The NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights are a curious team to follow this season to say the least. They sit on top of the Pacific division, only two points ahead of the Seattle Kraken and Los Angeles Kings. Vegas is the best team on the road statistically, putting up a solid record of 15-3-2 this season. They also have put up the best shootout record in the NHL, 3-1. That’s the positive.
They’ve drastically cooled off from their hot start to the year, and they’re thoroughly inconsistent, which makes me concerned for the Golden Knights playoff berth.
The Knight’s record so far this season is fairly balanced with five of their road wins have come against considerably good teams (LA, Seattle, Toronto, Boston and Winnipeg), and four of their home losses came against weaker teams (St. Louis, San Jose, Vancouver and Buffalo).
But the reason why they’re at the top of the Pacific is they’ve really taken care of business against opponents they should beat. Multiple wins over Chicago, San Jose, St. Louis, and Arizona. The schedule from here on out is going to be significantly harder for Vegas, but they’re put themselves in a position to withstand a losing streak or two.
The key for the Golden Knights now is to not lose so much in regulation. In their past 11 losses, 10 came in 60 minutes. With key returns like star center Jack Eichel and top defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, the Knights have increased their edge to attack this end of the season.
With key returns, it almost sounds too good to be true. The Golden Knights, as per Cap Friendly, they’re completely out of salary cap space at the moment. They’re projected to have approximately 4.6 million dollars in space by the league’s March third trade deadline, and Vegas General Manager Kelly McCrimmon is likely to spend it.
Depth inevitably becomes a key difference-maker in the Stanley Cup playoffs, and again with key returns just this past week from Eichel and Pietrangelo, the Knight’s are getting just that. Improving their defense shouldn’t be a shock, as seven of their 14 losses have seen them surrender four goals or more. They need to be a tighter force on the ice in their own zone, and they may need to turn to the trade market to address the issue for the playoffs.
Vegas has received good goaltending this year from Logan Thompson (.913 save percentage, 2.71 goals-against average) and Adin Hill (.909 SP, 2.61 GAA). It’s difficult to envision the Golden Knights trading for goaltending help, but Vegas could use any spark they can get.
Either way, Vegas is going to be in the playoff mix in the weaker Pacific. But they’re probably not going to go far in the postseason if they remain in this drastic hot and cold streak. They need much more balance and consistency, and if they don’t get it, they’re going to be first-round fodder this spring hunting for the Stanley Cup.
