The Vegas Golden Knights took the NHL both by storm and surprise last season by winning the Pacific Division and reaching the Stanley Cup Final. The club enjoyed one of the most successful seasons ever in pro sports for an expansion franchise. However, the fairy tale ending they hoped for didn’t materialize as they were ousted in five games by the Washington Capitals who hoisted the Stanley Cup for the first time in team history.
It looked like the rest of the NHL knew exactly what to expect from the upstart side this season as Vegas struggled out of the starting gate with a 5-6-1 mark in the first month. Opponents appeared to be much better prepared for them when the season faced off as they knew just how dangerous and talented the squad could be. It wasn’t a complete surprise to most experts as it looked like the team had simply come back down to earth following last year’s magical campaign.
Vegas had to play the first 20 games of 2018/19 without defenceman Nate Schmidt though as he was suspended following a failed drug test. Since his return, the Golden Knights have been vastly improved and are once again challenging for top spot in the Pacific Division. The team was 8-2 in its last 10 games as of Jan. 21st and owned an overall record of 29-17-4. They also had one of the best home marks in the league at 16-4-3 while playing .500 hockey on the road.
With Schmidt patrolling the Vegas blue line alongside partner Brayden McNabb, the team isn’t given up as many scoring chances and its offence and puck possession has improved. During Schmidt’s 20-game ban Vegas went 9-11-1 and they have now gone a highly-impressive 20-6-3 since he returned to the lineup. The team’s record may also be somewhat surprising considering some of its key players have been hit by injuries, including Colin Miller, Reilly Smith, Alex Tuch, Erik Haula and newcomers Paul Stastny and Max Pacioretty.
Haula, Smith and Miller are still sidelined, but Tuch, Stastny and Pacioretty are back and are playing consistent hockey together as a line with the veteran Stastny centering it. The Golden Knights are also getting solid if unspectacular performances out of forwards Smith, Brandon Pirri, William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault as well as goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. The Smith-Karlsson-Marchessault line isn’t posting the same types of numbers as last season, but has still been the team’s top trio when Smith was healthy.
The Golden Knights’ offence should kick into another gear once the injured players return and as long as the goaltending remains steady the team could take another run at the cup. The 34-year-old Fleury entered the Jan. 21st game with a league-high 27 wins and six shutouts along with a 2.49 goals-against average and 91.1 save percentage. His stats may be slightly lower than last season, but he’s still among the top goaltenders in the NHL.
The Golden Knights have been quietly going about their business this season without the fanfare and headlines of their inaugural campaign. The team’s lineup has been subject to a few changes with James Neal, Tomas Tatar and David Perron more or less being replaced by Stastny and Pacioretty over the past year. But the Golden Knights are still proving to be one of the toughest teams to handle in the NHL and should wrap up a playoff spot long before the season’s over.