Vegas Golden Knights center Chandler Stephenson (20) warms up before an NHL hockey game against the Buffalo Sabres at T-Mobile Arena Monday, Dec. 19, 2022.
Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023 | 2 a.m.
With the game tied 1-1 with 21.5 seconds remaining Thursday against the San Jose Sharks, Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy sends Chandler Stephenson to the left faceoff circle in the offensive zone.
In these situations, coaches will send their top line to take the draw and increase the chance to score the game-winner. Cassidy chose differently. He went with the line that would guarantee possession in the final seconds.
Stephenson won the faceoff and the puck kicked back to defenseman Shea Theodore. His shot attempt went wide, but the puck landed at Stephenson’s stick to find an open William Carrier on the backdoor for the game-winning goal and a 2-1 Golden Knights victory.
Vegas’ All-Star center was 10 for 13 in faceoffs Thursday night. That’s been the norm lately for Stephenson, who has since evolved into one of the league’s best at winning the circle battles.
“Just trying different things, not really sticking to one particular thing,” Stephenson said. “Go from two to three options, just to keep the other guy guessing.”
Centers who take the majority of a team’s faceoffs are highly reliable in all areas of the ice, whether it be center ice, or an offensive or defensive zone draw.
Stephenson has become the go-to guy for the Golden Knights to win a puck battle off the draw. He’s one of 13 centers to have taken at least 800 faceoffs this season. Stephenson (824) has won 60% of his draws, good for fourth best in the NHL.
The three ahead of him are some esteemed company: Chicago’s Jonathan Toews (63.3%), Boston’s Patrice Bergeron (60.7%) and Philadelphia’s Claude Giroux (60.2%).
Bergeron, a five-time Selke Trophy winner as the best defensive forward in the league, is arguably the best to ever do it. Toews is a three-time Stanley Cup champion and a former Selke winner in his own right. Giroux is close to 1,000 points in his career.
“There’s nights where you have it, there’s nights where you don’t,” Stephenson said. “That’s something you want to be good at and help out in the game."
This isn’t to say Stephenson is going to be a surefire candidate for the Selke this year, but those three have been great at their role for a long time. This is just another notch in the body of work Stephenson has put together since Vegas acquired him in December 2019 from Washington.
As Stephenson’s role has elevated to a top-line center on most nights, so have his responsibilities in the faceoff circle. He’s gone from winning 50.4% of his faceoffs in 2021 to a slight increase in 2022 (52.0%).
“He’s been really good all year,” said center Nicolas Roy. “He’s got different tools. He can go forehand, backhand, can tie up. It’s definitely something that’s been very good for us.”
Where Stephenson has gotten better, under the tutelage of assistant coach Ryan Craig, is his lower-body strength. The lower he gets in his stance at the circle, the better positioning he has to win the faceoff. Couple that with the strength to win the loose puck, it’s a trait that has made Stephenson efficient in that area.
“Just being lower and also being lower on your stick, too, makes you a little bit stronger for the opposing guy to get under you,” Stephenson said. “It’s a little bit of mind games. It’s a little bit of going full-on strength and trying to muscle the puck back too.”
In the case of the winning goal against San Jose, the matchup was perfect for Stephenson. He’s going against Nick Bonino, who is also a left-handed stick. Stephenson prefers taking the draw on his strong side of the ice, which in this case was the left side. The Sharks’ strong side with this particular lineup was the right.
“When you have a guy on his off side, it’s hard to get the torque as opposed to being on your strong side,” Stephenson said. “You’re on a disadvantage when you’re on your weak side.
“Guys on their weak side, you try to muscle it as hard as you can because a guy on his strong side, it’s hard to hold him. If it’s a righty, it’s a different situation. You might have to cheat a little bit, do something a little different.”
Cassidy knows what it’s like to have an elite faceoff player, having Bergeron when he coached in Boston for seven years. With players like that, “some are just naturally good at it,” he said.
Stephenson said he felt fulfillment in being up there with some of the best to ever play the game.
“There’s a pride part, for sure,” Stephenson said, “but it’s part of your job as a centerman.”
Since coming to Vegas, Stephenson has done his job, and then some. This is just another layer of proof.
Danny Webster can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Danny on Twitter at twitter.com/DannyWebster21.
