Now past the midway point of the season, the Vegas Golden Knights are behind last years pace, and still in a stellar spot for the young franchise. On the scoreboard, the Knights are sitting at third place in the Pacific Division with a 29-19-4 record and 62 points as they head into the back half of the 2018-19 season.
After reaching the Stanley Cup Finals in their Inaugural season, the team was in a unique position. They had the best inaugural season in the history of modern American history. A team that was supposed to struggle ended up dominating the Western Conference.
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After spending the offseason extending their young stars and bringing in a trio of established players, the team was geared up for 2018-19 — but not before one final hiccup. Defenseman Nate Schmidt’s 20-game suspension threw a wrench into the team’s plans and early success before his return helped right the ship. [embed]https://www.sportsmockery.com/2018/11/holy-schmidt-golden-knights-find-their-mojo-with-the-return-of-suspended-defenseman/[/embed] Once Schmidt came back, the band was back and had several major single game successes. The biggest wins of the first half were against Calgary and Washington. [embed]https://www.sportsmockery.com/2018/12/flames-capitals-blackhawks-x2-knights-continue-month-long-hot-streak/[/embed] As mentioned in the earlier article, the win over the Flames came at the perfect time. Despite a mediocre record, the team was struggling all over the ice. Then came the perfect storm. Back at home for the first time was Schmidt. It was the return of James Neal. Calgary shellacked the Knights north of the border that same week. Then Vegas put up a violent 2–0 win and won five of their next six, including the Capitals game. For the first time since they were forced to watch the Capitals raise the Stanley Cup, fans in the Fortress were treated with the rematch. Vegas not only won 5–3 in the Dec. 4 faceoff, but forward Ryan Reaves took out Tom Wilson with a devastating hit. The hit knocked Wilson out for 10 days and helped spark the victory. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zNcItuc-cc[/embed] While a hockey game is hundreds of little things working just right, there are two factors Knights fans can look to for how the season has progressed to this point and what might happen next. The third major game came just before the All-Star Break. On Jan. 19 the Knights defeated the Penguins 7-3 and Jonathan Marchessault got the team's third hat trick in franchise history, and the first by someone other than William Karlsson. While not Earth-shattering, it was a nice moment for fans and players alike, and a momentum boost before the break. [embed]
Goaltending
It turns out getting to start your franchise with a likable, future Hall of Famer in the net helps a franchise. Marc-Andre Fleury is the beloved anchor of the Knights and has been steady as a rock for the team, outside of a few outlier losses. Through 52 games this season, Fleury has 45 starts and carries a 27-14-4 record. While his leadership can’t be discounted, Fleury is far from a statistical darling. While he’s second in the NHL in saves (1245), he’s also dead last in goals allowed (111). His goals against average is in the middle of the pack (14th) and Fleury is tied for 12th in the league with Louis Domingue and Linus Ullmark in shootout save percentage. More than anything, he’s a reliable, day-in-day-out goaltender that the city and team can rally behind. [embed]Behind Fleury on the depth chart has been the regular rotation of familiar faces for Vegas. The only other goalie to start a game for the team has been Malcolm Subban, the primary backup. Subban struggled early in the season, losing his first five starts on the season by a combined score of 20-6. Yes 20. Most notably the 7-2 beatdown by the Flames in Calgary. On Dec. 29, Subban picked up his first win of the season, on the road against the Los Angeles Kings. Subban and company beat the New Jersey Devils on Jan. 6. He earned rave reviews from his teammates for the win with Alex Tuch saying, according to the Las Vegas Review Journal, “His ability to respond and have some really big saves down the stretch were huge. (Subban) played really, really well.” He hasn’t started since and on Jan. 19 the team placed him on Injured Reserve with an illness. [embed]
In the almost two weeks since he was put on IR, the backup spot has been held by both of the Chicago Wolves’ goalies. Max Lagace was recalled first as the immediate replacement. Without logging any time on the ice, Lagace was sent back to Chicago on Jan. 24 and was replaced by Oscar Dansk. Dansk, who has not logged ice time for the Knights since he suffered an injury against the New York Islanders on Oct. 30 — of 2017. Dansk did not play a game in his time with the team and was sent back down for Lagace on Jan. 31. [embed]
Both Subban and Lagace will be restricted free agents after this season while Dansk will be an RFA in 2020. If the Knights want to surpass last season’s team and win the Stanley Cup Finals, they’ll need to lean on one of their backups in the latter half of the season. No Cup winner since the 2011-12 Los Angeles Kings has had a goalie start more than 60 games (Jonathan Quick) and none since the 2002-03 New Jersey Devils had a goalie play more than 70 games (Martin Brodeur). Andre-Fleury is on pace to start 70 games this season.
Fresh faces
Two signings and an offseason trade. That’s how the Knights moved into year two with a trio of veterans getting acquainted with life in Sin City. The team traded for forward Max Pacioretty, while signing Nick Holden and the crown jewel of the offseason, center Paul Stastny. Stastny came to the Knights on a three-year deal worth almost $20 million. The team also paid a hefty price for Pacioretty, sending Montreal a high pick and forward prospect Nick Suzuki, as well as forward Tomas Tatar. While Holden has been steady as can be, missing just one game, the two offensive newcomers have had issues saying on the ice. Pacioretty played in 39 games so far after suffering an undisclosed injury in December and Stastny has played in only 22 games after being hit with a lower body injury in October. It wasn’t until December when the offseason’s prepared lineups finally aligned. [embed]Despite their prolonged absences, each one has made their presence known on the team leaderboards. Pacioretty is fourth on the team in goals scored with 15 and is tied for second in offensive point shares with 2.5. Stastny has the fourth best shooting percentage on the team at 12.2 percent and is fourth in faceoff win percentage. He’s also found the back of the net six time and collected 12 assists. The only new defenseman, Holden is third on the team in defensive point shares. He has 2.8, behind only Schmidt and first-liner Brayden McNabb. Holden’s 63 blocks are also good for third on the team behind McNabb and Deryk Engelland. While those three are the only newcomers to make their mark, there’s still time for Valentin Zykov, there’s still plenty of surprises from players who only made cameo appearances last season. [embed]
Even though he played with the Knights in their inaugural season, a whole two games, Brandon Pirri has become a fan-favorite scoring machine. Pirri has been a dream come true. Nobody leads to more curiosity and intrigue on the Knights roster than the young center. In his first eight games with the team this season, he picked up seven goals and three assists. Pirri has become the face of Gerard Gallant’s ability to get the best out of players. He’s also been back in Chicago since the middle of January. It's anyone's guess when the Knights faithful will see Pirri back in the T-Mobile Arena, but if the team wants to make the leap they'll need results from every newcomer to compete deep into May. And no matter what happens in the end, fans will still pack into the T-Mobile and cheer for their Golden Misfits. As much as fans want to see the Cup hoisted down the Strip, they'll cheer for their Golden Knights no matter what. [embed]
