Utah's repeatable pattern is breaking Vegas—and defining the series

“What would you do if you were stuck in one place and every day was exactly the same?” ¹

It’s the reality the Golden Knights are currently living—the Groundhog Day curse, without Bill Murray’s comedy.

Three games into their first round series against Utah, Vegas has allowed nine goals, six of which began with an east-west pass.

Can the Golden Knights take away the Mammoth’s main source of offense while staying true to their identity?

Being stuck in a repeatable pattern is difficult enough—but it’s worse when your opponent knows it.

Last week, we identified the east-west pass as the trigger to Utah’s offense.

It has since proven prophetic.

On the power play. At even strength. Off a one-timer.

Head coach André Tourigny built Utah’s program on discipline and structure. A key pillar is the quality over quantity approach in their shot selection.

The Golden Knights hold different cards to counter it—but down two games to one, they have to play the right one.

Hockey was built on the puck being the game, so the defensive focus has forever been on the puck carrier. The defender should stay between the attacker and the net, place his stick in the passing lane and funnel the carrier towards the boards to separate him from the puck.

It’s a wisdom cultivated in years of experience, but it only works when the puck carrier is looking to be the shooter.

Utah has a different approach. League-wide, clear-sighted shots are stopped at roughly a 97% rate. Shots that follow a lateral pass, however, convert far more frequently—often in the 20–30% range. ²

It's why the Mammoth play accordingly, knowing a better shot will be there after a pass.

1st period – 2:17 – 1-0 Utah

With the puck at the blue line, Logan Cooley makes no attempt to find a shooting lane or gain the middle of the ice. He instead cross-ice passes the puck to Dylan Guenther for a one-time shot and a Utah goal.

Simple, effective, and more importantly, repeatable.

On a different sequence, Mackenzie Weegar receives the pass at the point. He declines to skate into the middle lane or shoot, instead feeding Mikhail Sergachev for a wrist shot that Hart stops through traffic.

1st period – 4:34 – 1-0 Utah

That Weegar was playing at five-on-five while Cooley was on the man advantage made no difference.

It may seem counterintuitive, but the Golden Knights need to win their own game of “Where’s Waldo?” if they want to make it to the second round.

Waldo of course, being the shooter, not the puck carrier.

Vegas is still defending thinking the puck carrier is the shooter. Changing that approach changes everything.

When Bruce Cassidy was behind the bench, it wasn’t a requirement. Cassidy had his men clogging the slot to prevent passes from going from one side of the rink to the other.

But John Tortorella preaches an aggressive approach against the puck carrier. This has opened up the slot, and passes are now slicing through it.

Tortorella’s challenge is implementing a solution that doesn’t compromise the identity he wants for his team. The Golden Knights can maintain their aggressiveness, provided they commit to find and pressure Waldo before he gets the puck, preventing him from becoming a shooter.

Jeremy Lauzon demonstrates.

1st period – 10:25 – 0-0

On a play where Michael Carcone feeds JJ Paterka with a cross-ice pass, Lauzon does something his teammates did not do in earlier sequences.

He closes the gap with the shooter.

While Guenther and Sergachev had clear shooting lanes, Lauzon’s aggressiveness denies Paterka’s and the shot misses the net.

It’s the card Vegas has been holding — and the one they must play now.

Utah’s objective of making a cross-ice pass holds true when they are entering the offensive zone. The only difference is that the rush begins with an additional layer.

The Mammoth give the puck to the player along the boards as they enter the zone.

It puts them in an immediate position to make the east-west pass.

Doing so on the rush is advantageous because the defenders are not yet set up. With speed, it’s even more dangerous.

1st period – 13:15 – 0-0

Paterka recognizes it when he makes the entry pass to Nick Schmaltz along the boards at the blue line. Schmaltz takes it down the wall towards the corner and makes the pass his team actually wants to the front of the net. Hart is forced to deliver a difficult save.

But in their need to apply pressure, Vegas must not take aggressiveness as an invitation for recklessness. Utah may seek the far lane, but they are not opposed to using the middle one.

Lawson Crouse used it to score on a redirect.

2nd period – 15:57 – 2-0 Utah

Utah enters the zone but Schmaltz sees Crouse driving through the middle and, rather than wait for reinforcements, makes the diagonal pass.

For Vegas, the deeper lesson lies in the danger of a defenseman vacating the middle lane to cover the soon-to-be shooter. On Lauzon’s sequence, he was able to pressure the shooter because no opponent was in the slot. But when Utah has a player dashing toward the goal, a Vegas forward will have to focus on eliminating the shooter while the defenseman takes the center lane.

The Mammoth are not unpredictable. They are predictably effective.

In the offensive zone.

On the rush.

Once you know where to look, the images no longer need narration or explanation of what comes next.

Utah knows what works for them and that Vegas has yet to adjust.

The Golden Knights need to stop concentrating on the puck carrier and focus on the shooter, even if he has yet to receive the pass.

Two losses away from elimination, their survival depends on it.

Finding Waldo is no longer just fun and games.

Game 3 | April 24, 2026 | Vegas Golden Knights 2 vs. Utah Mammoth 4

Fair use disclaimer: Play descriptions and screenshots are included for purposes of criticism, comment, and news reporting under Section 107 of the Copyright Act.

Thumbnail Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie - Imagn Images

All other images courtesy of nhl.com.

All sequences from April 24, 2026 - Game 3 unless otherwise noted.