainment capital of the nation, they put on quite a show when the Vegas Golden Knights play at home. It starts with a parade to the rink an hour before puck drop featuring a drumline and cheerleaders followed by scores of fans for a franchise that is less than a decade old but already has two conference championships and a Stanley Cup to its credit.
Inside T-Mobile Arena there are showgirls and celebrities and an on-ice pregame show featuring castles and dragons and a sword-wielding Golden Knight in shining armor who vanquishes the evil knight who carries a Wild flag, much to the delight of the perpetual sellout crowd.
“This is one of my favorite places to play. I think the crowd’s great. There’s a lot of energy in the building, in the whole city, so that’s what playoffs is. It’s amped up,” Wild forward Matt Boldy said after Game 2. “Everything’s faster, quicker. It’s a different game. So, you want that energy, even though they’re not rooting for us, you try to use that as much as you can.”
Coming back to Minnesota for Game 3 after splitting their first two games in Nevada, the Wild players talked about a similar energy in downtown St. Paul, and the passion for the game in a community and a state where hockey is generations-old part of the culture.
“It just gives us energy. It’s a great building to play in, obviously,” Wild forward Gustav Nyquist said following the team’s Tuesday morning skate. “It’s gonna be loud tonight, so we’re excited for the game.”
And after all of the lights and noise and distractions, when the road team scores the first four goals of the game, leaving the Knights partisans stunned, it’s even more fun to visit Vegas.
“When they’re quiet, it means you’re doing a great job,” Boldy said.
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