{"id":555034,"date":"2026-04-18T05:43:42","date_gmt":"2026-04-18T05:43:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/555034\/"},"modified":"2026-04-18T05:43:42","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T05:43:42","slug":"vegas-golden-knights-getting-more-offense-from-defensemen-under-tortorella-golden-knights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/555034\/","title":{"rendered":"Vegas Golden Knights getting more offense from defensemen under Tortorella | Golden Knights"},"content":{"rendered":"

No position has seen a more positive uptick in production since coach John Tortorella took over the Vegas Golden Knights<\/a> than the blue line.<\/p>\n

Part of Tortorella\u2019s desire for the Knights to continue a north-first mindset is where all five skaters have to think about getting the puck to the net and creating traffic.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just the way the league is going right now,\u201d Noah Hanifin said. \u201cThe D have to be activated. They have to be engaged and get up in the play.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tortorella\u2019s message has been to play aggressive, and if you\u2019re going to make mistakes, do so aggressively. That counts for the defensemen.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re going to give up odd-man rushes the other way. As long as the errors aren\u2019t self-inflicted in Tortorella\u2019s eyes, he wants the foot to remain on the gas.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the first couple of games, we were giving up a ton of 2-on-1s,\u201d Shea Theodore said. \u201cI think we made some adjustments to where when we are aggressive, we need support in the right spots to back us up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Quick turnaround<\/p>\n

The Knights\u2019 defensemen have accumulated seven goals and 26 points since Tortorella coached his first game on March 30.<\/p>\n

Four of the defensemen have registered at least a half-point per game, led by Rasmus Andersson at 0.88.<\/p>\n

Compare that to the first 74 games of the season, Theodore was the only one above that half-point threshold. There was hardly any production coming from the blue line.<\/p>\n

Tortorella\u2019s mindset about attacking north and being aggressive has resonated with the defensemen.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve made a more concerted effort to be involved in the play. They\u2019re not just camping at the blue line. They\u2019re cycling around the perimeter, or they\u2019re getting closer to the goal line and making plays closer to the crease.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not to say it\u2019s more a Tortorella-coached team compared to Bruce Cassidy, but the attack mindset stems from all five skaters contributing to the play.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes, when the D are active, it can cause some confusion,\u201d Hanifin said. \u201cIt\u2019s hard. Guys are worried who they have (to defend), and shots are coming from everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

Andersson might be the one benefiting most from this change. He had just 10 points in his first 25 games after the Knights acquired him in the blockbuster trade with Calgary in January.<\/p>\n

Since the coaching change \u2014 and getting settled with his family<\/a> \u2014 Andersson leads the Knights\u2019 defensemen with three goals and seven points while playing a team-high 22 minutes, 43 seconds a night.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s how I\u2019m always trying to play,\u201d Andersson said. \u201cIt\u2019s nice when you hear it from a coach, too, that he wants you to play that way. I think me and (Tortorella) have a good understanding of how I should be playing my best.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tortorella said Andersson reminds him of Dan Boyle, whom he coached in Tampa Bay when he won the Stanley Cup in 2004.<\/p>\n

Boyle was slightly smaller (5-foot-11 vs. Andersson\u2019s 6-1) but Boyle was a consistent 50-point player who could score 15 goals every given year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he has some swagger to him,\u201d Tortorella said. \u201cHe\u2019s not afraid to take a chance. He\u2019s pinching down the walls. Up the ice, his gaps are good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Peaking at the right time<\/p>\n

The blue line is a reason why the Knights have found their groove offensively heading into the playoffs.<\/p>\n

But they\u2019ll have to be careful and responsible in their own end. The Utah Mammoth, their first-round opponent<\/a>, are dangerous in transition and can take advantage of turnovers.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a balance needed in not only taking care of the puck, but being in the right position to do so.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re working all year to play solid and you want to be able to get to your game and peak at the right time,\u201d Theodore said. \u201cRight now, it\u2019s a prime example. I feel like we\u2019re peaking at the right time where we\u2019re not giving up a ton, but we\u2019re sustaining more time in the o-zone.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like our game does translate in the playoffs, and I think we\u2019re excited for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com.<\/a> Follow @DannyWebster21<\/a> on X.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"No position has seen a more positive uptick in production since coach John Tortorella took over the Vegas…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":555035,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5129],"tags":[149,5317,5,4,74,39,5316],"class_list":{"0":"post-555034","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-vegas-golden-knights","8":"tag-golden-knights","9":"tag-goldenknights","10":"tag-hockey","11":"tag-nhl","12":"tag-vegas","13":"tag-vegas-golden-knights","14":"tag-vegasgoldenknights"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116424123389927492","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555034","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=555034"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555034\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/555035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=555034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=555034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=555034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}