Alex Pietrangelo ready to assume a larger role
Alex Pietrangelo made the decision to leave the only team he'd ever known when he signed with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2020.
Of course, he was also the first member of the St. Louis Blues to lift the Stanley Cup after their epic seven-game win over the Boston Bruins in 2019. While it took a while for Pietrangelo to acclimatise to his new surroundings, he finally did.
«Playing in a new system is always different,» he told The Athletic. After ten years in a similar system (in St. Louis), it took some time to get used to the way Pete (DeBoer) wanted us to play on the back end.
While he and his new team sped through the abbreviated regular season en route to a fourth straight playoff spot, his offensive output was down. But he began to pick up as the postseason approached, and he looked more like himself once it started.
When asked what was different late in the season, Pietrangelo answered, «I think being aggressive as a team.» «I think I can continue to be more proactive and produce a little bit more without sacrificing on the back end,» he said.
Pietrangelo would help shut down the Colorado Avalanche's top line of Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog, and Mikko Rantanen after a seven-game victory against the Minnesota Wild in the first round.
«It's evident he's a fantastic talent,» said Alec Martinez, a playoff co-player. «I think we work well together. We both had a similar vision on the game and how we wanted to play it. He's clearly a fun player. He's a playmaker. As a horse, he does it all.
And with the likes of Marc-Andre Fleury, Ryan Reaves, and Nick Holden gone, Pietrangelo will have to rely on the attributes that made him the obvious choice as captain in St. Louis.
Getting to the conference finals is a good feeling. «I think we're all proud of what we accomplished this year. When you don't reach your goal, achieve what you want to do, and win, you're disappointed. Was it a success to reach the conference finals? «We all feel we fell short of our aim of winning.»
Credit: HockeyFeed
